Anybody drinking green tea for weight loss?
 

I just started drinking it. Making your own is easy and comes out great if you've got an iced tea maker. I drink mine straight up with no additives whatsoever and it tastes very good and is very refreshing.

I've been reading a lot about how it helps to burn belly fat. I really don't know what's taken me so long to start drinking this amazing leaf. One study says that it's better than drinking just plain water. Amazing.

Anybody drinking it for weight loss?

I try to drink 6 cups a day -- 3 pots. When I am drinking it I am usually doing well with the weight loss, however I'm usually in more control of my diet and exercise as well. When they go off kilter the green tea seems to go with them. I also like the white tea and herbal Chai. Mary

Natalie, have you tried making your own? I tried the bottled kind, artificially sweetened (YUCK!) and couldn't even finish it it tasted so disgusting. It tasted like drinking chemicals. :eek:


Mary, well they do say it helps raise the metabolism as well.

I don't like the way it taste but I have made green sun tea and everyone liked it.

I go through phases where I drink different types of teas, but I have to say some of my best healthiest feeling days involved me drinking at least 3 cups of the stuff. IF you don't like the taste, add a squirt of lemon and a little honey and it's delicious.

That's a great tip! I personally don't mind the taste, but I think it still tastes a bit "grassy". I'm going to try the lemon and honey. :)

Have you tried lime? I'm wondering how it would taste with lime and honey. I've always got limes on hand but never lemons.

No I haven't, perhaps tonight I will since I'm stocked on limes right now :)

green tea
 

Yes its a true fact that drinking green tea helps a lot in weight loss. Green tea is having lots of pure ingredients which is really very much useful for our body which in turn leads to good diet and thus makes a fatty body to a slim one.

I had my first cup of green tea this evening, because my trainer keeps bugging me about it. It wasn't horrible, but it sure wasn't something I really wanted to drink. I used a Splenda packet on it, and that was much better.

Can anyone explain why it's supposed to be so good for you?

A co-worker recently convinced me to try a cup. Surprising, I don't hate it and I've never been a tea drinker. I've committed to two cups a day (no sweetener). Here's the wiki on it, all sorts of (purported) benefits. At the very least, it's more water w/no calories!

Green tea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Regards,
Michael

You can read about the benefits etc here:

Green Tea Weight Loss

Looks like some good info, thanks. And just to be clear, I'm not drinking green tea specifically to lose weight, though it looks like that is a potential side effect.

I'm more interested in it's other health benefits and I (rather grudgingly) admit that I kind of like the taste.

Regards,
Michael

Are you brewing your own? I brew my own using a Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Pot. It keeps the temperature low enough to steep, yet keeps the tea from becoming bitter (a common complaint).

I refuse to drink the ready made, bottled kind. They taste disgusting to me.

I just switched brands from Bigelow (organic) to Prince of Peace organic. It's a world of difference! The PoP tea is very delicate and light, not "grassy" nor bitter at all. For anyone who says they don't like green tea, they should try PoP tea. It is so mellow, there is really nothing not to like about it.

As for me, I started out drinking it because I heard it speeds up the metabolism and helps lose belly fat. But there are so many other benefits, now I'm sure I'll be drinking this forever...

:)

Check out Prince of Peace Organic Green Tea. I've reviewed it on Amazon. It really is only a little more flavorful than water. Very smooth, not bitter, and no "grassy" taste. I doubt you'll need to use any Splenda with this brand.

Real green tea is supposed to be very light and delicate tasting. Anything that tastes "grassy" is actually an inferior brand.

I now drink 2 quarts a day in place of water.

If you google reviews for this brand, you'll find a bunch of rave reviews on a health foods website.

I'll have to try some different brands, I just bought the .97 box of tea bags at Wally World, Celestial, perhaps? We have a hot water option in the water cooler at work that is hot enough for tea.

Regards,
Michael

Green Tea Tip
 

I love green tea now but didn't at the start, don't know if people do this but don't leave the bag in for too long. If left in for too long it is horrible, I just squeeze it a couple of times and it is grand. Green tea and cranberry is amazing by the way :)

Great tipe, misssmyth17. Yes, steeping for 3-5 minutes is all that any tea needs otherwise it can get bitter. The PoP tea I use now easily withstands the 5 minutes but the Bigelow does not.

Adding cranberry sounds like a great treat, I'll have to try it.

