Green tea is no doubt among the healthiest beverages on Earth. It carries antioxidants and different plant compounds that may be beneficial for your health.
Does green tea help you lose weight? Fortunately, multiple studies have shown that weight loss is among the numerous green tea benefits.
In this article, we will examine its benefits in terms of weight loss.
Green Tea Benefits: It is loaded with several fat loss-inducing compounds.
Tea leaves are loaded with several compounds that can help you lose fat.
For example, green tea harbors caffeine, which is a popular stimulant that has been shown in numerous studies to help improve exercise performance and promote fat burning.
Although green tea’s caffeine content is less than that of the coffee, it can still have a mild effect.
In addition, green tea is packed with potent antioxidants. In fact, drinking a cup of green tea has been shown in studies to increase the amount of antioxidants in your bloodstream.
In particular, green tea is loaded with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is a catechin that is known to help boost metabolism.
Green Tea Benefits: It may help mobilize fat from fat cells.
To burn fat, the body breaks it down first for energy through complex processes within the cells.
The active compounds in green tea have been suggested in animal studies to aid these processes by boosting the effects of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and other fat-burning hormones.
Additionally, the catechin EGCG, which is the main antioxidant in tea, may impede an enzyme that breaks down norepinephrine. This may increase norepinephrine levels and eventually promote fat breakdown.
Green Tea Benefits: It improves metabolic rate.
The cells in your body are constantly performing millions of functions even when you’re sitting down or asleep.
Taking green tea extract or EGCG supplements has been suggested in several studies to help burn more calories even when you are at rest.
For example, obese people taking green tea extract have been shown in one study to burn 183 more calories and lost 7.3 more pounds per day after three months as compared with those who did not take the extract.
Green Tea Benefits: It may boost the fat-burning effects of exercise.
Green tea extract has been suggested to increase fat burning, especially during workout. This is the very reason why most commercial weight loss and fat-burning supplements contain green tea.
In fact, men who took a supplement containing green tea extract pre-workout have been shown in one study to burn 17% more fat than those who didn’t.
In addition, tea catechins have also been found in an 8-week study to increase fat burning, both at rest and during exercise.
What’s more, numerous studies have confirmed these findings.
Green Tea Benefits: It suppresses appetite.
Green tea may help suppress appetite, which would theoretically lead to fewer calorie intake.
However, study results on the effects of green tea on appetite are mixed.
For example, green tea extracts or EGCG supplements have been suggested in some animal studies to reduce the amount of fat you absorb from foods. However, this finding has not been confirmed in humans.
Nevertheless, green tea may help increase calorie expenditure, which may boost fat burning and lead to weight loss.
Green Tea Benefits: It may help you get rid of abdominal fat.
Several studies have uncovered green tea’s weight loss effects, while some showed no effect at all—but keep in mind that not all fat is the same.
Subcutaneous fat is a normally harmless fat that lodges just under your skin. Visceral fat (also called belly fat), on the other hand, is a harmful fat surrounding the organs.
Excess visceral fat has been linked to insulin resistance and inflammation—both contribute to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other serious health conditions.
Although the weight loss effects are modest, several studies on green tea catechins have demonstrated a significant percentage of visceral fat loss.
It should be noted that as the harmful visceral fat is reduced, your risk of several major diseases also drops, thus leading to a healthier and longer life.
Other Green Tea Benefits: Reduced risk of certain diseases
Green tea benefits extend beyond weight loss. It contains several other natural compounds that may provide other health benefits.
For example, it is particularly rich in polyphenols, which are natural compounds that may cause reduced inflammation and decreased cancer risk.
What’s more, green tea has been shown in studies to improve insulin sensitivity and decrease blood sugar levels, thereby lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The Takeaway
Green tea extract or EGCG supplements may slightly boost metabolism and fat burning, which can then lead to modest weight loss―but don’t worry because modest weight loss could add up over time.
This effect may even be visible when combined with other effective weight loss strategies, such as cutting carbs, eating more protein and fiber, and having regular exercise.
Other than weight loss, green tea benefits may include reduced risk of cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
It is however important to note that most studies examined the effects of green tea extracts or supplements containing EGCG or any other green tea antioxidants.
Nevertheless, regular consumption of green tea may have minimal long-term benefits.
