Green Tea as a Fat Blocker, Appetite Suppressant, and Metabo

alasin1derland

I don't have an answer but i do have a question. I had to stop drinking coffee because of the caffeine. I started drinking green tea to satisfy my drinking a hot mug of something habit. I thought there was no caffeine in green tea. Do I have to look specifically for a no caffeine label?

julianpoutram

I just like it! Whenever I have that annoying sweet craving, like it's almost a taste in your mouth that you can't get rid of until you eat some sugar? If I drink green tea that usually helps get rid of it too!

concordancia

Whether or not it has any effect, the cited article is bogus from the first sentence. The journal publishes research, it does not in and of itself make claims.

MaggieSporleder

I just like green tea. It helps me stop from sucking down waaaay to much Diet Mt Dew in a day. I go thru a 3 qt pitcher of green tea ice tea a day. (at least I try to)

Cr01502

I don't have an answer but i do have a question. I had to stop drinking coffee because of the caffeine. I started drinking green tea to satisfy my drinking a hot mug of something habit. I thought there was no caffeine in green tea. Do I have to look specifically for a no caffeine label?

Yes.

Green tea has caffeine in it naturally. Less than coffee but it's still there.

haroon_awan

I think one of the main studies on green tea showed that sufficient amounts (can't remember how much!) helped burn about 50 calories a day. The supplement companies then took this and sold green tea extract as a "fat burner". Which they are completely entitled to do since, very crudely, the way to burn fat is to eat at a caloric deficit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL8F0BQ8GNQ

But have a read of if you want: http://monstersupplements.com/resource/2011/10/the-power-of-green-tea/

Astacia74

"Some researchers speculate that substances in green tea known as polyphenols, specifically the catechins, are responsible for the herb's fat-burning effect. "

Note the word "speculate"... If you like green tea, drink it but I wouldn't count on any miraculous weight loss from it.

jgollnick

I have heard a lot of case studies about green tea increasing metabolism. I have been taking green tea extract (2 capsules a day). There have been many weeks where acompanied with 1200 to 1600 calories/day and 30 minutes of exercise 5 days/week i have had a couple weeks where I lost close to 6 lbs. Not bad right!

3dogsrunning

You do realize that if you burn 2000 calories a day, the 4% increase in your metabolism works out to only 80 extra calories burned a day? Is that enough to make a difference in your weigt loss? Probably not.

I think this bears repeating. Even if the claims are true...

SanteMulberry

You do realize that if you burn 2000 calories a day, the 4% increase in your metabolism works out to only 80 extra calories burned a day? Is that enough to make a difference in your weigt loss? Probably not.

It won't produce enough of a deficit to make a difference that you can immediately see but between the metabolism boost and the shunting of calories to muscle (and other lean tissue) growth, it will certainly help with maintenance of weight loss, especially with the appetite suppression that comes with it. Plus, there are so many beneficial compounds in it that it is well worth investigating. I drink it with lemon juice and sage added (also many beneficial effects---among them, alertness without the jitters that caffeine produces).

missmegan831

I too cannot say whether or not its helped me with weight loss, but Green Tea iced is fantastic, refreshing and a great substitute for boring water ..

wikitbikit

I like green tea, therefore I drink it.

As an aside, I think the "I drink it all the time and it doesn't do that for me!" comments are funny-- If you're doing something "all the time," how do you know it's not having a specified effect on you? You have no control sample to base it against. Maybe you would be hungrier or weigh more if you didn't drink it all the time.

^^^ That is not me picking on anyone, no need to be defensive, it's just something I find funny here, there, everywhere I hear it. My daughter says it ... well, all the time, hehe.

dobenjam

drink about 6 cups of green tea a day (i re-steep the same 2 teaspoons all day). Not for any weight loss benefits, but because I love it. It does work as an appetite suppressant and I feel GREAT when I drink it. But it isn't just any green tea that helps me. I'll drink all kinds but I get the benefits from a very specific and rather expensive one from Teavana. I'll link to it below. It makes me more focused and I just feel great in general. My wife says it's "like crack" but neither of us know what that is really like, but we get tons of energy and not the jittery feeling you get from caffeine. I can tell a huge difference when I don't drink it. Not a "withdraw symptom" but just a subtle "I don't feel as good as I did yesterday" type deal.

I drink it without sugar, but sometimes I'll add lemon and that is great. I've also heard that lemon helps the tea release even more antioxidants.

http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/green-teas/p/gyokuro-imperial-green-tea

perkypolly

Green tea antioxidants are good, as in all food high in antioxidants i.e. raspberries, blueberries etc. these food groups will naturally cleanse the system and give an over all healthy wellbeing feeling. but no need to buy special brands, anything from these food groups if used regularly will help. Now for weight loss the only magic way is eat less calories within healthy limits and exercise. You can buy into many products that claim to be the next big thing in weight loss but its more a money loss vicious circle. The buck stops with us each individual, and how committed we are. I have tried many many diets pills and potions to come to this conclusion.

dobenjam

oops

MinMin97

I don't have an answer but i do have a question. I had to stop drinking coffee because of the caffeine. I started drinking green tea to satisfy my drinking a hot mug of something habit. I thought there was no caffeine in green tea. Do I have to look specifically for a no caffeine label?

