You may have wondered what the big deal is with green tea for weight loss – does it really help you lose weight? Many people are discovering that drinking green tea for weight loss does indeed seem to help reduce the pounds, and of course there are loads of other great health benefits included (read more about those here: Green Tea For Weight Loss – Health Benefits).
So, if you like the idea of using green tea for weight loss, the only questions left are, which form of green tea is best? Should you drink it by the cup, or take supplements? Is there any difference? Are they equally effective?
For centuries green tea has been consumed in tea form, but since it’s weight loss properties have become big news, supplement manufacturers have made it available in pill form too. These pills contain concentrated amounts of green tea extract and are marketed as ‘green tea for weight loss’.
Green tea extract can be purchased from many different suppliers online, and can also be found in most health and vitamin stores. Most of the pills contain anywhere from 200mg to 500mg of green tea extract, and directions say to take 1 to 3 tablets daily.
There are obvious benefits in using green tea for weight loss in pill form. First, if you don’t care for the taste of the tea, the pills allow you to bypass that. Secondly, some people believe that green tea extract taken in pill form may intensify the fat burning effect because you get a more concentrated dosage of EGCG (that’s epigallocatechin gallate – the weight loss agent found in green tea). Of course you will also benefit from a greater concentration of the other green tea benefits too.
Still, some people do prefer drinking tea rather than popping pills, and green tea has a mild, pleasant flavor.
The final decision may come down to volume. Most experts seem to agree that you need to consume a minimum of 3 cups of green tea a day to gain optimal health benefits, but some say that as many as 10 cups per day is better. When you consider that each cup of green tea has 50 – 150mg of antioxidants, it may make more sense to take a supplement or two, especially if you’re using green tea for weight loss and want the maximum dosage.
Or, you could even do both – take a supplement that contains the minimum amount of antioxidants you want to have each day, and then any green tea you drink that day will just be a bonus. Personally I prefer to drink it!
Keep in mind that green tea does contain caffeine, so you may have to limit your consumption if you are sensitive to it. Some of the green tea supplements do not contain caffeine, however, so read the labels carefully to be sure.
Drinking green tea for weight loss and general health is beneficial no matter how you choose to consume it; it all comes down to personal preference.
Weight loss green tea is fast becoming the first choice of healthy-minded individuals around the world. This is down to its proven benefits for the human body. You can now go online or walk into any store and buy green teas. You can go to your local grocery store and find a variety of dried green teas for you to prepare at home. One of the most delicious and satisfying weight loss green teas currently available is the Chinese tea known as Sencha tea.
Sencha tea is extremely popular in both China and Japan. It is recognised by its rolled or curled shape which comes from the way it is processed and dried. The sencha leaves go through a steaming process before being rolled, and then laid out to dry. This creates the curled appearance that is now famously associated with Sencha tea. This manufacturing process is quite different from weight loss green tea produced in other regions and is one of the reasons for the delicious flavour that comes from Sencha tea.
If you are looking to buy Sencha tea you may come across terms like “first flush” and “second flush”. This is actually an advertising angle used by many Sencha tea suppliers because these flushes directly affect the flavouring and the actual colour of the tea. The talk of different flushes relates to the fact that the tea plants used to make Sencha tea can be harvested at varying times throughout the year. In the East, it is thought that the best tasting sencha teas are harvested from the first flush of the year, because of this those teas will be known as “first flush” Sencha teas.
So now you know what is meant when you find Sencha tea on sale marked as either first or second flush as major selling points. First Flush teas should produce a more golden green color along with the delicious flavour for which Sencha has become known.
Weight loss green tea like Sencha is also known for it’s high levels of polyphenols, which are known to be beneficial for our bodies. They work alongside antioxidants to help clear the body of harmful free radicals that cause disease and to reduce the risk of deadly diseases including cancer.
Of course, one of the best things about Sencha weight loss green tea is that it’s completely natural and safe. You can drink Sencha tea at home as often as you like without having to worry about the risk of dangerous side effects. Sencha tea has a wonderful taste and can easily be purchased online from a variety of different manufacturers.
