Green tea as a weight loss aid?

[SudsK]

Does anyone take on a regular basis and have you experienced any health benefits and/or metobolic changes. All I've looked at are the ads in the tabloids and wonder if there's anything to it.

Thanks/SudsK

[RCFletcher]

A complete coincidence but I was drinking green tea as I read this.
I'm a firm believer in it. What makes it even better is that I've just managed to obtain Earl Grey green tea so now it tastes nice too!

[Marchstart]

I drink at least 3 a day..if not more... I cannot say for sure if it helps me in the weightloss dept. but I tend to drink green tea when I want something "bad to eat" and it helps for sure get over that hump in the day...

I have read alot about the properties of green tea...and really you cannot go wrong...its all good!

Janet

[Kristine]

From what I've read, you'd have to be drinking something like 5 cups a day to get the metabolic effects, but it's still a great drink for its antioxidants. :thup: Just watch the caffeine.

You'll probably find more info in the "nutrition and supplements" forum.

[Karen___L]

Every morning for breakfast I make an Iced Chai tea by brewing one green, one black, and one chai tea bag in a regular coffee cup. Yep, it's really strong. I add one packet of aspartame sweetner and one of Splenda. Then I pour it into a large "sport" type mug and add 3/4 cup of reduced carb milk and about a cup and a half of icecubes. Then I sip it as long as it lasts -- usually a couple hours, but sometimes until lunch.

It is 79 calories 4 carbs. For that "cost" I get a morning wake up that tastes really good :yum: , I am not hungry until well into the afternoon, I receive all the antioxident benefits of the tea. And I save the $4.50 and however many hundred calories I was spending on Starbucks Iced Chai.

Just remember that you need to brew green tea for 5 minutes to get all the benefits out of it, and that most other teas are really bitter when brewed this long. And, I recently read that you obtain the most benefits from tea if you drink 20 or more cups a week. This is an easy way to get them -- especially if you don't like tea.

[DPD]

It has some good info. I just started drinking green tea. I found a caffeine free with mint by Celestial Seasonings. It's really tasty. I've heard alot of people say that most green tea tastes horrible. This one is good all on it's own.

http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/health.htm

[StarOrchid]

I think I read somewhere that you have to drink 7-10 cups per day to get the full benefits of it. I don't know anyone who drinks that much green tea. I've been drinking about 2 cups per day and I just know it keeps me feeling full in the evenings. I ended up buying the green tea extract capsules today because the bottles were buy-one-get-one at the riteaid pharmacy. I'll let you all know if they seem to help with weight loss

[LadyBelle]

You have to drink massive amountsof the tea to get all the benifits. A green tea suppliment is far better or at least easier.

It is the primary ingredient in Atkins Accel and many other diet pills. Instead of spending alot on diet pills though, green tea extract can be purchased on it's own from walmart, twin labe, I think GNC, and othe rplaces. Again make sure it has no addatives like sugar, starch and so on.

I found it did help with appitite control, at least for me. It does contain caffine and is a duretic though so it can lead to dehydration, even when you're drinking alot of water depending on how much you take. I recently stopped all suppliments contining caffine and other duretics, and severly cut back on my caffine intake from coffee and tea because of dehydration problems.

[Luscious]

The way I look at it tens of millions of asian people can't be wrong, my Japanese and Chinese colleagues swear by it as an aid to digestion (not so much as weight loss). Anyway, I figure it can't hurt. I always drink it the traditional way, in a lovely asian decorated teapot and traditional chinese tea cups. When done right, with friends, it can be a very relaxing way to spend 30 mins.

The terms Yum Cha literally means to take tea. The dumplings that are served (I think called dim sum in US) were just a supplement to the tea. Just a little trivia :)

[Bloveld]

Tea can have a lot of fluoride. Does this concern anyone?

[Evey]

Why is fluoride bad? I drink 4-6 cups of green tea a day and I was just wondering what side effects all that fluoride might have?

[RCFletcher]

Tea can have a lot of fluoride. Does this concern anyone?

No, not at all. This is flouride in its natural state with all the buffers and other naturakl chemicals that should be with it. Small amounts are good for us. Drinking half a gallon a day of floridated tap water is quite another matter!