Green tea and weight loss
The present rage for weight loss is drinking green tea. This is very much evident from the number of people that have started taking this wonder beverage to los weight. Experts vary on their opinion about the consumption of green tea. However a general study indictes that it is good to drink about 3 to 5 cups of green tea a day. It is believed that following this pattern would help you burn about 70 extra calories a day, that would amount to about 7 pounds in a year.
Talking about the general action of this wonderful weight loss ingredient, it would be best to state that green tea proves to be very useful in burning the fat in our body. Understanding the action of green tea involves first understanding the physiology of the human body. The food that we eat contains sugar and fats and is assimilated in the liver and small intestines in the form of triglycerides. Triglycerides pass into the blood stream and tissues and act as a valuable source of energy for carrying on various physical activities and to support life.
However the excess of tryglycerides turn into fat and you become obese. Green tea contains high amounts of polyphenols that activates the enzyme that dissolves the excess fats.
Next it becomes vital to realize that green tea contains powerful antioxidants like catechin polyphenols and epigallocatechin gallate that help in stimulating the metabolism. It is still more important to note that researchers opine that epigallocatechin gallate combines with the caffeine in the green tea to stimulate the central nervous system and releases fat into the blood stream that is used by the body.
Thermo genesis, the process of using fat by the body helps to release still more energy, helps shed water and body fat. The combined effect is more efficient than the use of caffeine alone and accelerates weight loss.
Again green tea helps you exercise longer meaning burning of more calories, increase of energy and building of muscle. This leads to the boost of your metabolism further. It is true that the catechin polyphenols found in green tea stimulates the use of fatty acids by liver and muscle cells. Subsequently this reduces the rate at which the carbohydrates are used. This naturally means you are able to exercise longer as you develop more endurance.
Advantages and limitations of green tea
. According to various studies, it is found that green tea used as an extract helps in increasing the energy used that means the metabolism rate increases by as much as 4% in a day. This boost in just 24 hours is only possible with the high concentrations of catechin polyphenols present in green tea that works to increase the level of fat oxidization and the velocity at which the body burns fat.
. Next green tea is found to reduce the rate of fat absorption and has greatly helped people to regulate the fluctuations of glucose in the body. This is also due to the catechins found in green tea. Catechins is instrumental in avoiding the rapid spikes of glucose after a meal. The prevention of these spikes also helps to lessen fat storage and absorption.
. Another research conducted on rats in the University of Chicago found that green tea helped to reduce appetite in rats and they lost about 21% of their weight. Probably this effect has also got to do with the quality of green tea to regulate the blood sugar. Once the blood sugar is regulated one would not be subject to the conditions of excess hunger and deprivation.
. It has also been found to be true that green tea is the solution if we wish to maintain a trim waist line and save calories on our morning cup of caffeine. It would be great to substitute green tea for regular double-cream, double-sugar standard or that mocha, dappa, frappucinno.
So drinking about 3 to 5 cups of green tea would help in weight loss. However drinking green tea for weight loss could have their set of limitations. Green tea is not an all comprehensive remedy to weight loss. We need to be balanced in our outlook for drinking green tea has to be combined with other things like a healthy low calories diet and exercise. This could only help to maintain weight loss.
Next caffeine is not healthy for those that have health problems like heart troubles, high blood pressure or stimulant sensitivities. The same applies to women that are pregnant or breastfeeding. Green tea extract could be very useful for those that cannot take caffeine in green tea. Most green tea extract contain decaffeinated green tea that aid weight loss without the ill-effects of caffeine. Those with health problems and sensitivities should make sure to consult your doctor before starting green tea for weight loss.
To conclude green tea does help in weight loss in different ways, with using a standardized green tea extract that contains a minimum of 90% polyphenols and 55% EGCG proving best.