The Green Tea Diet Phenomenon
Green tea has been around for centuries. It has been used by Asians as a herbal remedy to many ailments. It is part of their daily lives to drink tea, just as table wine is water to the French, or what soda is to the rest of the Western world.
When green tea was introduced to the Americans as a alternative weight loss idea, it was not immediately welcomed by the vast majority. There is always a degree of skepticism over herbal remedies as against the traditional ways. However, unlike traditional methods, herbal solutions have little to zero side effects, and this is the reason why many are switching over.
The green tea diet is based on the fact that it can boost your metabolism, turning calories to energy instead of fat. In this respect, it helps burn fat and helps you lose weight fast. How does this work? When you increase your energy level because of your metabolism, you have the added strength to do more things like exercise.
Green tea gives you a boost that you didn’t know you had in you. It’s an amazing yet subtle change in your energy level, and this is what makes green tea so exciting. Not only are you boosting immunity to diseases like cancer, high cholesterol, viral and bacterial infections, you are also converting the excess calories, and putting them to good use.
Of course, this does not mean you can start eating more. Not at all!
Who Should Avoid Drinking Green Tea?
Since green tea contains caffeine, it would be best for pregnant women and nursing mothers to stay away from this product. It is highly probable that some amount of the effects of an addictive caffeine is transferred to the child, and although it’s not a deadly substance, why risk it?
Patients with Lupus should also stay away from green tea because green tea boosts the immune system, whereas treatment for Lupus tries to attain the opposite by suppressing the immune system.
Can You Drink More Green Tea To Lose Weight Faster?
There is nothing wrong with drinking more green tea a day. That is, unless you have an existing liver or kidney problem, and should avoid polyphenols, which is found in green tea. As with anything else, too much can be bad for you, so what is the benchmark for too much green tea?
If you plan on going on a green tea diet, you should never expect the tea to do all the work, and so drinking more will not translate to more pounds lost faster. Any excess will just be excreted anyway. The most amount of green tea a person should consume a day is about 10 small tea cups. It’s a different matter if we are talking about green tea diet supplements like a green tea diet pill. This is because supplements contain more polyphenols than the tea.
In the same manner, commercial beverages that sell green tea flavored tea drinks should also drank conservatively, if at all. This is because of the sugar content found in commercial drinks. Tea, generally is drunk without sugar, or very little sugar. Drinking the commercial variety will not help your diet plan at all.
A green tea diet will only work if you do your share of the work. This means exercise, a nutritious, fat free diet, and less stress.