Creating a Custom Food for Green Tea
 

Here's how to create a custom food for green tea:

1) Search for 'Dasani'. This will bring up the water which has NO nutrient value. It doesn't even have "hidden" nutrients like Magnesium if you do a recalculate for say 12 bottles of water. Many times trace elements that appear to be 'zero' for a FitDay database food shows up when the quantity is increased.

The reason why you want to customize this product is because it is water, and after you modify it, it will then show up under the custom nutrient tracking category (for water).

Here's what you're custom nutrient tracking may look like. Notice the bottom category is water because I've selected to track my daily amounts:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4...omnutrient.png



Here's what you'll see when you search for "Dasani":

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/5387/dasani.png

2) Change the "bottle" to fluid ounces (fl oz, which is the top choice) and the quantity to 12. Now click "Customize This Food".

Now enter the following values for the green tea as seen in the picture below.

Basically there are only calories, sodium, potassium, and carbs. All small amounts, but the potassium can really add up if you're drinking many ounces per day.

Rename the product to Green Tea and then click "Create this Food".


http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/1795/greentea.png

Twinings
 

Twinings is good quality tea. My favorite green tea is with Jasmine flavor, one Splenda packet. Also if you have a Teavana store near you they have a great looseleaf Jasmine Oolong that is TO DIE.

If you absolutely cannot get past the taste, they sell Green Tea supplement tablets at most drug stores now.

I like my green tea mixed with peppermint tea and a sprinkle of cinnamon. This alleviates any bitterness, helps digestion and also boosts the metabolism. And its a very yummy combination.

I only brew it for less than a minute - it really doesn't need any longer than that.

I drink a couple cups a day, but for the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, not for weight loss (it does nothing for me there). Keeping inflammation down helps me work out more frequently without getting worn down.

It's proven to do a LOT
 

Green tea, one of the most popular beverages in Asian countries, has been regarded as a medicine and healthful beverage since ancient times. It was around 2700 BC when the legendary Chinese emperor, Shen Nung, discovered the detoxifying and health-maintaining effects of green tea. Since then it has been traditionally used for the prevention and treatment of a broad range of illnesses.

The earliest report that green tea has a weight loss promoting effect comes from the Chinese pharmacist Wang Ang (1615-1695) who observed that drinking tea for a long period of time can eliminate fat. Yet, it was not until 1995 when the systematic medical evaluation of green tea as anti-obesogenic agent began.

In the last 15 years, the health-promoting effects of green tea have been extensively investigated. Evidence from epidemiological and laboratory studies confirms traditional observations and suggests that green tea can protect against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

Obesity is a great public health burden costing the US more than $100 billion annually in medical spending. This is because obesity has increased at an alarming rate and is a risk factor for many chronic diseases. Obesity is the result of positive energy balance where energy intake is higher than energy expenditure. Weight loss requires negative energy balance. This can be achieved by either reducing energy intake or increasing energy expenditure.

How Does Green Tea Help You Lose Weight?

Green tea contains polyphenols, referred to as catechins, which have various physiological effects. Experiments have shown that tea catechins can suppress the excessive accumulation of body fat in humans.

An epidemiological study of 1103 Taiwanese adults found that tea drinkers, who consumed tea at least once per week for more than 10 years, had 20% lower body fat and 2% lower waist-to-hip ratio (slimmer waistline) compared to non-habitual tea drinkers [1]. A population study of 4280 Netherlanders found an inverse relationship between catechin consumption and Body Mass Index (BMI) over a 14-year period [2].

A number of studies have examined the effect of green tea consumption on body weight. In the majority of studies, participants who consumed a high-catechin green tea beverage for 12 weeks experienced a significant decrease in body weight, waist and hip circumference, body fat mass and LDL cholesterol. It was suggested that ingestion of green tea high in catechins can contribute to the prevention from and improvement of various lifestyle-related diseases, particularly obesity. The participants in these studies did not change their usual dietary intake or normal physical activity.

You Store Less Fat

The ability of our body to store fat depends on the size and number of its fat-storing cells, called adipocytes (fat cells). If the number of fat cells is low, the room available for fat storage is limited. Adipocytes are generated by pre-adipocytes through a process called adipogenesis.

Once adipocytes are generated by pre-adipocytes they proliferate to form more adipocytes (fat tissue) and increase our body’s storing capacity. Adipogenesis, the formation of fat tissue, is an ongoing process in our body. Fat cells are being created to replace those that die.

