How Much Weight Can You Lose Taking Green Tea?

Green tea usage has been proclaimed by many to be helpful in weight loss, lowering cholesterol, lessening symptoms of asthma and arthritis, minimizing hot flashes and sleep problems in menopausal women and helping our cardiovascular health. Obesity affects 63 percent of all American's according to the American Sports Data website. The average body mass index is above 25.0, which is deemed overweight. Consuming green tea on a daily basis may help in reducing this tendency toward obesity.

Functions

• According to the colonhealth.net website, there are many reasons why green tea enables us to lose weight. Green tea contains high levels of catechin polyphenols, which may help your body to burn calories faster by increasing the metabolic rate. Apparently, the metabolic rate increases by up to 4 percent over a 24-hour period.

  Green tea slows the rate of insulin going into our blood stream, reducing insulin levels spikes, which send the fat cells into storage. The lowered spikes help to reduce your appetite, thus reducing calories ingested.

  Coffee consumption is a way of life in America; not only do most people drink it daily, they load it with fat and calorie heavy additives such as cream, sugar and flavorings. Substituting green tea for your coffee each day will naturally lower your caloric intake.

  According to the article "Green Tea," on the nlm.nih.gov website, results of the use of GTE (green tea extract) and its ability to help you lose weight are mixed. There are a number of studies that indicate GTE may be useful, but further research is needed in this area.

  Most of the studies claim you need to consume at least three to five cups of green tea daily to have an effect on weight loss. This may be hard to maintain by some, as the tea is not very flavorful and not every person is acclimated to that much caffeine in a day.

Warnings

• Green tea can be healthy for you, as it contains high levels of disease-fighting antioxidants, but moderation is the key. Tea contains caffeine and people who are allergic to tannins in tea or caffeine should avoid it.

  Caffeine containing beverages should not be your only source of liquid throughout the day. Too much caffeine can cause insomnia, high blood pressure or a racing pulse. An overload of caffeine can aggravate existing stomach ulcers by increasing stomach acid.

  Pregnant women and nursing mothers should definitely consult their doctor regarding intake of caffeinated beverages, as it is easily transferred to your baby through breast milk.