Green Tea-Green Tea for Weight Loss

 

Green Tea for Weight Loss

Green tea has become a highly popular beverage because of all the health advantages associated with it. It is packed full of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins that keeps your body healthy. Some research shows that it can reduce the chance of developing cancer because the antioxidants destroy free radicals. Free radicals are known to kill healthy cells which make it easier for your body to develop cancer. Another great benefit to drinking green tea or taking green tea supplements is that it helps with weight loss.

Below are a few ways green tea supplements and green tea beverages can help aid in weight loss:

1. Less Calories -- Green tea can easily replace drinks such as coffee, soda and fruit juices. Replacing these drinks with green tea that is lightly sweetened with honey can save an abundance of calories. Loose leaf green tea on its own, has zero calories but if you add about a teaspoon of honey to your tea you are only getting about 21 calories per cup. This is significantly less calories than sodas, juices, and coffees that are full of sugar and cream. You can easily dress up green tea with a squirt of lemon juice that is next to no calories.
2. Metabolism Boost -- A powerful antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG for short is abundantly found in loose leaf green tea. This substance in known to boost the metabolism and allow people burn 3 to 4 percent more calories each day. EGCG also blocks the break down a hormone called norepinephrine. Norepinephrine helps fat cells break down.
3. Stimulant -- Green tea has about 24mg of caffeine in it per cup. This amount of caffeine provides just enough energy to improve exercise performance and low doses of caffeine are known to aid in fat burning.
4. Appetite Reduction -- Green tea can also help with weight loss because it reduces your appetite. This means you will naturally consume fewer calories than you usually do. When you consume and burn fewer calories than you take in, you will lose weight.


It’s important to point out that green tea will not produce weight loss results alone. It must be combined with a proper diet and a daily exercise routine. Adding green tea to your diet along with an exercise program will produce better results than exercise and diet alone.

In the end, green tea aids in weight loss because it provides zero calories compared to other drinks. The antioxidants in green tea boost metabolism and break down fat cells. Also, the low dose of caffeine is just enough to improve overall performance at the gym and it reduces the appetite which means fewer calories will be consumed.

If you have hit a plateau in your weight loss add in about two cups of green tea to your diet every day and don’t forget to throw out those high caloric beverages. Not only will you lose a couple extra pounds but you will also reap all the other benefits associated with green tea consumption.