Around-Home.Net - Green Tea: An Effective Weight Loss Solution

Well, it is. According to recent studies, when combined with sensible lifestyle changes green tea can help dieters lose weight, burn fat, increase metabolic rate and suppress their appetites.

Unlike black tea which is highly processed and fermented, green tea is made by slightly steaming the freshly gathered leaves, which prevents them from becoming fermented or changing color. After steaming, the leaves are dried by lightly pan frying them in a wok, baking them in an oven or heating them with hot air until they are crispy. The resulting beverage is a greenish-yellow tea with a slightly astringent flavor.

More and more often you'll find extracts of green tea being included in a lot of popular weight loss products today.
One of the main reasons for this is because of one of green tea's chief ingredients. Polyphenols, which are responsible for the color of the leaves of some plants, are a group of substances found in green tea. These polyphenols benefit weight loss by helping the body to burn fat naturally by increasing body heat and energy expenditure.

Green tea also causes carbohydrates to be released slowly, preventing sharp increases in blood-insulin levels. This promotes the burning of fat.

Another of the main ingredients in green tea is antioxidants. Antioxidants are organic substances, like vitamins A, E and C which are thought to be effective in helping protect the body against the harmful effects of free radicals - which cause the destruction of living cells, cancer, stroke and heart disease.
One of the most extraordinary characteristics about green tea is that studies have shown it is about 200 times more potent an antioxidant than Vitamin A, Vitamin C, E or curcumin in some instances. Additionally, just one cup of green tea has more antioxidant effect than a serving of strawberries, spinach or carrots.

Caffeine is another component in green tea which scientists think plays an important role in green tea's ability to help people lose weight. Green tea contains less caffeine than coffee. There are approximately 30 to 60 mg. of caffeine in 8 ounces of tea, compared to more than 100 mg. in 8 ounces of coffee.

Combined with Polyphenol compounds, caffeine in green tea acts as a stimulant to the body to help promote fat loss. In a recent study, participants taking green tea extract and still following normal diet experienced a significant increase in their energy expenditure.

The researchers concluded that participants using green tea extract had increased fat oxidation beyond what could be attributed to the caffeine they consumed.

This indicates that green tea contains beneficial components that affect the body's metabolism in such a way that favors weight loss. Additionally, scientists observed that participants in a study on green tea did not show any increase in heart rate, which suggests that green tea may be an excellent alternative to many stimulant-based diet aids.

If helping people to lose weight was not enough, green tea provides additional health benefits far and beyond weight loss, including:

Protects against Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer

Fights cavities and helps stop tooth decay and gum disease

Prevents osteoporosis

Protects against ovarian cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer and prostate cancer

Lowers cholesterol

Helps the body to fight viruses

Controls high blood pressure

Normalizes healthy bacteria in the intestines

Helps prevent heart disease

Thus far, no harmful side effects have been found in drinking green tea or taking green tea extract capsules. This makes green tea one of the best health supplements available for weight loss and overall health.

About the Author:
Patricia has been interested in health and dieting since the early 70's and knows how to seperate diet hype from diet facts. Get The Diet Facts

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