Weight Loss Green Tea SupplierOne supplier of weight loss green tea is Tava Tea. They offer Sencha in their own unique formulation (read more about this here: Weight Loss Green Tea), and offer the ultimate health benefits that only a top flight weight loss green tea like Tava Tea can provide.
Wuyi Cliff Oolong is perhaps the most sought after weight loss green tea to come from China. As it’s name suggests, it is native to the area around Mount Wuyi.
Famous Weight Loss Green TeaMount Wuyi is located in the northern Fujian province of China, and covers an area of about 60 square kilometers. The Wuyi scenic area boasts thirteen springs, thirty six peaks, and seventy two caves. As a point of interest Mount Wu Yi was deemed to be a world heritage site in 1999, and as an area, it is one of the most outstanding areas of biodiversity and conservation zones in China.
The area containing Wuyi Mountain is regarded as one of the most attractive parts of Fujian province. It is also one of the most famous tea growing regions in China, putting the Fujian mountain region on the map as a famous tea producer. Tea production records of Fujian date back over 1,600 hundred years – although it is believed that some “Wu Yi Tea” weight loss green tea products go back over 4,000 years!
The earliest record of making tea from the Wuyi Mountain region is detailed on a stone tablet at the Lian Hua Feng in Nan’an county. This ancient record dates from, and is inscribed, 376 A.D. More tea comes from this area than any other part of China. Numerous varieties are grown here including Black tea, Green tea, Oolong tea, Scented tea, and White tea.
Many of these teas are known throughout the world, and have gained increasing popularity among tea drinkers over the years. In total, there are over 300 different varieties of tea trees in Fujian Province.Wuyi Cliff Oolong is amongst the best of these teas and is a crucial part of Tava Teas unique weight loss green tea formulation. It has tried and tested health giving properties that help lower bad cholesterol levels, promote a healthy heart, and improve digestion.
Weight Loss Green Tea SupplierOne supplier of weight loss green tea is Tava Tea. They offer Sencha in their own unique formulation (read more about this here: Weight Loss Green Tea), and offer the ultimate health benefits that only a top flight weight loss green tea like Tava Tea can provide.
It has been known in Asia for centuries that drinking green tea and weight loss go together. In China, the two go hand in hand, and now medical research has recently confirmed what the Chinese have been saying. Green tea and weight loss is no myth and it works because green tea contains catechins, compounds which help you lose weight and keep you feeling active and refreshed.
How does green tea help you lose weight? What is the link between the catechins, green tea and weight loss? It works in the first instance by raising metabolic rate which speeds up fat oxidation. It also has a tendency to suppress appetite and help regulate blood sugar levels. If you are a coffee addict, green tea makes a wonderful substitute. Although there is less caffeine present in the drink, with all the other ingredients you will be just as energized.
The popularity of green tea weight loss plans is a growing testament to just how effectively drinking green tea and weight loss go together. It is easy and uncomplicated to implement – green tea can be drunk like any other tea, usually without milk or sweeteners. Alternatively, if you find you do not like the taste you can now buy green tea extract.
Green tea initiates weight loss by speeding up metabolism. It does this by stimulating the body’s thermogenesis (heat producing) process, which increases the expenditure of energy and the oxidization of fat in the body. There are many compounds found in plants that have this effect, but there is often a side-effect which increases the heart rate too.
The special thing with green tea and weight loss is that there are no side effects. It does not increase the heart rate. For this reason, green tea is believed to be safer than diet pills such as ephidrine that also work by stimulating thermogenesis.
There are only two ways to lose weight: you can consume fewer calories or you can use up more calories. The green tea effect means you use more calories, and this can be by as much as 4% – just by drinking tea! Most scientists believe that this is caused by the high quantity of catechin that is in the tea.
There is also the added benefit that green tea contains powerful antioxidants that are beneficial to health in many ways, strengthening the immune system and protecting against disease.
Green tea does contain caffeine, so if you are a non-caffeine person you may have a choice to make. Decaffeinated green tea is not recommended because the chemical processes that are used to remove the caffeine also significantly reduce the beneficial properties of the plant.
It’s simple and easy to introduce this wonderful, natural and safe drink into your lifestyle. Drink green tea and weight loss will surely become a little easier for you to achieve.
Read more about green tea and weight loss.
