Does Green Tea really help you to lose weight or is it another urban myth?
Paul: I have just been reading an article, Alex, on how green tea can help you lose weight? Is it true, or just one of those urban myths put out there to boost sales of certain products? The article said recent scientific research has backed up these claims and is now able to explain exactly how and why it can actually aid your weight loss! Is that true?
Alex: Actually yes, there have been studies recently which show that Green Tea can help with weight loss, and scientists appear to have explained how.
Paul: Tell me more!
Alex: Well, scientists have discovered that certain compounds found in green tea, such as caffeine and catechins, actually stimulate your metabolism to burn fat. The process is known as thermogenesis, and this means that when you drink a cup of green tea your body will start burn up calories.
Paul: So these natural chemicals found in green tea stimulate the body to burn off fat? That’s pretty amazing.
Alex: Yes and not only that, but it also helps your body to burn off the visceral fat in your body and not just the superficial stuff.
Paul: Visceral fat? Whats that?
Alex: That’s the fat that sits around your vital organs, such as your liver and spleen, in your abdomen, the stuff that really impacts on your health.
Paul: And you said there is research to back up these claims?
Alex: : Yes, In a recent study, scientists fed mice a diet containing green tea powder for 16 weeks. Visceral fat decreased by over 75% in those receiving green tea compared to the control group. So now we can see how green tea can help you to lose fat by boosting your body’s metabolism and targeting fat that is dangerous to our health.
Paul: I’ve heard green tea is also good for other stuff too.
Alex: That’s true. Green tea contains large amount of antioxidants. These are chemicals which help your body remove poisons and toxins from your system. But studies have also shown that these antioxidants also prevent your body from storing fat by inhibiting the enzyme which does this.
Paul: So that means means by drinking green tea not only does you body digest less fat but it is less able to store it in your body!
Alex: Exactly! And it doesn’t stop there. Scientists have also shown that green tea can significantly lower cholesterol. There was a study in Tokyo where overweight men drank one bottle of green tea a day. After just 12 weeks they all had significantly lower body weight, BMI, cholesterol and waist circumference, compared to another group of men who drank a different type of tea.
Paul: Wow, these scientists have really been putting green tea to the test…and it seems to have come out on top. So it seems the benefits of green tea are vast, but its ability to help you lose weight, reduce body fat, visceral fat and control bad cholesterol in the blood are already starting to be supported by scientific evidence.
Alex: Yes and not only that green tea is also inexpensive and readily available, making it a great way to boost your weight loss efforts.
