Green tea weight loss – does it really work? Many of us have probably heard that drinking green tea regularly will help you shed your unwanted pounds more easily. Thus, we now have more green tea products available in the supermarket, from bottled green tea to green tea cakes. The question is whether or not that claim is true. So, can drinking green tea and consuming food made from green tea really encourage your body to melt away your excess weight? Let’s find out.
How Green Tea that Helps with Weight Loss
Yes, green tea weight loss is definitely possible. That is because green tea contains flavonoids, a group of antioxidants that promote increased calorie burning. The most potent of these flavonoids is called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG.
EGCG works just like caffeine in coffee. It makes us more alert and awake, causes electrical signals to pass more quickly through our central nervous system, and boosts metabolism. The added calorie burn that results from consuming EGCG from green tea can lead to weight loss.
Aside from increased calorie burn, EGCG also helps in cleansing toxic buildup in the body. Cleansing the body of toxic buildup encourages the body’s organs to function at more optimal levels and flush out waste materials more efficiently. When the body’s natural ability to clean out waste properly is activated, weight loss often follows.
Choosing the Right Green Tea Products
Because more and more people are becoming interested in green tea weight loss, a lot of food manufacturers have jumped the bandwagon. Thus, there is now a huge influx of green tea-based products available in supermarkets and health food stores. You should know that not all foods that contain green tea are good for you. Some of them have a lot of sugar and have very little real green tea. This applies mostly to bottled green tea drinks you can buy from the grocery. You will not enjoy the benefits of green tea from such products.
If you want to experience green tea weight loss, you should go for loose tea leaves rather than the bottled stuff. Just put some of these leaves in freshly boiled water and let the tea steep for a while. Once your tea is ready, you can either drink it hot or allow it to cool for a while to make iced tea. You can flavor it with lemon, honey or brown sugar. If you don’t like loose tea leaves, you can go for packed tea bags instead, as long as these tea bags are 100% natural green tea.
Aiming for Balance in Your Weight Loss Efforts
Drinking green tea regularly can do wonders for your health and weight loss efforts. However, this is not enough. You cannot expect to lose weight just by drinking tea. You still have to observe a proper diet and exercise regimen. You sill also have to give up your unhealthy habits such as excessive consumption of alcohol and junk food, smoking, sitting in front of the TV all day, and other such habits.
Green tea weight loss is definitely possible, since green tea is rich in antioxidants. However, not all green tea products you’ll find in the supermarket will help you lose weight. You should also follow a proper diet, exercise regularly, and quit your unhealthy habits to make the most out of the weight loss powers of green tea.