Can green tea really help you lose weight? Thanks to its ingredients, green tea is a real health booster and helps you lose weight. This is what you need to consider when preparing it.
Green tea is often touted as a fat burner and is said to melt away your fat just by drinking it. That definitely sounds too good to be true, because unfortunately it’s not that simple. Studies have not yet been able to clearly prove that drinking green tea or taking green tea extracts alone can help you lose weight. Nevertheless, it makes absolute sense to drink green tea regularly or even daily in order to reach your desired weight quickly and in a healthy way.
Like all other types of tea, green tea contains no calories and can therefore help you lose weight. It is also a real health bomb: in addition to the health-promoting antioxidants, it contains numerous vitamins and minerals that can have a positive effect on your health.
Why is green tea so healthy?
According to studies, green tea has significant
- antioxidants
- anti-inflammatory
- antimicrobial
- anticarcinogenic
- antihypertensive
- neuroprotective
- cholesterol-lowering
- and thermogenic properties.
The fact that green tea is so healthy and can help you lose weight at the same time is mainly due to the polyphenols (secondary plant substances) it contains.
Countless research and studies suggest that tea and its bioactive, polyphenolic ingredients have numerous beneficial health effects, including the prevention of many diseases such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, stroke and obesity.
The so-called catechins, or more precisely the epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in green tea, have been particularly thoroughly researched. The antioxidant is found in the highest concentrations in green tea, but also in small amounts in black tea. Among other things, EGCG can inhibit the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates. In addition, a study by the Potsdam Institute of Nutritional Research found that the antioxidant reduces the amount of fat absorbed from food through the intestines – but so far only in mice.
1. Green tea stimulates the metabolism
Green tea also helps you lose weight by stimulating fat burning. The healthy bitter substances also suppress cravings. Green tea also increases your basal metabolic rate by stimulating heat production, also known as thermogenesis , in the body – this causes fat cells to melt.
2. Green tea keeps you awake and promotes concentration
You don’t like coffee, but you’re feeling the midday slump? Green tea also contains a lot of caffeine. However, the awakening effect is different to that of coffee, as the caffeine from the tea is only released gradually. The stimulating effect is therefore less intense than that of coffee, but lasts longer.
Studies also confirm that the caffeine in green tea improves attention and memory and even reduces anxiety.
Green tea also doesn’t make you as nervous and jittery as coffee. However, this only applies if the tea is left to brew for less than five minutes. This is the only way to activate a component of green tea, theophylline. If this substance is activated, your blood pressure stays more stable and you feel fitter.
3. Green tea protects you from cardiovascular diseases
If green (or black) tea is brewed for longer than five minutes, it has a blood pressure-lowering effect. Regular drinking of green tea therefore leads to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, as a study conducted in Japan found. In addition, the secondary plant substances seem to minimize deposits in the blood vessels, also known as arteriosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis leads to a narrowing of the vessels and increases the risk of a heart attack and a stroke.
Some studies also suggest that regular drinking of green tea could protect against cancer. However, the results are not clear and further research is lacking to investigate the phenomenon further.
4. Green tea contains many vitamins
Green tea contains many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B1, B2, B3, as well as potassium, calcium and vitamin E. It is also rich in beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A. While vitamin B1 and potassium are needed by nerve cells and neurotransmitters, vitamin B2 is responsible for energy production in the mitochondria by breaking down sugar and fats, which can then be used as cellular energy. Vitamin B3, on the other hand, regulates blood sugar levels.
5. Green tea in the fight against cancer
Green tea catechins are powerful bioactive substances and have been shown to have anti-cancer properties. By influencing important cellular processes, they prevent the development, growth and progression of cancer.
Several animal studies have shown that green tea therapy reduces the occurrence and growth of tumors in a number of organs, including the skin, lungs, liver, stomach, mammary gland and colon.
What should I pay attention to when buying?
Organic tea is generally of better quality than conventional tea and contains fewer pesticides. The most well-known types of green tea include Sencha, Bancha, Gyokuro and Matcha. Beginners can’t go wrong with Japanese Sencha or Chinese Lung Ching. Whole leaves from the tea shop or bought online have more flavor and are of better quality than tea in tea bags.
This organic Sencha tea, for example, impresses with its high-quality and intense taste. It is best to store tea at room temperature in closed containers.
How do you properly prepare green tea?
To ensure that the taste is not affected, there are a few things you should pay attention to when preparing the tea. The most important thing is the temperature of the water. If it is too hot, the tea will be bitter and the healthy nutrients of the green tea will be lost. 60 to 80 degrees Celsius is ideal, and you can achieve this with a tea kettle .
If your tea maker doesn’t have a built-in thermometer, you can let boiled water cool for 15 minutes before pouring the tea. Alternatively, fill your cup one-third with cold water and two-thirds with boiling water.
By the way: Green tea can be brewed more than once. Experiment with the brewing time and the number of infusions until you find the right one for your taste.
Conclusion: Green tea is not only healthy, but also delicious
Green tea contains tons of antioxidants that have a positive effect on your health. Regularly drinking green tea not only increases your basal metabolic rate and helps you lose weight, it even protects your heart. However, to prevent the tea from becoming bitter or losing its nutrients, you should only use water that is no hotter than 80 degrees Celsius.
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