Green tea has rapidly become the drink of choice for many who want to lose weight, because one of the benefits of green tea is that there are compounds within the tea that promote weight loss by increasing your metabolism. However, there are far more benefits of green teathan just losing some weight. The Chinese people have known about the other health benefits of green tea for thousands of years but we are only just really waking up to the facts and beginning to catch on. But why should green tea be so much better than the black tea we are more used to?
Unlike black tea, green tea is not oxidized and hence it retains most of it’s nutrients. This is why we can enjoy the benefits of green tea. Apart from the well known weight loss effects, green tea helps promote a healthier body by killing bacteria present in the food you take in. Further studies show that green tea can also rid your body of bad cholesterol, although no-one seems to be able to offer a full explanation as to how this works. It is claimed that drinking green tea is a life-style which will enable you to develop a healthier heart and a leaner physique.
The reason green tea is believed to be so beneficial is because it is packed with anti-oxidants. It contains polyphenols, a powerful antioxidant which helps fight ageing and disease. It also contains catechin that is very potent. Catechin contain more antioxidants than vitamins C and E. Anti-oxidants fight the damaging free radicals present in your system which are the toxins that cause ageing. It is claimed that, if taken regularly, green tea actually has the ability to lengthen your life. (Learn more about antioxidants: benefits of green tea).
Another compound found within green tea which can improve your life is a substance called L-Theanine. This amino-acid has a calming effect on the brain which helps reduce the effects of stress and anxiety. This enables you to focus and improves concentration. It appears to work by increasing the type of electrical activity in the brain which is usually present when you are relaxed.
One thing that has been found in studies amongst green tea drinkers is that they often seem to demonstrate a lower mortality rate. It does not seem beyond the realms of possibility that green tea stimulates the immune system, but is this really the case? At the moment the jury is still out, but it seems likely to be the case, if the assumption were to be made based on the results of the studies alone.
If you are suffering from any health problems, start drinking green tea and see if it can help you. People have done just that for centuries now and been amazed at the benefits of green tea they have enjoyed. Just remember, to get the best results you need to purchase the freshest green tea you can find. Those found at the supermarket are good, but the better ones are available online.
Where else can you find out about the benefits of green tea? Wikipedia has it’s own articles on the Benefits of Green Tea
A drink that helps with weight loss, prevents diseases, lowers cholesterol and prolongs your life? Make it a habit to drink a cup or two everyday to enjoy the benefits of green tea everyday and see if you agree with the people who swear by it.
Green tea has now become a popular drink to help with weight loss and improve overall health and wellbeing, but are there any green tea side effects you should be concerned about? As with all herbal supplements, caution is warranted. Unless you have been prescribed green tea and you are following a doctor’s orders, it’s quite possible you are completely unsure about the correct dosage of supplements, and green tea is no different to any other herbal supplement.
Just how much green tea is safe to take, and are there any possible side effects from taking too much of it? As with any herbal supplement it is possible to overdo it with green tea. The first and most obvious of the green tea side effects is from drinking too much and taking in high levels of caffeine (read more about green tea caffeine here). It’s true green tea contains much less caffeine than coffee, but it’s still possible to ingest too much and suffer the consequences. The unpleasant side effects of too much caffeine are well documented and include: rapid heartbeat, irregular heartbeat, restlessness, irritability, jitters, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea.
Other than caffeine overload, there are not too many green tea side effects to worry about. One of the most common is nausea. This is caused by the tannins in green tea which have been known to irritate the linings of both stomach and colon. This is most likely to happen when the tea has been brewed for too long. You will know when you have done this because brewing green tea for longer than 1 or 2 minutes will make it taste bitter and it is in this state when it is more likely to increase the likelihood of stomach upset. Drinking green tea on an empty stomach can also cause nausea, so you may want to drink it with a small snack.
Pregnant women are usually advised to avoid green tea, for two main reasons. Reason one is because of the caffeine content, and the second reason is because of the risks of neural tube defects in babies. Both caffeine and the antioxidant EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) which is found in green tea are suspected contributors to neural tube defects, so it’s best to avoid green tea and other caffeinated drinks during pregnancy just to be on the safe side.
