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Green Tea Health Benefits
So the weight loss enhancing qualities of Green tea alone aren’t enough to make you ditch the coffee and soft drinks? Take one look at this gigantic list of health benefits that come from drinking green tea and you’ll want to say goodbye to java for good.
Protects Against Cancer & Diseases
Green tea is packed with potent antioxidants called “polyphenols” and “catechins”. These are remarkably efficient at fighting free radicals, which are nasty little toxins responsible for causing cellular damage, disease, aging, and cancer.
Promotes Healthy Skin & Prevents Wrinkles
The same free radicals that cause cancer and disease also attack skin cells and contribute to signs of aging in the form of wrinkles and skin spots. Green tea finds and terminates these free radicals and helps promote healthy, smooth skin.
Fights Aging
Along with fighting the signs of aging, green tea also helps with less obvious forms of aging as well. A Japanese University study found that drinking more than 2 cups of green tea per day slashed the odds of cognitive impairment in elderly patients by 64%. That’s an amazing number, and really demonstrates the power of green tea against cognitive impairment, memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Enhances Mental Focus
Green tea contains mild levels of caffeine which has a stimulating effect on the nervous system. That’s not so amazing by itself, but...Green tea also contains the amino acid L-theanine, which is found almost exclusively in the tea plant. Theanine affects the brain’s neurotransmitters and increases alpha brain-wave activity. In simple terms this results in a calmer, yet more alert, state of mind.
Boosts the Immune System
Speaking of theanine, a 2003 study by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that theanine may help the body’s immune system when fighting infection. The study compared coffee drinkers to tea drinkers and found that the production of anti-bacterial proteins was up to five times higher in the tea drinkers, an indicator of stronger immune response.
Another study, published in the November 2005 issue of Antiviral Research, found that one of the catechin antixoidants in green tea (EGCG) dramatically inhibited influenza virus replication. Yep, that means that green tea fights the common flu too.
Promotes Oral Health
Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago found that polyphenols in Green tea inhibit the growth of bacteria that cause bad breath. These antibacterial properties also help the teeth and gums. In fact, a Japanese University found that regular consumption of tea strengthened participant’s teeth and helped to prevent tooth decay.
Other Benefits of Green Tea
Starting to get an idea of the amazing health benefits of green tea? There’s a lot more too. Here are a few things that green tea can do that we haven’t mentioned so far:
Fights rheumatoid arthritis
Fights infection
Lower stress
Protect against heart disease
Inhibit atherosclerosis
Build bone density
Minimizes risk of heart attack
Speeds recovery after a heart attack
Protects from brain damage
Lowers blood pressure
Protects the kidneys
Protects the liver
Increases endurance
Protects against diabetes
To Sum it Up Nicely…
We’ll end this page with one of our favorite green tea studies. The study, which began in Japan in 1994, followed 40,530 adults for up to 11 years. It found that women who drank 5 or more cups of green tea a day had a 23% lower risk of dying…from any cause! If that’s not incentive to start drinking green tea, we don’t know what is.
Green Tea 101
Recent scientific studies have been confirming something that the Chinese have known for over 4000 years…Green tea is one of the healthiest things on the planet.
What does that mean exactly? Well, more and more evidence shows that green tea is packed with a whole host of health benefits. Even moderate consumption of green tea can give you these positive effects. Here are just a few things that green tea can do:
Increase your metabolism
Increase energy
Block fat absorption
Boost the immune system
Promote healthier skin
Enhance focus and mental function
Fight the aging process
Promote oral health
Protect the body against diseases
What is Green Tea?
All teas come from the same plant (Camellia sinensis), and can be grouped into four main types: white tea (which arguably could be called green tea), green tea, Oolong tea, and black tea.
Tea type is determined by a process called oxidization. We’ll spare you the boring details, just know that the more oxidization a tea undergoes during processing, the darker it becomes. Heavily oxidized tea is very dark with more flavors and more caffeine. Green tea is unoxidized. This means it has less aroma and caffeine, but it retains much more of its powerful nutrients and antioxidants.
Flavor & Variety
Green tea has fewer flavors than Oolong or black tea, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious. Its flavor is best described as “fresh” and “light”, and is wonderfully refreshing over ice (you don’t need to drink it hot!). Speaking of flavors, there are so many different varieties and flavors of green tea that it would take a lifetime to try them all!
Green Tea & Weight Loss
One of the more exciting and well known benefits of green tea is its ability to aid in weight loss. Along with giving you an extra energy boost, green tea stimulates the metabolism while simultaneously blocking fat absorption.
You should know that there are some weight loss claims about green tea that haven’t been properly tested by scientific studies. But nevertheless the evidence is adding up. There’s certainly enough for us to confidently say that green tea should be the beverage of choice for anyone who’s trying to lose the pounds. Read more about Green Tea & Weight Loss
Green Tea’s Health Benefits
In 2006, a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that tea is a healthier choice than almost any beverage, including water. Yes, you read that right…Green tea is healthier for you than pure water!
