Green tea, just like the acai berry and pomegranate, has been touted as perhaps the best weight loss product you can consume, but is it really a cure-all for weight gain? Is it any better than other drinks for controlling your weight loss?
Green tea comes from the same tea leaves–Camellia sinensis–as black tea and other kinds of teas. The difference is that green tea receives minimal oxidation during processing. It is rich in antioxidants such as polyphenols, especially catechins, as well as carotenoids, tocopherols, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), and other minerals.
This abundance of good-for-you compounds makes green tea a great drink for the health-minded individual. But does it live up to the weight loss claims?
Possible Benefits of Drinking Green Tea
Because of the rich mixture of healthy compounds green tea contains, it has become the darling of the diet set, a beverage that supposedly gives amazing health benefits and aids in weight loss.
Green tea has been reported to aid in the treatment or prevention of Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, cancer, and multiple sclerosis. It has also been touted as a way to combat free radicals in the body, and as a way to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and elevate levels of HDL (good) cholesterol in the bloodstream.
Some researchers also claim that drinking green tea can increase metabolic rates and burn extra calories. Because green tea contains less caffeine than coffee, it has also been used to wean people off of a coffee or soda-induced caffeine addiction. With all of these claims, its difficult to separate fact from fiction.
What Scientists Say
Of all the claims that have been made about the health benefits of drinking green tea, the Food and Drug Administration will only agree to one claim. The agencys official response is that there is very limited credible evidence for qualified health claims specifically for green tea and breast cancer and for green tea and prostate cancer, provided that the qualified claims are appropriately worded so as to not mislead consumers.”
A number of independent studies have proven some limited claims about the health benefits of consuming green tea. (For more information on the numerous scientific studies conducted on green tea, read through the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and other medical abstracts.)
As for weight loss, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study in its January, 2005 edition concluding that drinking green tea every day for 12 weeks reduced overall body fat. However, these claims have not been verified by the FDA.
The Bottom Line
Green tea does offer a potential host of benefits to tea drinkers, but is it really the best weight loss product? As you can probably imagine, there is no magic cure for weight loss, so green tea should not be used as a cure-all for obesity.
Because of its rich levels of minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants, however, it should be incorporated into a healthy diet program. Replacing sodas and juices with more health-giving beverages such as green tea is a great step forward on the road to getting fit and staying fit.
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