Green Tea Diet: Weight Loss And Other Health Benefits Of Green Tea

Overweight is one of biggest health problems in the US. Being overweight can lead to many health problems - diabetes, stroke, heart disease, arthritis, cancer, hypertension and fatigue. If you are overweight, then losing weight is great way to prevent some of the health problems. Green tea helps you lose weight and this is healthy weight loss. Besides the weight loss benefit, there are other health benefits of green tea.

There are many fad diets, weight loss pills, low carb diets. Most of the times this will help you lose weight fast but you gain weight after a certain period of time. Green tea weight loss is safe. Decaffeinated green tea does not have the health benefits as the regular one because the process of removing caffeine involves a chemical process and this destroys the health benefits.

Origins of Green tea

Historically, the Chinese have been using green tea as medicinal drink. The general consensus is that Chinese Emperor Shen Nung discovered green tea when he was boiling water and leaves from a tree fell into the pot! Green tea comes from the plant called Carmellia Sinensis.

The green tea has the health benefits because of the way it is processed. Green tea is steamed while processing and thus preserving its natural antioxidants. The black tea processing involves full oxidation and thus does not have the health benefits of the green tea. Both green tea and black tea still have the caffeine so if you are consuming this at night, then this will keep you awake. Caffeine can be harmful for the body since an excess of it can cause heart palpitations, hypertension, and insomnia. Because green tea diets contain only very low levels of caffeine, there is no danger of experiencing these side-effects.

Health Benefits of Green Tea

1. It prevents Cancer. Green tea contains catechin polyphenols especially epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG. This is a powerful antioxidant that is known to not only destroy cancer cells but also prevent cancer. The latest studies on green tea were able to prove that green tea diet can effectively protect the skin from damage due to ultraviolet light radiation. Green tea is also widely recognized as a substance that can protect against different types of cancers such as stomach cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, oral cancer, cancer of the colon, breast and cervical cancers.

2. EGCG reduces LDL cholesterol (the harmful cholesterol). This prevents the blood from forming clots, which is a leading cause of heart attacks! The study on green tea diets was conducted in China using 240 people with high cholesterol levels as volunteers. They were placed on a green tea diet of one capsule (equivalent to seven cups of green tea) or were given one placebo every day. After twelve weeks, those who were on a green tea diet dropped sixteen percent in their cholesterol levels.
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3. The weight loss (or fat loss) is because EGCG in green tea diet increases the 24-hour energy expenditure of the body. A research on green tea diets conducted by American and Swiss scientists in the University of Geneva showed an additional increase of four percent in the body's natural energy expenditure. People who were on a green tea diet were more likely to use up more fats than those not on a green tea diet.

4. Green tea can also be a potential cure to obesity. The catechin polyphenols present in green tea diets can delay the reaction of gastric and pancreatic lipases in the body. These enzymes convert calories in the body into fats. By delaying this enzymatic activity, green tea diets can prevent fat from being stored and hence prevent obesity.

As mentioned earlier, green tea contains caffeine that makes it a mild an appetite-suppressant. However, caffeine content in green tea diets is not as high as those found in other caffeine-based beverages, like coffee. In conclusion, green tea has many health benefits including weight loss and fat loss. This method is proven and is natural. There are variations of green diets like the green tea pills, green tea capsules, green tea patches etc. These make it convenient for you to carry them while traveling and could be more concentrated. If possible, try to consume green as a drink.