Yes.

Green tea has caffeine in it naturally. Less than coffee but it's still there.

Yes, that's right. Also my understanding is that caffeine is actually a group of chemicals....there's one kind of caffeine in coffee, another kind in green tea. And even though green/black teas come from the same plant (camelia senensis), the method of drying/fementing to create different black tea varieties, also produces different caffeine chemicals. FYI lol. No seriously, this is why, I think, I can drink black tea and have one kind of energy.....then drink green tea, and have another kind of energy (can't shut my brain down at night).

SanteMulberry

Not sure, but found one I like so have incorporated it into my lifestyle. Trying to use it for anti-inflammatory purposes right now. I'd assume that like with most things it's not an overnight thing so consistent consumption is key for benefits.

Yes, it does possess anti-inflammatory properties---that is one of the reasons I drink it--it inhibits the (COX) -2 enzyme. The more I drink of it, the greater the affect. Since inflammation is involved in virtually every chronic disease, it is a good bet on that score alone. The EGCG that it contains is a near miracle of a substance: Here is an article that details its anti-cardiovascular disease and anti-cancer properties (among them, inhibition of angiogenesis and thus "starving" cancer cells--- verified by the medical researchers mentioned in the article). http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=146 Since we are about much more than weight loss, but are, in fact, about health--green tea gets a thumbs up!

alasin1derland

Yes.

Green tea has caffeine in it naturally. Less than coffee but it's still there.

ty, I just went and read my 4 o'clock tea label and it does say caffeine.

SanteMulberry

I don't have an answer but i do have a question. I had to stop drinking coffee because of the caffeine. I started drinking green tea to satisfy my drinking a hot mug of something habit. I thought there was no caffeine in green tea. Do I have to look specifically for a no caffeine label?

Yes.

Green tea has caffeine in it naturally. Less than coffee but it's still there.

Yes, that's right. Also my understanding is that caffeine is actually a group of chemicals....there's one kind of caffeine in coffee, another kind in green tea. And even though green/black teas come from the same plant (camelia senensis), the method of drying/fementing to create different black tea varieties, also produces different caffeine chemicals. FYI lol. No seriously, this is why, I think, I can drink black tea and have one kind of energy.....then drink green tea, and have another kind of energy (can't shut my brain down at night).

If I drink regular coffee at night---I have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. But I have none of that effect with green tea. There is a substance in green tea (EGCG) that binds the caffeine (in hot water) and renders it harmless in terms of CNS stimulation. There is another substance called theanine which promotes a calm alertness---EEG studies have confirmed this.

MinMin97

oops:)

SanteMulberry

drink about 6 cups of green tea a day (i re-steep the same 2 teaspoons all day). Not for any weight loss benefits, but because I love it. It does work as an appetite suppressant and I feel GREAT when I drink it. But it isn't just any green tea that helps me. I'll drink all kinds but I get the benefits from a very specific and rather expensive one from Teavana. I'll link to it below. It makes me more focused and I just feel great in general. My wife says it's "like crack" but neither of us know what that is really like, but we get tons of energy and not the jittery feeling you get from caffeine. I can tell a huge difference when I don't drink it. Not a "withdraw symptom" but just a subtle "I don't feel as good as I did yesterday" type deal.

I drink it without sugar, but sometimes I'll add lemon and that is great. I've also heard that lemon helps the tea release even more antioxidants.

http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/green-teas/p/gyokuro-imperial-green-tea

" ...I've also heard that lemon helps the tea release even more antioxidants..." Yep. (And it makes it much more interesting to drink---green tea tends to be pretty bland.)

alasin1derland

I don't have an answer but i do have a question. I had to stop drinking coffee because of the caffeine. I started drinking green tea to satisfy my drinking a hot mug of something habit. I thought there was no caffeine in green tea. Do I have to look specifically for a no caffeine label?

Yes.

Green tea has caffeine in it naturally. Less than coffee but it's still there.

Yes, that's right. Also my understanding is that caffeine is actually a group of chemicals....there's one kind of caffeine in coffee, another kind in green tea. And even though green/black teas come from the same plant (camelia senensis), the method of drying/fementing to create different black tea varieties, also produces different caffeine chemicals. FYI lol. No seriously, this is why, I think, I can drink black tea and have one kind of energy.....then drink green tea, and have another kind of energy (can't shut my brain down at night).

If I drink regular coffee at night---I have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. But I have none of that effect with green tea. There is a substance in green tea (EGCG) that binds the caffeine (in hot water) and renders it harmless in terms of CNS stimulation. There is another substance called theanine which promotes a calm alertness---EEG studies have confirmed this.

very interesting