LegalReader.com  ·  Legal News, Analysis, & Commentary

Health & Medicine

Can Green Tea Help You Lose Weight?


— August 31, 2020

Although the effect of green tea on weight loss is moderate it has shown positive results in burning fats.


One day, you noticed that you had a hard time dressing up, carrying your weight around, and you can barely catch your breath on a short walk. So, you bring out the weighing scale, and the truth is told – you are overweight. Green tea has many helpful compounds that can aid in losing unwanted pounds. 

Caffeine supports fat burning and develops training performance. 

Fret not, you can be counted as one of the 158 million Americans drinking green tea for its taste and hoping to lose weight.

The healthy brew is full of antioxidants called catechins, the main antioxidant is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) that boosts metabolism. EGCG prevents enzymes that break down the hormone norepinephrine. The absence of these enzymes raises the level of norepinephrine promoting fat break-up.

Green Tea and Weight Loss

A 2010 review found that catechins or EGCG in green tea have a small positive effect on weight loss and weight mass.

A recent survey discovered that green tea positively affects weight reduction, the outcome was not noteworthy, and the authors presumed that it was probably not going to be of clinical significance.

Image via TeroVesalainen/Pixabay. (CCA-BY-0.0)

However, using green tea alongside exercise and a diet with lots of veggies may improve the positive outcome.

How Much Should You Have for Weight Loss?

There is no standard dose of the consumption of green tea for weight reduction. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, drinking 2-3 cups a day of hot green tea will give you the benefits of weight reduction.

The amount differs from person to person depending on their metabolism. There is no substitute for exercise and a diet with lots of veggies. Green tea together with these methods will bring more positive results. 

5 Ways Green Tea Can Help You Lose Weight

Beyond its therapeutic benefits, green tea is gaining popularity among health buffs by burning those fat tissues and cutting the weight. Here are some ways how green tea works to lower body weight. 

Boost metabolism

Green tea has caffeine and high in catechin, an antioxidant, when both compounds work together they accelerate metabolism intensifying the calorie burn. Catechin knocks off excess fat, while caffeine and catechin raise the level of energy the body utilizes.

A natural diuretic

It is a natural diuretic that causes a person to lose salt and water retained in the body. By drinking green tea the fluid in the body is excreted cutting body fat by about 19%.

Acts as a stimulant

The caffeine in green tea works as a stimulant that boosts training performance and helps in burning fat. Although each cup of tea contains a quarter of caffeine compared to a regular cup of coffee, it is adequate to raise your performance.

Burns fat

A cup of green tea results in more fat burning in a workout. Body fat loss leads to a weight reduction in the long term.

Lowers belly fat

Although the lost weight is moderate, it happens where it matters most – the belly fat. Abdominal fat is connected with inflammation, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions. Green tea reduces your risks of medical conditions from this kind of fat.

Green Tea Varieties

From a tea-drinking country like Japan, green tea comes in a variety of strains to suit every tea drinker’s palate. 

Despite that all types of tea originate from the Camellia Sinensis plant, what separates green tea from the rest is the place where it is grown, harvesting method, and processing method. Green tea comes from the first flush, harvest, considered to yield the highest quality and most expensive leaves.

Sencha

The most commonly drunk and well-known brand of green tea. Once plucked, the youngest leaves are placed on top and steamed. After steaming, the leaves are dried and rolled providing a needle-like shape. When leaves are rolled, the juices inside are released to give an intense flavor.

Gyokuro

The procedure from Sencha is applied, except that about three weeks before harvest the tea leaves are kept from sunlight. The absence of sunlight allows the leaves to experience less photosynthesis for tea plant  keeping the flavorsome amino acids intact for a fuller taste of Gyokuru. Since the tea is hard to shade and nurture the manufacturing cost and the retail price is quite pricey.

Tencha

Tencha goes through the same process as Gyokuro, except that the leaves are not rolled. 

Matcha

Matcha is ground Tencha. After the shading, collecting and steaming, the leaves are dried in the air without stems and veins and grounded into a powder.

Conclusion

Although the effect of green tea on weight loss is moderate it has shown positive results in burning fats.

Take baby steps and combine green tea with exercise and other weight-loss tactics like lots of veggies in your diet, low carbs, and eating more protein. You can never put a good man down and eventually you’ll hit your target.

Keep in mind that green tea goes beyond weight reduction there are many health benefits in a cup.

Join the conversation!