Over the years, green tea has been touted for many different health benefits including being an amazing antioxidant and a weight loss supplement. However, as with anything, you first need to know all of the pertinent information before making a decision on whether you’re going to use green tea for weight loss.
The first important thing to know is that green tea is not actually an appetite suppressant. Although some unscrupulous companies might make this claim, studies have shown that this is actually a false notion. However, green tea is of great assistance in helping people to exercise for longer periods of time because it increases endurance levels. This means that people who regularly drink green tea as well is exercising will have more burned fat than someone who diets and exercises without drinking green tea.
So what does green tea actually do for weight loss? For one thing, green tea increases metabolism. The main ingredients that cause green tea to be such a great thing for weight loss are caffeine and EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate). By increasing your metabolism, you will be able to burn more fat. Everything you do, including sitting on the sofa watching a television program, will still allow you to burn fat because your metabolism will be higher.
It is also said that green tea can help block the conversion of energy into fat as well as help your body to absorb less dietary fat. Some people report that green tea helps them to regulate their blood sugar levels and reduce food cravings.
Although drinking green tea is not an appetite suppressant, a study at the University of Chicago found that rats ate less food only when they were injected with a green tea extract but not when they actually drink the tea. That is why it’s misleading to say that green tea is an appetite suppressant because in order for that to work you have to drink green tea constantly or get the extract at much higher levels than what’s available on the market. Some supplements have chromium in them as well as green tea. These high levels of chromium are what makes people feel less hungry, not the green tea itself.
If you want to use green tea for weight loss, keep in mind that you still need to exercise. Researchers have found that mice who exercise and drink green tea lost 89% more weight than their counterparts. They also burned more fat and energy even at rest.
