Photo by Tom Sharrow/SoNourished.com

When it comes to seemingly “magical” weight loss fads, no product or food will ever beat the hype that has been built up around the illustrious green tea. The once humble hot beverage has been recently touted as a weight-loss and health superstar, with claims ranging from faster weight loss, an increased metabolism, and even the prevention of certain types of cancers. But are these claims based in science, or just fiction? Read on to learn the truth about green tea and how much it can really help you in your weight-loss journey.

Green tea and your metabolism

One of the biggest benefits of green tea when it comes to weight-loss is the tea's high level of potent antioxidants called catechins. One of the catechins in green tea is EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate), which has been found to boost the speed at which calories are burned in the body.1 Green tea also contains caffeine (though much less than the average cup of coffee), a substance which has been found to aid fat burning and improve the calories burned when exercising.2

Green tea and your fat intake

Though anecdotal accounts claim that green tea has the potential to act as an appetite suppressant, studies on this property have been largely inconclusive.3 However, EGCG has been found to reduce the amount of fat absorbed from food, though conclusive studies have only been conducted on animals.4 While it may be possible that green tea is able to affect the “calories in” portion of the weight loss equation, current research suggests that the main benefits of green tea lies in the “calories out” portion.

Green tea and resting calorie burn

Whether you're walking, running, lifting weights, sleeping, or lounging on the couch watching television, your body is always burning calories to keep you alive. Some studies have shown that green tea has the potential to boost the number of calories that you burn, even when resting. However, it's important to note that these changes in calorie burn are relatively small, and most studies found that taking green tea supplements has the potential to increase calorie burn by about 3-4 percent of total calorie intake per day.5

Drinking green tea or taking green tea supplements may be particularly beneficial for individuals who are severely overweight or obese because of this. In one study that followed 60 obese participants, taking green tea extract allowed the subjects to burn an average of 183 extra calories per day. This extra calorie burn caused participants to lose an average of 7.3 pounds over the course of three months.6

The bottom line? While research supports the idea that green tea can be an asset when it comes to losing weight, it's not the fat-burning miracle product that some websites make it out to be. You'll still need to be living a healthy lifestyle or following a weight-loss focused diet like the ketogenic diet to see the pounds fall off the scale. However, if you enjoy the taste of green tea, evidence shows that consuming a few cups might actually be helpful in achieving your weight-loss goals. Just remember to skip the honey and sugar!

NUTRITIONAL DISCLAIMER

The content on this website should not be taken as medical advice and you should ALWAYS consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. We provide nutritional data for our recipes as a courtesy to our readers. We use Total Keto Diet app software to calculate the nutrition and we remove fiber and sugar alcohols, like erythritol, from the total carbohydrate count to get to the net carb count, as they do not affect your blood glucose levels. You should independently calculate nutritional information on your own and not rely on our data. The website or content herein is not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose or treat any disease. This website shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on the Website or actions you take as a result. Any action you take is strictly at your own risk.

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