Green Tea: An Effective Weight Loss Solution

Did you know that Green Tea is one of the most effective weight loss supplements that you can consume to help you lose weight?
According to recent studies, when combined with sensible lifestyle changes green tea can help dieters lose weight, burn fat, increase metabolic rate and suppress their appetites. Well, it is.
Unlike black tea which is highly processed and fermented, green tea is made by slightly steaming the freshly gathered leaves, which prevents them from becoming fermented or changing color. After steaming, the leaves are dried by lightly pan frying them in a wok, baking them in an oven or heating them with hot air until they are crispy. The resulting beverage is a greenish-yellow tea with a slightly astringent flavor.
More and more often you'll find extracts of green tea being included in a lot of popular weight loss products today.
One of the main reasons for this is because of one of green tea's chief ingredients. Polyphenols, which are responsible for the color of the leaves of some plants, are a group of substances found in green tea. These polyphenols benefit weight loss by helping the body to burn fat naturally by increasing body heat and energy expenditure.
Green tea also causes carbohydrates to be released slowly, preventing sharp increases in blood-insulin levels. This promotes the burning of fat.
Another of the main ingredients in green tea is antioxidants. Antioxidants are organic substances, like vitamins A, E and C which are thought to be effective in helping protect the body against the harmful effects of free radicals - which cause the destruction of living cells, cancer, stroke and heart disease.
One of the most extraordinary characteristics about green tea is that studies have shown it is about 200 times more potent an antioxidant than Vitamin A, Vitamin C, E or curcumin in some instances. Additionally, just one cup of green tea has more antioxidant effect than a serving of strawberries, spinach or carrots.
in 8 ounces of coffee. in 8 ounces of tea, compared to more than 100 mg. in 8 ounces of tea, compared to more than 100 mg.

in 8 ounces of tea, compared to more than 100 mg. of caffeine in 8 ounces of tea, compared to more than 100 mg. There are approximately 30 to 60 mg. Green tea contains less caffeine than coffee. Caffeine is another component in green tea which scientists think plays an important role in green tea's ability to help people lose weight.
Combined with Polyphenol compounds, caffeine in green tea acts as a stimulant to the body to help promote fat loss. In a recent study, participants taking green tea extract and still following normal diet experienced a significant increase in their energy expenditure.
The researchers concluded that participants using green tea extract had increased fat oxidation beyond what could be attributed to the caffeine they consumed.
This indicates that green tea may be an excellent alternative to many stimulant-based diet aids.
If helping people to lose weight was not enough, green tea provides additional health benefits far and beyond weight loss, including:
Protects against Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's
Fights cavities and helps stop tooth decay and gum disease
Prevents osteoporosis
Protects against ovarian cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer and prostate cancer
Lowers cholesterol
Helps the body to fight viruses
Controls high blood pressure
Normalizes healthy bacteria in the intestines
Helps prevent heart disease
Thus far, no harmful side effects have been found in drinking green tea or taking green tea extract capsules. This makes green tea one of the best health supplements available for weight loss and overall health.
Patricia has been interested in health and fitness since the early 70's and knows how to seperate hype from fact.

Green Tea: Help Or Hype?

Have you ever wondered: "Is it really worth my while to drink tea of the green variety?" Stick around and decide for yourself. I'm certain you've heard it, too. There's been lots of health-hype lately surrounding the benefits of green tea.
First: The Claims:
A rich source of anti-oxidants:
Green tea will help you bulk up on the anti-oxidant warriors that help to both lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease by controlling blood pressure. Free radical damage can cause everything from sun damage to hardening of the arteries. Anti-oxidants neutralize "free radicals" or unstable molecules in the body that can eventually become unfriendly and wreak havoc on the cells. What are anti-oxidants?
Cancer prevention:
New evidence suggests green tea may also help prevent prostate cancer, as well. The cancers studied and which have been recorded include: bladder, colon, esophagus, pancreas, rectal and stomach. Green tea has been shown to lower rates of cancer in Asian populations.
Help with arthritis:
Studies also suggest there is possible anti-inflammatory and arthritis preventing effects in green tea although, I'll admit, solid scientific evidence was difficult to come by. By simple suggestion, I'll give green tea an A for effort in the arthritis category.
Liver protection:
Green tea protects the liver by warding off toxins such as alcohol and cigarette smoke. Green tea has been proven to protect liver cells by stimulating the immune system.
Teeth protection:
Green tea is supposed to work against bacteria, protecting teeth from cavities. Green tea has been thought to promote oral health (although scientific proof was difficult to come by here, too).
Weight loss:
Green tea contains polyphenols (molecule compounds) that actually help the body to burn weight and regulate both blood sugar and insulin levels. Yes! Several sources I found claimed that green tea may actually help to stimulate weight loss. Here's another benefit that will raise many an eyebrow.
The Bad News
What's the bad news?
per 8 ounce cup. That's less than half the caffeine content of coffee which weighs in at 90 mg. It looks like there's only 30-60mg in 6-8 ounces of tea, however.