Cell studies have shown that green tea inhibits not only the proliferation of adipocytes but also their formation from pre-adipocytes (adipogenesis) [3]. It is speculated that people who consume green tea have fewer adipocytes and therefore a lower fat storing capacity.

You Spend More Energy

Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) is the amount of calories you spend in one day at rest. It is the energy you spend if for one day you do nothing but sleep. REE is also known as basic metabolism. Part of this energy is expended in the form of heat production—thermogenesis—as your body tries to keep its temperature constant. Some types of food, called thermogenic foods, have the ability to increase your body’s heat production, and thereby stimulate your basic metabolism.

A French study investigated whether daily administration of capsules containing green tea extract could stimulate thermogenesis and increase REE in humans [4]. In this study, 10 healthy men ingested green tea extract, caffeine or placebo along with their breakfast, lunch and dinner. Treatment with the green tea extract resulted in a significant 4% increase in REE, which was higher than that with both caffeine and placebo.

In a similar study, 31 men and women consumed 3 servings a day of a green tea beverage [5]. On the third day, REE had increased by 4-8%. This is equivalent to an extra 100 calories/day burned by basic metabolism. The study suggested that when consumed regularly as part of a healthy diet and exercise regime, green tea can provide benefits for weight control.

You Can Maintain Your Lower Weight

The effect of green tea on metabolism is particularly important for people who want to lose weight and maintain it. Weight reduction is associated with a decrease in metabolic rate or REE. This is because human metabolism depends on body weight. Lower weight usually means lower metabolism.

This decrease in metabolic rate during weight loss is responsible for the weight loss plateau that dieters encounter soon after they lose their first pounds. It also accounts for the difficulty in maintaining weight loss. By increasing the REE, green tea counteracts the decrease in metabolic rate during weight loss and leads to sustained weight reduction. This is supported by studies showing that habitual consumption of green tea aids weight maintenance following weight loss [6].

You Absorb Less Fat From Food

The fat content of the food we consume cannot be absorbed in the intestines unless it undergoes two processes:

1. Emulsification of lipids by bile salts. This is an indispensable process for lipid intestinal absorption because the intestines can absorb only water-soluble macronutrients. Lipids are water-insoluble until bile salts transform them into water-soluble particles called micelles (emulsified lipids).

2. Digestion of lipids by lipases. Lipids are broken down by certain enzymes called lipases which are secreted in our stomach and the small intestine.

Green tea and its catechins lower the intestinal absorption of lipids. In particular, EGCG, the most abundant and strongest bioactive catechin in green tea, blocks both the emulsification of lipids (formation of micelles) and the function of gastric lipase and pancreatic lipase, two key enzymes involved in fat digestion. This way, green tea inhibits the intestinal uptake of lipids and therefore limits the caloric intake of fatty foods. The effect of green tea on lipid digestion is manifested as increased fecal lipids [7].

You Create Less Fat

The food we eat consists of three main macronutrients: carbs, fats and proteins. When ingested, these polymeric macromolecules are broken into smaller building blocks in order to be absorbed in the intestines. Carbs are broken into sugars (glucose), fats into fatty acids and proteins into amino acids. Once these smaller molecules are absorbed, they are used for various biological processes. Our body takes what it can use and sends the rest into fat cells.

Fat cells can store only fat. Therefore, the non-used macronutrients must be transformed into fat to be stored. In fact, anything that exceeds what you burn in a day, will be transformed into fat. This fat creation process (lipogenesis) is carried out by lipogenic enzymes. Green tea has been shown to reduce the activity of lipogenic enzymes, thereby preventing the synthesis and storage of fats.

Conclusion

Human studies demonstrate that tea has beneficial effects on weight loss and prevention of obesity. The potential of green tea to prevent obesity can be better illustrated by the following example.

The average weight gain of the American population is about 2.2lb/year. This is because Americans consume on average 25 more calories than they burn in one day. Since green tea can add 100 calories/day to the daily resting energy expenditure, regular consumption of this ancient beverage can be sufficient to prevent weight gain in most of the US population.

This powerful effect of green tea on obesity is of great public health importance, since it can be achieved without drastic changes in the lifestyle of modern people. For this reason, regular green tea consumption is proposed as strategy for weight loss and weight maintenance.

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About The Author
Matthew Denos, PhD, is a scientist and natural health advocate who enjoys writing articles in layman's terms. His articles focus on research findings that relate to nutrition and fat loss. Matthew keeps up to date on research findings in the field of diet, weight loss and obesity treatment and believes that botanicals can be nature’s best weight loss programs. In his website, he reviews some of the top rated weight loss diets and offers a Medifast discount code and a coupon code for Bistro MD, two medically designed diet plans.

