I’m a big proponent of replacing lattes, soda and energy drinks like Red Bull with Green Tea. Lattes, sodas and energy drinks are loaded with sugar and calories and offer almost no nutritional benefit. Green tea on the other hand, offers a slew of potential health and nutritional benefits. In fact, if you enter “green-tea” into the search icon at PubMed.com, you’ll see there are well over 2,000 studies which examine green tea’s many alleged benefits including weight loss, possible cancer prevention, and the enhancement of health and well being.
Most people hesitate to give up the caffeine they get from sodas, energy drinks and coffee. Green tea is a wonderful alternative. It does contain some caffeine and also provides the health benefits of antioxidants. And, believe it or not, green tea can also HELP (but not solely) facilitate weight loss since:
Green Tea Revs Up Your Metabolism And Fat Burning Capabilities: A recent published study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicated that green tea can raise metabolic rate by as much as 4% over a 24 hour period. This is probably because the catechin polyphenols in green tea help bump up fat oxidation and the body’s ability to burn calories.
Green Tea Regulates Glucose (Blood Sugar): The catechins contained in green tea help slow or inhibit glucose from entering fat cells. It is also believed that green tea helps to slow the rise in blood sugar following a snack or meal. This is important because rising blood sugar can mean excess insulin which promotes fat storage.
Green Tea Reduces Appetite: There are academic studies which suggest that green tea can help reduce appetite. A report out of the University Of Chicago indicated that rats injected with green tea extract consumed approximately 60 percent less food, which led them to lose up to 21 percent of their body weight.
How Much Green Tea Is Needed? How much green tea do you need to consume to enjoy these benefits? Most experts cite 3-5 cups per day as optimal. If you typically enjoy a daily super sized Star bucks or Red Bull, this should not be problem if you just substitute green tea. If consuming 3-5 cups of daily green tea is a challenge, you can also get green tea in supplement form.
You Can Enjoy Green Tea Without Caffeine: If you have health problems that dictate you limit caffeine, green tea extract is probably the best choice because most green tea extract contains decaffeinated tea. Discuss green tea with your doctor if you have health issues or are pregnant or lactating.
You Can Often Try Green Tea For Free: Many merchants will let you try green tea for free. I find that the taste is pretty good, but if you are trying to replace the creamy, sweet taste of morning coffee, warm green tea with fat free creamer and a bit of stevia (no calorie, healthy sweetener) will do the trick. Here is a link for a free green tea sample.
To wrap it up, it appears that Green tea can be ONE helpful component in any weight loss program. Green tea can rev your metabolism, regulate your blood sugar, and help suppress your appetite. And, if you replace any habitual coffee or Red Bull habit with green tea, you’ll save lots of sugar and calories. But, to truly be effective, green tea’s benefits MUST be combined with an exercise and healthy eating program.
