Does Green Tea Help in Weight Loss?

Does Green Tea Help in weight loss?

Dr. Steve,

I saw a commercial for a green tea diet. Is this real or a waste of money?

Jeannie R.
San Mateo, CA

Jeannie,

Green tea is made from the dried leaves of Camellia sinensis, a perennial evergreen shrub. Green tea has a long history of use dating back approximately 5,000 years to China.

Green tea, black tea, and oolong tea are all derived from the same plant. Green tea can be drunk like any other tea.

If you do not like the taste you can purchase green tea extract. Many people are turning to inexpensive and natural green tea weight loss plans to help them in their overall life style program.

Green tea stimulates the body's thermogenesis process, which increases use of energy and oxidizes fat. Many compounds found in numerous plants have this similar effect.

Green tea does not increase the heart rate, and is therefore believed to be safer than diet pills such as ephedrine which also works by stimulating thermogenesis.

A lot of people who are overweight have or are at risk of developing hypertension and other cardiovascular problems, so the fact that green tea does not put pressure on the heart makes it a good choice. It means that you can gradually increase your exercise levels without increasing your risk of heart problems.

Green tea has the added benefit of containing powerful antioxidants that may be beneficial to your health in many ways, strengthening the immune system and protecting against disease.

Keep in mind that green tea does contain caffeine so you should cut out coffee and other forms of tea while you are taking it. Decaffeinated green tea is not recommended because the chemical processes that are used to remove the caffeine may destroy the beneficial properties of the plant.

Green tea is a simple, easy and inexpensive weight control aid that can easily be incorporated into any weight loss program. It is highly more preferable then coffee, sodas or sweetened juices.

The choice of tea or extract offers something for everybody. Natural and safe, green tea weight loss should be a feature in your program if you want to keep the weight off permanently.

There are three critical building blocks that must be stacked together to achieve weight loss: eating healthier and smaller portions (consuming fewer calories), increasing expenditure of energy through simple exercise (using up more calories) and having the mind set (mental discipline) to change your habits into a positive life program of health and vitality.