It's proven to do a LOT
 

References

1. Wu CH, Lu FH, Chang CS, Chang TC, Wang RH, Chang CJ. Relationship among habitual tea consumption, percent body fat, and body fat distribution. Obes Res. 2003;11:1088–95.
2. Hughes LA, Arts IC, Ambergen T, Brants HA, Dagnelie PC, Goldbohm RA, van den Brandt PA, Weijenberg MP. Higher dietary flavone, flavonol, and catechin intakes are associated with less of an increase in BMI over time in women: a longitudinal analysis from the Netherlands Cohort Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008;88:1341–52.
3. Kao, Y. H., Hippakka, R. A., Liao, S., Modulation of obesity by a green tea catechin.Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2000, 72, 1232–1241.
4. Dulloo AG, Duret C, Rohrer D, Girardier L, Mensi N, Fathi M, Chantre P, Vandermander J. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Dec;70(6):1040-5.Efficacy of a green tea extract rich in catechin polyphenols and caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in humans.
5. Rudelle S, Ferruzzi MG, Cristiani I, Moulin J, Macé K, Acheson KJ, Tappy L. Effect of a thermogenic beverage on 24-hour energy metabolism in humans. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 Feb;15(2):349-55.
6. Hursel R, Viechtbauer W, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. The effects of green tea on weight loss and weight maintenance: a meta-analysis. Int J Obes (Lond). 2009;33:956–61.
7. Juhel, C., Armand, M., Pafumi, Y., Rosier, C. et al. Green tea extract (AR25) inhibits lipolysis of triglycerides in gastric and duodenal medium in vitro. J. Nutr. Biochem. 2000, 11, 45–51

Well, not trying to be argumentative here, honestly. It's just that I happen to be in the biotech industry, and I interpret clinical data every day (for over 20 years). I do agree that there is a trend toward an effect on weight loss (separating out other beneficial effects here), but there have been no well controlled trials of a sufficient size to call the effect proven. The trials cited are anywhere from 10 to 50 or 60 patients, and on average show a difference of 4% for the ones that worked (meta analysis did not include ones that didn't work, which is not valid), and that's just no where near enough to be be proof. You need several hundred, or even thousands of patients for definitive proof. You can check out the clinical trials for several obesity products that some biotechs are trying to develop (Qnexa, Contrave, Lorcaserin). These companies have done extremely well monitored trials in thousands of patients to try to prove an effect, and that's what needs to be done.

I've reviewed all the studies you cited as well as many others, and the effect is marginal at best, and within error bars, or negative. Below is the best controlled study I've found, and contrary to the author's conclusion, a P value greater than 0.05 is not significant (the study P value is 0.079), so I don't know why he says it is, that's just not scientifically valid. The author even says at the end that further study is warranted (and needed, and I agree).

Green tea catechins linked to weight loss: Study

With all that said, again, I don't want to rain on a parade, and many of the other positive effects of green tea, such as anti-oxidant effects, have been proven to reduce inflammation and other benefits, so I drink the stuff for sure and believe in it's value strongly.

Just keeping an eye toward accuracy in science here, particularly given the amount of anti-obesity information we are barraged with on a consistent basis.

Cheers

Thanks, interesting perspective
 

Thanks Thaddeusrex!

You've got an interesting perspective and obviously are qualified to comment on this subject. Who knows, right?

I will say that for sure it's helped me. I've stopped drinking it for a week and my weight loss slows. I start drinking it a lot and my weight loss ramps up again. This is as controlled as I can get, tracking my meals and hitting the same numbers over the course of the test trial period.

But I'm not arguing with you, I posted the article above not so much in response to you, but the fact that I came across this article just this morning and I think the article as well as the website is really fantastic.

Anyway, like I said, I enjoyed reading your post and your perspective on it. :)

Thank you Vito for a great topic!

BTW, I've got high hopes for the obesity drug I mentioned Qnexa by the company Vivus. They have outstanding 2 year weight loss data at 14%! That's truly a huge number when you factor in all the folks that didn't follow the protocol. They're up for FDA approval next April, I'm crossing my fingers for everyone that suffers from this epidemic.

Using a Keurig(?) machine, just bought some cups of green tea to try. Anyone have any thoughts about this quick brew machine and what non-sugar sweetener to use, if any?

