Green tea weight loss? Green tea has been touted as one of the miracle methods to lose weight without any effort. You just drink 3-5 cups of green tea and off the pounds fall …, or not so? Is there some truth in green tea aiding weight loss or is this just another fad diet? Well, to tell the truth, both sides have some valid points. Green tea is not the magic bullet if you were looking for that, but the good news is that science does support the theory that green tea might be helpful to lose weight to a certain degree.

Facts on green tea weight loss

There seems to be a general consensus that if you drink 3-5 cups of green tea, this will stimulate your body’s thermogenesis, which is the body’s heat production through a higher metabolism. Now thit first sounds good, you drink some tea and the body starts to burn more calories. However, the effect is restricted to an increase of 2-4% which works out to about 40 – 80 calories per day. Now, that doesn’t really cover the extra chocolate bar or donut that we are having daily, but still it can add up over time. As everything that you turn into a habit, the long term effect can be quite impressive. You could lose about 6-8 pounds over the course of a year. That does not sound like fast weight loss, and as single strategy it might not even balance the additional weight gain that occurs through overeating during that time, but if you add another 3 or 4 such little habits, it starts to look like something!

How does green tea promote weight loss

Scientists have found that drinking green tea will increase the heat production of your body, also called thermogenesis. This effect was first thought to be due to the caffeine content of green tea as caffeine is known for this effect. However, the caffeine amount in green tea has a bigger effect on the extra calories burned than the same amount of pure caffeine. This suggests that there are more active ingredients in green tea, and catechins are thought to work synergistically together with the caffeine. This is especially important for people who are sensitive to caffeine as green tea is the lower caffeine option.

Catechins responsible for weight loss

Catechins found in green tea might according to scientists be the reason for the weight loss that people do experience when drinking tea for a longer period of time. A 12 week study could confirm weight loss in people who drank catechin rich tea versus a control group having tea low in catechins. The exact mechanism has not yet been fully investigated, but the effects of green tea on blood sugar and it’s property to inhibit glucose uptake into the fat cells seem to influence the body’s fat depots confirming an old Chinese proverb saying: “The who drinks green tea will stay slim”.

Green tea influences blood sugar and fat metabolism

On the other side, there are substances in green tea which seems to slow down the uptake of glucose into the blood thus preventing insulin spikes and reducing cravings. Now, that does not mean that green tea is an appetite suppressant, but rather the biochemical reason for cravings like a blood sugar spike, is less intense leading to less extra calorie intake through snacking or binge eating. Having that said, green tea did reduce the appetite in mice and consequently reduced the calorie intake considerably resulting in significant weight loss. However, the same effect in humans could only be achieved by green tea injection.

Green tea increases endurance

Another beneficial fact about green tea is that it increases endurance. So if you are doing lots of exercise to lose weight, this might be of help as it has been reported that exercise plus green tea burns more calories than only the exercise itself, at least in mice …

Conclusions on green tea weight loss:

Green tea is not the magic bullet of weight loss that melts your fat depots while you can go on having chocolate cake. Universal laws are still in place and to lose weight you still need to eat less than you burn.

Nevertheless, a few good cups of tea per day make you feel full and satiated and can keep cravings in check. So, don’t expect wonders, but have your tea nevertheless, it is the healthier option to coffee either way!