Many people fall into the list of diet-trenders. If this is you, then you know you've already been identified. This distinction applies to anyone who jumps on the latest diet bandwagon, giving one trend or fad diet after another a quick shot before coming up empty-handed. With many people slightly overweight or worse, and society putting such heavy pressure on how we look, it's easy to fall for the well-placed ads and high quality marketing speak designed to lure your attention.
Part of the problem lies in the substances that are being sold, many of which are not natural, while another part of the problem has to do with patience, and the realization that one must adopt a total plan of wellness, and not just a quick and easy diet method.
Along side these other potentially dangerous products sits green tea -- natural, age-old and a strong component to a total health and wellness program, including weight loss. Correctly touted by professional doctors, wellness specialists and Oprah alike, green tea and health benefits, including weight loss, are perfectly joined. The natural substance of green tea, when properly and consistently added into one's diet, can yield numerous positive results, not in the least of which is the potential for weight loss. So how does green tea function as a potential enhancement to one's diet?
The reality is that green tea aids the body in losing weight in a number of ways -- many of which have to do with its direct impact on the body's digestion. Green tea assists in clearing the digestive system while simultaneously increasing metabolism, naturally. Some research even shows that green tea removes unwanted carbohydrates and excess calories, which can also assist in weight loss.
Using Green Tea to Lose Weight
Using green tea as a means to total health, including weight loss and dieting, is simple, and the means are varied. You could simply start by increasing your daily intake, adding between 4 and 5 cups per day. For some, this isn't realistic and the cons out-weigh the pros of the situation (increased trips to the bathroom, lack of access to making tea at regular intervals throughout the day, the extra caffeine). But fear not -- there are other successful dietary means by which you might leverage the health benefits of green tea, while avoiding any other unwanted effects.
Green tea comes in capsule form, in addition to the standard liquid tea form, and can be the perfect way to increase daily intake while eliminating any of the practical side effects. Green tea extract functions as a powerful antioxidant that aids in total health for anyone, and is usually found along side multi-vitamins and mineral supplements in a health or drug store. The elements in green tea extract that function as antioxidants are called polyphenols, or substances of plant origin that occur many fruits, vegetables and in all green teas.
Teas (and polyphenols found in tea) have been shown in tests to act like scavengers of oxygen and nitrogen-free radicals. By doing so, these polyphenols protect cell membranes, proteins and one's DNA. The most important polyphenol isolated in green tea is called epigallocatechin (EGCG), which works to combat damage from the body that is a result of free radical damage, thereby promoting optimal health.
Combining green tea and all of its health benefits with regular exercise (minimum of thirty minutes per day), effective stress management and proper dieting can be the ideal solution for dieting needs.
Health Benefits of Drinking Green Tea
Counted among the various health benefits of green tea are such things as aiding digestion, improving eyesight and kidney function, increasing mental abilities, alleviating boredom and regulating or eradicating phlegm. More recently, there have been numerous studies wherein scientific proof now exists as to the potent capabilities of green tea to improve health and body function -- that includes a serious reduction in the risk of developing lung cancer, heart disease or stomach cancer. All that from just four to five cups of green tea per day.
Much of the positive health affects that stem from the inclusion of green tea into one's diet are the result of the flavonoid (or polyphenol) epicallocatechin gallate (as mentioned earlier -- ECGC), which has been shown to fight cancer, uniquely, at all of its various stages. Studies have shown that ECGC is potentially one hundred times as powerful as vitamin C and several times more powerful than E.
It is free radicals that are believed to be the main contributor to cell damage in the human body -- cell damage that can lead to illness, disease, infections, cancer and to aging in general. Free radicals are constantly being produced by the body, throughout all stages of the day and of one's life, as they are the result of the body's normal processes of creating energy and fighting off viruses, bacteria and other parasites. Further, pollution, toxins, stress, pesticides and other harmful substances expose the body to free radical damage.
Green tea, long since a component of Chinese wellness programs through every day consumption, has been found to aid in many things for the body, including headaches and even depression. More and more scientific research in recent years has been adding substance to the claims that green tea has serious benefits to overall health. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute conducted an epidemiological study as far back as 1994, in which it was noted that green tea consumption helped to reduce cancer risk by almost 60%.
Additionally, in a study conducted at Purdue University, researchers discovered a chemical compound in green tea that stops cancer cell growth. Other research has shown that green tea aids in balancing the ratio of cholesterol in the body, lowering levels in the process. So thus far, evidence exists to support that green tea can have a positive impact on cancer, cholesterol, heart disease, arthritis, infection and the immune system.
Using Green Tea to Lose Weight
Research also exists to support the idea that green tea can improve one's ability to lose weight. In 1999, a study was completed and the results were published out of the University of Geneva. It was noted in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that green tea and caffeine, in concert together, aided in an increase of calories burned.
Although green tea contains much less caffeine than coffee, nonetheless, it still contains caffeine, which can lead to a loss of sleep in some people. The alternative is to take the capsules, which can provide all of the positive benefits of green tea, without any drawbacks whatsoever.
The Factors That Set Green Tea Apart When It Comes to Health Benefits
As stated earlier, it is the catechin polyphenols (namely the EGCG) that is beneficial as a powerful antioxidant, taken into the body specifically when drinking green tea. Unlike other standard cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, ECGC has been found to kill cancer cells without breaking down or killing other healthy body tissue. Because ECGC can aid the body in ceasing to form blood clots, there is a direct relationship between green tea and the prevention of stroke and heart attacks.
Unlike other tea cousins also deriving from the Camellia sinensis plant such as oolong and black, green tea is differentiated in that it goes through a much different process before it is ready for consumption. Producers exclusively first steam green tea leaves, preventing the EGCG element from getting oxidized. Black tea (and oolong as well) is in contrast fermented, leading to the conversion of the polyphenol in various other compounds, none of which is as powerful in its ability to promote health as ECGC.
Green Tea and Weight Loss: A Brief History
During a portion of the Ching Dynasty (1736 - 1796 AD) in China, Emperor Chien-lung supposedly employed a disguise and ventured into the Chinese country unnoticed with two of his ministers. Because the Emperor's family line originated in the north, black and not green tea was his customary drink. During his trip into the countryside, he was offered green tea while traveling through the south-central portion of China, where green tea was more the norm. After first noting that the tea was without any taste, or so the lore has it, the Emperor later remarked that the tea was good. It was then that the king understood the taste benefits of green tea, and their subtle, slow release -- it was only after a bit of time passed that one could take in the flavor and appreciate its pleasantness. Shortly thereafter, green tea replaced black tea in the palace.
Beyond that, there are accounts of the existence of green tea that date as far back into recorded history as five thousand years, based on Chinese legends. These include accounts of the original taster of the green tea leaf deciding it was delicious, and adding water to it to make a tea. Other stories, mostly unsubstantiated, reference different men sitting with cups of hot water when some green tea leaves fell into the water, thereby creating green tea. Whether or not any of the ancient stories are true, green tea has been consumed in China for thousands of years, its medicinal properties and benefits to health being acknowledged during those years.
With the average consumer rapidly discovering the positive effects of green tea, demand is on the rise, and slowly but surely, more markets are including green tea on their shelves. Green tea and green tea extract as found in supplements are far too helpful to restoring the body's complete health to not include them in one's regular diet.
Matty Byloos writes and manages the Green Blog known as: Easy Ways to Go Green, as well as the Organic Food Blog: Organic Eating Daily
