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Over time, different fads of dietary changes for weight loss have come and gone, but research has borne out that people who drink a cup of green tea each day lose an average of five pounds more than they would have otherwise. Obviously, there is a range of possibilities, depending on the original weight of the person involved and other metabolic factors.
So how does it work? Weight loss, in its most basic, is a simple matter of mathematics. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. So how do you lose weight? One approach is to diet. There's the Atkins diet, and the South Beach diet – for people who remember the 1970's - and there's also the Scarsdale diet. All of these diets, though, hinge on your ability to burn more calories than you take in.
Exercise is one way to increase the number of calories that you burn in a day. There are other ways to increase that number by increasing the rate at which your metabolism operates. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has published a study isolating the reasons why green tea boosts metabolic rate. The study found that green tea extract boosts fat oxidation and energy expenditure rates. At first the researchers credited the caffeine for this increase. However, in additional studies caffeine failed to produce the same results.
The key results then, had to come from the green tea itself. Now, not everyone has the time (or the desire) to prepare a cup of tea every day – boil the water, steep the tea, dispose of the tea, sit and drink the tea (after it cools sufficiently) etc... But here is the good news; luckily the same result from green tea extract occurs whether you receive the extract in tea form, or in a supplement form. Your metabolism will benefit from green tea extract regardless of how it entered your body, or from what source. What a simple and time-saving approach to weight loss: green tea extract supplements!
Another positive about using green tea for weight loss is that there are virtually no negative side effects. Numerous studies have concluded that green tea and green tea extract appear to be very healthy additions to a normal diet.
Green tea isn't just for weight loss, though. The antioxidants in the tea can help with a wide variety of conditions, including restricted immune system function, cancers, elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, rheumatoid arthritis, and a variety of cardiovascular diseases. Particularly exciting was a study at the University of Purdue linking consumption of green tea with impaired growth in cancer cells. Also, a Chinese study found a connection between green tea and decreased danger of cancer of the esophagus by as much as sixty percent.
As with any changes to your nutrition, be sure to see your doctor about your goals, and to discover if green tea extract is an ideal supplement for you. It can benefit your body in many ways.
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