Green tea for weight loss - the science
Whether you're intending to start on an extensive exercise and diet regime or you just need to shake a few pounds - it's likely you're looking to find quick and easy ways to speed up the process! This is where drinking green tea for weight loss can help. Not only is it proven to help people shift pesky fat deposits, it's a simple addition to your daily routine. Here are just some of the facts regarding the health benefits of green tea - along with a bit of the science to go with it.
Reducing fat
While you may think of your love handles and other wobbly bits as 'fat', you're actually referring to triglycerides, which - when being useful - shoot around the body in the bloodstream providing energy where you need it. Unfortunately, if you're getting too many (by eating too much) they are transformed into fat and stored for later. Green tea is thought to prevent this from happening through its high level of polyphenols, which are chemicals that trigger an enzyme that dissolves excess triglyceride - meaning a regular cuppa could allow you an extra bar of chocolate every now and again!
Giving your metabolism a boost
Not only is tea good at preventing fat forming in the first place, it can kick-start your metabolism - making it easier to lose weight once it's already there. Green tea contains potent antioxidants that have a number of different uses, but for weight loss it's epigallocatechin gallate - or the much easier to remember EGCG - that will benefit you. Along with the caffeine found in most teas, EGCG in green tea stimulates the central nervous system, encouraging the body to release fat into the bloodstream where it can be burnt off as fuel - otherwise known as thermogenesis.