Finally, doctors suggest it is probably advisable to avoid green tea if you are taking blood thinning medication, and for several days before surgery, as green tea contains an agent which has a thinning effect on the blood which helps prevent the formation of blood clots.
These are known green tea side effects, but provided you don’t overdo it there is no reason why most people should not enjoy and benefit from green tea without suffering any green tea side effects.
Do antioxidants in green tea really fight the ageing process? Many people choose to go under the knife to keep their youthful looks, but why put yourself through that when you could simply make the most of the beneficial antioxidants in green tea? Let’s face it, we would all like to grow old gracefully, but this is a much more natural way to maintain that healthful glow. The way to feel good and age gracefully can be found in foods that we eat and the amazing health-improving ingredients they contain. The antioxidants in green tea are a great example.
So, what are these antioxidants in green tea? We hear and read about them all the time in the pages of magazines, in medical journals, on TV and radio, and it seems every product from hand cream to supplement pills is now full of antioxidants. But what exactly what are antioxidants and what makes them so special they can keep you looking your best?
If you’ve heard of antioxidants, it’s a fair bet that you’ve probably heard of free radicals to. This is not the place to go into great detail, but put simply, free radicals are the substances in our bodies that cause ageing. Antioxidants are substances that combat free radicals and in so doing slow down the aging process that goes on in our bodies. Sadly antioxidants are not produced by our bodies so we have to ingest them to enjoy their benefits. For a long time this was not understood, but we now know that there are a variety of foods which contain antioxidants and we can benefit by eating (or drinking) them. Drinking green tea and thus absorbing the antioxidants in green tea is a typical way of doing this.
To appreciate just why antioxidants are so effective, here is a very simple explanation of how ageing takes place:
There is a natural cycle in our bodies whereby cells are continually dying and being replaced. This is how a healthy body grows and maintains itself. This cell replacement is part of a process called cellular metabolism, but there is sometimes an unfortunate by-product of this process called free radicals.
Free radicals are unstable molecules which are missing an electron. To stabilize themselves, free radicals will ‘steal’ electrons from other cells. This is the ageing process in action, and that theft damages cells in ways which seem to become more apparent as we grow older in the form of both obviously visible and less visible changes to our bodies. Free radicals can also enter our bodies from outside sources such as cigarette smoke, radiation and the sun’s UV rays.
The more free radicals we encounter, the greater the damage likely to be done. The less visible changes are the development of diseases like cancer, diabetes, arthritis and neurological deficiencies which may begin to affect you as you age. The most obvious visible change is thinner skin and wrinkles.
Antioxidants in green tea help enormously in the fight against free radicals by combining with them to neutralize them. Once neutralized, they can no longer do any damage. There seems to be no recognised daily dose of antioxidants to correct free radical damage and the diseases that come with age, but it is certainly proven that eating foods rich in antioxidants does make a difference.
So what are these antioxidants, and which are the best foods to provide them? Examples of antioxidants are vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E and beta-carotene. Fruits and vegetables are the prime source, so you could actually grow your own! Antioxidants are also found abundantly in nuts and legumes.
A varied diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes will ensure you supply your body with regular doses of antioxidants to help reduce the incidence of disease and combat the effects of ageing. Eating fruits and vegetables in their natural form instead of in processed juices also brings the benefit of other nutrients found in the foods. You can read about other benefits from the antioxidants in green tea here.
Replacing your usual black tea or coffee with green tea will boost your intake even further because of the antioxidants in green tea.
This gorgeous, four-color gift book showcases just why green tea is so popular in American culture today. The opening chapter covers the basic health benefits of drinking green tea, its history, and how to select, store, and brew it. With beautiful color photos throughout, and 50 delicious recipes for hot and cold teas, smoothies and cocktails, and even savory and sweet foods, this is the perfect gift for anyone who enjoys green tea.
About the Author
Mary L (more…)
Known as China’s Fountain of Youth, green tea has been recognized as a powerful healer in preventing cancer and slowing the aging process. Since its first recorded use 4,000 years ago, people have been drinking green tea for its health-preserving and revitalizing power. Lester Mitscher and Victoria Dolby explore the beverage’s health claims in The Green Tea Book. Using scientific research, The Green Tea Book examines each benefit, from the prevention of (more…)
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