Well, if you need to sweeten it (I like mine unsweetened) you may want to try Stevia. It's extremely sweet so you won't need much.

I've read the best tasting brands (without aftertaste) are "Stevia In The Raw", "Truvia", and "SweetLeaf". I use In The Raw and am very pleased with it, both for hot and cold regular tea. I use just one packet in 32 ounces of black iced tea. Using 2 packets was too much, so like I said, this stuff is really sweet.

We have a Keurig at work. I put a teabag into the pod hole and hit the brew button. Works great, no adapters or expensive K cups needed ($12 for 18 cups of tea, indeed!).

Regards,
Michael

PS I don't add pollutants to either coffee or tea so I can't be of much help there. :D

Being a Brit, I already have to drink my own weight in what we refer to as "normal tea" each day, leaving no room for green tea drinking. I take it in capsule form. Proper scientific evidence seems to be slim but it's pretty cheap and a lot of people here swear by it. If you don't like the taste, capsules might be worth a go.

I know this sounds like a stupid question, but do they mean calories or kilocalories? I just remember that thing that went round the internet about drinking iced water to lose weight a few years ago...

Back of an envelope: 70kcal per day would amount to ~25lb of fat per year (1lb of fat stores ~3500kcal), which seems way too much. 70 cal a day would be nothing (~0.12 oz of fat per year).

If you have a link to the study it'd be interesting to read it & see what they did & what they found.

I've read it's about 70 calories a day maximum as well. I think this is for the recommended 2-4 cups of green tea per day.

Not sure how you arrive at only .12 oz. lost per year, but

70 cal X 365 days = 25550 calories. 25550/3500 calories per pound = 7.3 pounds.

So, conservatively speaking, I think the 3-5 pounds a year is pretty much reasonable.

Whoops, yeah, I messed that up, didn't I? You're right, obviously. :o

That would only be if it was 70cals ("little calories"), ie 0.07kcals. The question of which units of measurement were used only came up because the kcals number looked unfeasibly large. Which it was, cos it was wrong...

I'll get back in my box now.

Ah heck, man, to err is to be human. I happen to be human as well, most of the time. :D

BTW, your "Brit" regular tea also has catechins in it, just not as much as green tea. The fermenting process of black tea removes some of these essential fat burning nutrients.

Green Tea in Weight Loss
 

Green tea can help you lose some pounds, but you must be patient :p I love enjoying a cup of green tea and do not expect much about weight loss miracles.

Green tea
 

The thing with green tea is that the water should not be too high a temperature, its best to leave it to cool off a bit and then put the tea in. I use loose leaves of biological Oolong tea, put it in a thermos flask and drink it during the day.

I'm not expecting any miracles here but substituting cola for plain green tea must have its benefits :)

Quercetin
 

I have been taking green tea extract capsules plus drinking the tea and can't say I noticed any difference. However, I started thinking maybe its not safe to be consuming green tea anymore as there are reports coming out about food products from Japan having radioactivity in them mostly Cesium because of the nuclear disaster they had. I think all green tea is grown in Japan.

Prince of Peace green tea, my favorite brand, comes from China, so this brand is an option. As far as I know green tea comes from China but this is easily looked up by googling.

But it's a good point you made about not buying products from Japan because of the fallout!

Actually my research shows that green tea originated in China but now is more commercially grown in Japan especially the cheaper varieties. Prince of Peace is really cheap so I while I enjoy the taste I'm not buying another box of it. Prince of Peace box says its "made in China" that means the tea bags are assembled there...that in no way says the tea is grown there. Thing is there is no way you can guarantee where the tea was grown since there are already cover ups going on. They have been trying to keep quiet how Meiji keeps being busted for radioactive products. They make many of the popular biscuit type Japanese snacks with chocolate and strawberry cream...and they are finding the milk from Japan contains cesium because the cows are eating irradiated grass. The fall out area encompasses a huge area now. After doing a lot of reading I decided to quit purchasing any Asian food products no matter how much I like them and green tea is next to go. Its a foolish cancer risk especially when green tea is not the "magic pill" for weight loss as everyone thinks there is some magic pill out there.

Interestingly, I emailed Lipton to ask them where they get the green tea and after many days they finally replied that I would have to call them to get the answer. Any other company you email them a question and they reply with an answer. So to me this seems suspicious especially since they proudly proclaim on their website their black teas come from Africa, but they don't say where their green tea comes from. My degree was in hazardous waste, so I'm really leery of stuff like this.