Not only does green tea hydrate the body like water does, it also provides nutrients and powerful antioxidants that protect against a wide variety of ailments such as: diseases, cancer, strokes, heart problems, viruses and more. Read more about Green Tea's Health Benefits
Brewing & Drinking Green Tea
So now you’re sold on the idea of drinking green tea (of course!), and you want to know where to start. That’s easy. Green tea is cheap and readily available. You can get it in teabags, or, if you’re serious, as loose leaf tea. Brewing it is easy, and you can drink it instead of your morning coffee or over ice as a refreshing replacement for unhealthy soft drinks.
Green Tea for Weight Loss
Check the back of the bottle of many popular diet pills and you’ll see “green tea” or “green tea extract” listed as one of the ingredients.
Diet pills are often dangerous and packed with other unhealthy ingredients, but there’s a reason they use green tea. Green tea helps you lose weight. Of course it won’t be “20 pounds in one week” or other nonsense that marketing companies like to claim, but green tea has been scientifically proven to burn calories and block fat absorption.
Green Tea Burns Fat
Food (including sugar and fat) is synthesized into a substance called “triglyceride” in the liver and small intestine. It is then carried into the bloodstream to other tissues in the body.
Triglyceride is used as source of energy for life support and physical activities, and is very necessary. The problem comes about when there are excess amounts of triglyceride, because then it’s turned into fat which subsequently causes obesity.
That’s where green tea comes in. It contains high amounts of polyphenols which activate the enzyme that is responsible for dissolving excess triglyceride. In the long run, this means that green tea effectively aids in burning fat.
Green Tea Stimulates the Metabolism & Accelerates Weight Loss
Green tea contains powerful antioxidants called catechin polyphenols that are responsible for many of the health benefits of green tea. One of them in particular, epigallocatechin gallate (or EGCG for short), has been found to stimulate the metabolism and accelerate weight loss.
EGCG, along with the caffeine in green tea, stimulates the central nervous system and causes fat to be released into the blood stream for the body to use as fuel. This process of fat being used for energy is called “thermogenesis”. It provides extra energy, sheds excess water, and also helps to burn body fat.
Although caffeine alone can stimulate the metabolism this way, it’s important to note that researchers found that the combined ingredients of green tea were much more effective at this process than just caffeine by itself.
Green Tea Helps You Exercise Longer
Everyone knows how important exercise is to losing weight. It burns calories, increases your energy, and builds muscle which in turn boosts your metabolism even higher. The catechin polyphenols in green tea appear to stimulate the use of fatty acids by liver and muscle cells. This subsequently reduces the rate that carbohydrates are used and allows for more endurance and longer exercise times. In fact, a study using green tea extract on lab rats increased the amount of time the animals could swim before becoming exhausted by as much as 24%.
More endurance means more exercise, which means more calories burned, and it all adds up to more pounds lost for you.
Weight Loss Tea Studies
If you’re like us, you’re majorly skeptical of marketing hype and unsubstantiated claims. Unfortunately, when it comes to tea, there’s a lot of just that. Diet pill makers and weight loss supplement companies everywhere promote tea (especially green tea) as a “weight loss miracle” that will allow you to effortlessly shed the pounds.
Are any of these claims backed by scientific proof? We made it our mission to find out. Fortunately for us, we didn’t have to look that hard as there have been a plethora of scientific and medical studies done on tea and weight loss. Let’s take a look at a few of the more important ones.
Weight Loss and Tea : Animal Studies
The majority of scientific studies are done on animals before proceeding to human tests. Of course one of the major drawbacks of animal testing (besides the pain caused to the animal) is that results vary between animals and humans. Still, animal studies are a good indicator of human results and remain an unfortunate part of science.
Animal Study #1
Lab mice of approximate age/weight were divided into five groups and fed a high-fat diet. One of the groups received green tea extract, another group received green tea extract and exercise, and the rest of the groups received varying levels of exercise with no green tea extract.
After 15 weeks of experimentation, researchers found that simply taking green tea extract alone caused a 47% reduction in body weight gain. The effect was greatly multiplied with exercise with a stunning 89% reduction in weight gain.
Study Conclusion: Green tea burns fat and is especially effective when combined with exercise.
Animal Study #2
To test the anti-obesity properties of green tea, a group of lab rats were given green tea instead of drinking water for three weeks. Scientists noted that green tea reduced the weight of the animals' fat tissue without any change in food or water intake. Tea also significantly reduced cholesterol and fatty acid levels.Study Conclusion: Green tea promotes fat burning and reduces cholesterol
Animal Study #3
Lab rats and mice were put on high-fat diets, with some given the most abundant green tea catechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), in a pure form. The study showed for the first time that supplementation with EGCG, “influenced fat tissue” and abolished diet-induced obesity.”
Although there aren’t any long term studies about tea and weight loss, the studies that have been done are extremely promising.
Human Study #1
Thirty-eight healthy Japanese men were divided into two groups and fed the same diet. One group consumed a bottle of tea containing 690 mg catechin antioxidants per day. After 12 weeks, body weight, BMI, waist circumference, body fat mass, and subcutaneous fat area were significantly lower in the green tea extract group than in the control group.
