Does Green Tea Help You Lose Weight?

Green tea has been famous for a variety of health benefits for many years. One of the most important benefits of Green tea is weight loss. It has also been used by the Chinese for centuries for wound healing, headaches and more. Although using green tea for weight loss is new for many people, there is also new research that supports the effectiveness of it for weight reduction. Green tea isn’t just about teabags; it comes in a variety of forms, all of which are beneficial. So take a closer look at green tea’s properties and why it is considered so beneficial to overall health and wellbeing. You will also get the extra help with weight loss.

Green tea – what is it?

As we all know, tea comes in many different varieties but what you may not know is that all tea comes from the same plant – the Camellia sinensis plant. What makes the range of teas is the part of the plant that’s used and the fermentation process.

With green tea, the leaves of the plant are put through a different fermentation process which ensures the tea keeps more of the nutrients and antioxidants. It also contains caffeine but at much lower levels that coffee; green tea has 24-40mg of caffeine while coffee contains 100-200mg. This makes green tea one of the healthiest teas available and boosts its many health properties.

Green tea originated in China, but has spread to other countries since it's production

How can green tea help you lose weight?

There are two main components of green tea that can help you lose weight – caffeine and antioxidants. Let’s take caffeine first.

Although the levels of caffeine in green tea are low, it is known to be a stimulant. Now, it’s common for caffeine to be used by many to help boost their energy levels, be it to keep them awake or to up their exercise ability. However, it has also been found that there is sufficient caffeine in green tea to aid the body in burning fat.

Now, antioxidants; green tea contains a flavonoid called catechin which also helps to speed up your body’s metabolism and boost your energy levels. But the other added benefit of catechins is that they aid the breakdown of excess fat in your body. A 2010 study found that green tea has a positive impact on weight management. But a much more recent review looked into a clinical study investigating how green tea can stimulate weight loss in those who were overweight or obese. Whilst the results weren’t conclusive, it did suggest that green tea does help towards weight loss.

As with many health beneficial teas, they often don’t directly cause you to lose weight. However, they do promote certain aspects associated with weight loss, such as boosting your metabolism, suppressing your appetite, improving your energy levels and helping to burn stored fat. It’s when you combine green tea with a healthy balanced diet and regular exercising that you will see more positive weight loss results.

• Reducing cholesterol levels.
• Improving the functioning of your heart.
• Help towards the management of Type 2 diabetes.
• Reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Contains anti-cancer properties.

However, studies and reviews of the benefit of green tea for these conditions is more of a suggestion that it may help rather than conclusive evidence. In reality, green tea is probably better considered as an active support towards weight loss rather than the ultimate tool.

The best way to benefit from green tea’s properties is by drinking cups of green tea. However, green tea comes in a variety of other formats and still have a positive impact on your overall health and wellbeing, as well as supporting weight loss.

1.Consuming green tea – by far the most popular way to benefit from green tea is drinking it. It is recommended to consume at least two to three cups a day, but this does vary per person depending on how much caffeine your body can absorb combined with your natural metabolism. However, if you suffer from high blood pressure or are at risk of heart issues, be careful with the amount of caffeine you drink. This is particularly relevant if you opt for Matcha green tea powder to make into a drink. This is because the process of making Matcha green tea uses the whole leaf and therefore contains more caffeine, as well as more powerful antioxidants.

Matcha green tea has also been shown to improve attention and memory.

2.Green tea seed oil – as well as all the above benefits of green tea, it is also helpful in boosting healthy skin and hair. Green tea seed oil is lightweight and smooths onto your skin, helping to keep it hydrated and elastic. As an oil, it promotes the synthesis of collagen, thereby helping to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, but is fast absorbing and doesn’t leave a greasy feel. When combined with lemongrass oil, it is a popular in aromatherapy and is used to reduce anxiety levels and boost your mood.

Green tea seeds are rich in antioxidants and can help with many skin conditions like acne or eczema.

3.Green tea soap – again, used for its moisturizing and skin softening properties, and being rich in antioxidants, green tea soap will stimulate circulation and blood flow, both of which boost your metabolism, energy levels and works towards burning stored fat in the body. When combined with other ingredients that are also high in antioxidants, like olive oil, shea butter and avocado butter, it can be highly beneficial in a number of ways. You may also find green tea extract is included in the list of ingredients in some cosmetics, not only because it is rich in antioxidants, but it is also high in vitamin C and vitamin E which are known to help reduce the signs of aging.

Green tea soap can help aid premature skin aging

The main takeaway to remember is that green tea in itself is not going to help you lose weight unless you combine it with other activities, such as regular exercise and a balanced healthy diet.