The only negative side effect I've found is the simple recorded cases of insomnia due to naturally occurring caffeine in green tea.
Other FAQ's About Green Tea:
How much green tea is enough to reap the benefits?
No one seems to be too sure about the answer to this question, either. Let's be realistic - most people could easily drink 3-4 cups of green tea daily. This is a good round number and one that I came up with based on its frequency in the research studied. A suggestion: why not try replacing your usual cup of coffee with a clean dose of health?
Where to get a good cup of tea?
Check out your local grocery for my favorite: Lipton. There's plenty of others, but I like the way Lipton aims to zip up green tea with variety. They even have a orange, passionfruit & jasmine flavor that's de-lish!
If drinking tea really isn't your thing, but you still want the benefits - no problem! Green tea is now available in capsule form, too. This could be as close as your local pharmacy. Check around.
In summation:
In this scientist's opinion, green tea is well worth your consideration. The simple speculation of benefits is enough to get excited about it. It's easy to digest, tastes good and, hey, if it helps me with my goal of wellness and illness prevention, I'll take ample tea time, any day!
Research for this article has been created through careful consideration of research and articles appearing on WebMD and though several working texts which include:
Balch, Phyllis A., CNC. Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing. New York: Penguin Putnam, 2004.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988. The New Age Herbalist. Mabey, Richard.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992. Herb Bible. Mindell, Earl, R.Ph., Ph.D.
Tierra, Michael L.Ac., O.M.D. The Way of Herbs. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
About The Author

Laura Turner is a natural health practitioner and author. She hosts
http://www.beauty-and-body.com
and publishes the bi-weekly New Body News and Wellness Letter, The Online Magazine Healthy People Read. (
http://www.new-body-news.com
) Subscribe for f.r.e.e. and receive her Special Report: "Take Charge of Your Health!"

Green Tea, or not to Green Tea?

Let me start again, I think it's great that Oprah is the communicator to the masses that she is, without her or her influence, we would surely be less informed and less enlightened than we currently are, I can admit this, but there are certain things that exist that should not necessarily require the direction of Oprah or her throng of guests to bring to light there-well there mere existence… Is it just me or… Wait! Wow!
Perricone and agree with most of the good doctors ‘discoveries'. By the way I do like and enjoy both Oprah and Dr. Perricone did not invent green tea either, but you'd never know it by the response evidenced by his appearance on the Oprah show. And I know that Dr.

How many centuries has this natural substance existed? Green Tea is one such discovery…now there I go; it is not a discovery, although it seems like the entire US population has just been introduced to the latest and the greatest discovery since the last big thing, exercise for weight management?
Well, anyway… Hmmm, there's still Martha Stewart, hey Martha have you tried green tea? And the truth be known, I have known about green tea for decades and have enjoyed its many benefits for as long, boy do I need Oprah to discover me… I wonder if Bob Green would mind.
But if I may chime in, regimented exercise and proper supportive nutrition, as well as adequate hydration should precede any and all wonder discoveries for health, wellbeing, vitality and lifestyle, then again…what do I know. So, overall, 10 pounds in six weeks should be the result. When you switch over to green tea, you will get your much needed caffeine, in addition to lowering insulin levels and, here is the doosey…body fat will diminish somewhat rapidly. Perricone explains, "Coffee has organic acids that raise your blood sugar, which affects insulin levels and insulin puts a lock on body fat.

As it turns out, coffee just, well what do I know and who the heck am I anyway, here's what the expert has to say… Dr.
All jokes aside, I am elated to see that Oprah has jumped on the bandwagon and is exposing the numerous health benefits associated with green tea, like; its ability to enhance immune system function, build stronger bones, and decrease the risk of cancer…just to name a few. Conversely, the biggest buzz is about green tea's ability to contribute to winning the battle of the bulge, pretty cool eh?
Incidentally, by increasing activity, decreasing your caloric intake and managing your hydration, with the addition of green tea…weight loss becomes a natural process. Not to mention, green tea also assists appetite suppression, helps to burn more daily calories and works to increase your body's energy production. Sure enough, studies on green tea continue to reach the same conclusions.
Stewart!!! Martha, Martha… Ms. Personally, I don't know of anyone who has the time to prepare and drink 10-15 cups of green tea each day, nor based on my less than ‘official' expert opinion should you really have to, but I am not an official expert, just a lifelong practitioner of balance and moderation in exercise and eating right… How do you become an expert anyway?

The only drawback with these studies experts say is…that a person would have to drink a couple of quarts of green tea daily to obtain these benefits, which would be next to impossible.
-To Your Absolute Health, Kurt Lee Hurley