Human Study #2
Ten healthy Japanese men were randomly assigned to receive a dose of green tea extract plus caffeine, just caffeine, or a placebo. On the days the men received the dose of green tea extract plus caffeine, they expended significantly more energy and burned more calories than on the days they received just caffeine or placebo.
Study Conclusion: Green tea contains ingredients (besides caffeine) that stimulate thermogenesis and burn fat.
Green Tea FAQ
You should find everything you need to know about green tea and weight loss on the pages of this site. Just in case you're in a hurry, we've answered the most frequently asked questions here.
What is green tea?
Green tea, like all other teas, is made from the Camellia sinensis plant. Unlike darker teas like black tea and oolong tea, Green tea is unoxidized and retains much of its antioxidants and nutrients. Most of the worlds green tea is produced in either China or Japan and there are many varieties.
Does green tea really help aid in weight loss?
Yes! Green tea is an excellent weight loss aid. It boosts the metabolism, burns fat, and increases exercise endurance. There have been many scientific studies that prove how beneficial green tea is when it comes to losing the pounds.
Are there any health benefits from drinking green tea?
Tons! Green tea is healthier for you than pure water. Its powerful antioxidants fight cancer and diseases, improve digestion, promote healthy skin, enhance mental focus, boost the immune system, fight the aging process, and much more. Once again, there have been many scientific studies that prove these benefits.
Are there any side effects from drinking too much green tea?
Not really. Although green tea does contain caffeine, too much of which can cause restlessness and sleeping problems.
How much caffeine is in green tea?
Green tea contains about 20 mg of caffeine per average serving. This is much less than coffee (100-120 mg), and less than Oolong tea (30 mg) and black tea (40 mg).
How many cups of Green tea should I drink per day?
Although it’s still debatable, most research has found that drinking 4 or more cups per day will yield the maximum weight loss and health benefits.
Does iced green tea have the same health benefits as freshly brewed green tea?
If you brew it yourself, yes. If it’s “green tea” in a bottle from a grocery store, it probably doesn’t have the same benefits as natural green tea. Also, be aware that the healthy antioxidants in green tea are diminished over time if the tea is not refrigerated.
Green Tea Extract
Check the back of a bottle of diet pills or any other fat burning supplement and it’s very likely you’ll see “green tea extract” listed as one of the ingredients. This, of course, is because green tea extract has many of the same weight loss benefits as green tea.
What is Green Tea Extract?
To make green tea extract, the powerful antioxidants of green tea (more specifically EGCG catechins) are isolated using water or steam, then condensed before spray drying. This results in a powder that can be put into a tablet, a capsule, or made into a liquid.
Because of its concentrated form, green tea extract contains many more catechin antioxidants than could be found in a cup of green tea.
Green tea extract is fairly inexpensive. However, look for a product that is standardized to a minimum of 90% polyphenols and 55% EGCG. Using this standard, a 500 milligram capsule will contain 275mg EGCG. Many researches say that four cups of green tea per day will give you the maximum benefit. This works out to about 3 capsules of green tea extract.
Safety
Since it’s super concentrated, it’s entirely possible to consume the equivalent of a hundred cups of tea a day using green tea extract. Some research indicates this would completely negate any positive effects may even be harmful.
The Final Word on Green Tea Extract
If you hate the taste of green tea, green tea extract might be for you. However, we find that when trying to lose weight, actually drinking the tea fills up the stomach and helps control appetite much better. Drinking green tea also helps to hydrate your body and replaces other less helpful beverages.
Green Tea and Weight Loss
If you drink green tea you can-
Lower cholesterol
Increase Thermogenesis (the body's rate of burning calories)
Enhance fat oxidation
Burns fat naturally
Green tea contains high concentrations of catechin polyphenols. These compounds work with other chemicals to intensify levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis, where heat is created in the body by burning fuels such as fat. Drinking Japanese green tea regularly will increase your metabolism and help burn fat safely and naturally.
Lowers cholesterol and increases energy expenditure
Green tea also causes carbohydrates to be released slowly, preventing sharp increases in blood-insulin levels. This promotes the burning of fat.
The thermogenic effect was originally attributed to its caffeine content. However, green tea stimulates brown fat thermogenesis far greater than a comparable amount of pure caffeine. It appears that the catechin-polyphenols, in particular epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and caffeine that naturally occur in green tea work synergistically to stimulate thermogenesis and augment and prolong sympathetic stimulation of thermogenesis. It has been shown to increase 24-hour energy expenditure and fat oxidation (caffeine only increases metabolism during the time you take it).
Weight is gained as excess sugars and fats are stored in the body as fat cells. Green tea catechins can help prevent obesity by inhibiting the movement of glucose in fat cells. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) has been found to be especially effective. There is now good evidence that green tea catechins are related to reductions in body fat.
EGCG is a powerful antioxidant with positive qualities but a balanced diet and exercise, lots of it, are of paramount importance to any weight reduction program.
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