If you like tea, and you like healthy beverage options, you’ve joined the ranks of the other 158 million Americans who are enjoying a cup on any given day. It’s estimated that last year, over 80 billion—that’s right, billion—servings of tea were consumed by the tea lovers of America. That translates into roughly 3.60 billion gallons.
Although black tea is the most popular—it accounts for about 84 percent of all tea consumed—green tea is reported to be growing at a much higher volume than black. Our guess is that’s because of green tea’s potential role in weight loss. We decided to take a closer look at how you can drink green tea for weight loss.
Green Tea Can Help You to Losing Weight
Green tea is more than just hot, flavored water.
The bioactive substances in the tea leaves dissolve in the water and make it into the final drink.
When you drink a cup of quality tea, you’re actually getting a large amount of beneficial substances with potent biological effects.
The best known of these is caffeine. A cup of green tea contains much less caffeine (24-40 mg) than a cup of coffee (100-200 mg), but still enough to have a mild effect.
Caffeine is a well known stimulant that has been shown to aid fat burning and improve exercise performance in numerous studies.
But where green tea really shines is in its massive range of antioxidants… being loaded with potent antioxidants called catechins.
The most important of these is EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate), a substance that can boost metabolism.
Keep in mind that these benefits can be derived both from drinking green tea as a beverage, as well as taking green tea extract as a supplement. Most of the studies used extracts.
Green tea DOES help you lose weight but you need to drink seven decaff cups a day, study finds
- Scientists tested the effects of decaffeinated green tea extract on weight
- 14 men divided into two groups were asked to cycle three times a week
- Seven given capsule of green tea extract, while others were given placebo
- Group taking green tea reduced their body fat by 1.6% compared to control
Preparing Green Tea for Weight Loss
All calories count when you’re trying to lose weight. And while the weight-loss benefits of green tea aren’t that great, if you’re drinking it to give yourself a little extra boost, you don’t want to negate any benefits by adding extra calories from sweeteners such as honey or milk or cream. A cup of plain green tea has only 2 calories, making it a healthy addition to your weight loss diet. Adding 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of cream bumps up the calories in your very low-calorie tea to 86 calories. That may not sound like much, but drinking 3 cups a day adds an extra 258 calories, which may add a little more than 2 pounds a month if you drink them in addition to your regular meal plan.
Additional Benefits and Warnings
Green tea is widely consumed and associated with a number of health benefits, including decreasing risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. It’s also used to help reduce inflammation for those with inflammatory bowel disease and may aid in blood sugar control in people who suffer from diabetes. And when consumed as a beverage, green tea is considered safe.
However, as a source of caffeine, you may want to talk to your doctor before you brew your first cup if you have a history of heart problems, high blood pressure or anxiety. The tea may also interact with medications, including chemotherapy, antibiotics, blood thinners and blood pressure medication.
