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Does Decaffeinated Green Tea Promote Weight Loss?

Green tea is an herbal remedy that has been used for centuries to promote general well-being and health. Consuming green tea in capsule form or in the form of a tea can prove beneficial to the body and useful in weight-loss endeavors. Both caffeinated and decaffeinated green tea beverages offer positive weight loss and health benefits, but decaffeinated beverages are healthier for you.

  1. Caffeinated Green Tea as a Metabolic Booster

    • The caffeine in green tea is derived from alkaloids in the herb, and caffeine as well as theophylline and theobromine offer stimulant effects on the body that can help increase your metabolic rate. A single 8-oz. cup of brewed green tea contains 30 to 50 g of caffeine. If you consume 3 cups of green tea a day, you could be consuming up to 150 g of caffeine, which is more caffeine that a single 8-oz. cup of coffee. Decaffeinated green tea will still contain theophylline and theobromine, which will work to stimulant your metabolism; thus, you can still derive the metabolic boosting effects from the herb when it is consumed without the excess caffeine. What's more, green tea contains polyphenols or catechins, which further intensify the metabolic boosting effects of this herb.

    Green Tea as a Diuretic

    • Green tea can be used as a natural diuretic to help eliminate any excess water weight that you might have. Consuming green tea can help encourage your body to excrete urine with more frequency. Along with water weight, you can also alleviate bloating and gas by consuming green tea. You can safely consume caffeinated or decaffeinated green tea to help in diminishing water weight, but the caffeinated variety proves more powerful as a body stimulant; the tea will contain three stimulant-acting alkaloids instead of two.

    Green Tea, Diabetes and Glucose Levels

    • Diabetes can cause an elevation in the amount of glucose in the blood; the elevation can lead to issues with extreme thirst and hunger. Green tea, both caffeinated and decaffeinated, has been successfully used to regulate glucose levels, to improve digestive processes and therefore help to diminish issues with the excessive thirst and hunger associated with diabetes. Since the body becomes more internally regulated via the consumption of green tea, this can help in preventing added weight gain and might even make weight maintenance easier for those with diabetes.

    The Bottom Line

    • Both caffeinated and decaffeinated green tea can encourage weight loss via diuretic effects and metabolic boosting effects. When possible, it is healthier to consume decaffeinated varieties of the tea, but the combined effect of caffeine and green tea has proven to have the strongest effect on the metabolic process. You can consume 2 to 3 cups of the tea each day for a total of 240 to 320 mg of polyphenols per day. You can also consume 100 to 750 mg of the herbal extract daily for metabolic boosting effects.

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