List Of Top Fat Burning Foods - No2 Green Tea

Green tea (and oolong tea) has been heavily marketed as a miracle weight loss supplement in recent years. There is no doubting its fat burning qualities, but are most green tea supplements nothing more than just hype?

Personally, I enjoy green tea as a delicious alternative to pain old water, but there is no need to take it in any other form than via the good old, traditional tea bag. Don't forget that green tea can be enjoyed hot, or cooled and served over ice!

Is Green Tea Really Good For Weight Loss?

If you are thinking about going for green tea supplements then I'd take a second look. I think these things are over hyped, and use some very clever marketing. Green tea isn't going to change your life just like that. However, it is a great weight loss tool when used as part of a complete nutritional program.

Green tea is a natural source of caffeine. But it contains a much more measured dose than coffee. This means that it won't give you that uncomfortable light-headed feeling, or increase your heart rate significantly. As you probably already know though, caffeine is a pretty decent fat burner.

So far so good then. But there is more than just caffeine to green tea's box of tricks...

The Fat Burning Power Of Antioxidants

Green tea contains the antioxidant EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate). This powerful little sucker raises your metabolic rate just like caffeine does. It has also been suggested as a potential cancer fighter.

Research has shown that EGCG is up to 200 times more powerful than Vitamin E as an antioxidant. That's pretty powerful!

For more details on these antioxidant and metabolic boosting benefits check out pubmed.com and the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition.

So far we've discovered that green tea boosts your metabolism and has high antioxidant activity. But there is still more!

Glucose Regulator

As you know, one of the most potent fat storing hormones is insulin. Insulin is released to combat the rise in blood sugar levels that follow most meals. However, green tea can actually slow the release of sugar into the blood, which means less of an insulin response.

So if you want to store less body fat and control your junk food cravings then a cup of green tea with every meal would not be a bad idea.

It does this by slowing down the action of the digestive enzyme amalase. Amalase is key in the breakdown of starches (carbohydrates) into sugar, a process that could normally lead to the dreaded blood sugar spike.

Store Less Fat

Not content with controlling blood sugar levels, green tea also helps your body store less fat. It does this by inhibiting the fatty acid synthase, which is involved in turning carbohydrates into fat. Scientific studies are in their early days, but results are showing that this can increase weight loss.

There is also evidence to show that LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglyceride levels can be reduced.

So green tea provides us with fat burning and weight loss benefits from several angles. But it is worth bearing in mind that there is no need for expensive supplements. Like I've already said, the traditional tea bag is all you need.

Research has shown that the benefits to drinking green tea kick in after 2 to 3 cups. And don't forget that oolong, chamomile and black teas etc all have their own set of unique antioxidants benefits on offer, so why not experiment a little? Always go for organic tea from a well-known brand.

Don't forget that you can put your tea in the fridge and serve over ice for some refreshing ice tea. But if you can't be without your hot drinks make sure you never pour boiling hot water direct onto your tea bags. This can destroy the antioxidant power due to the high temperature. I like to let my water cool off in teh mug for a few minutes before throwing in the bag.

One final tip before I go: never add sugar or artificial sweeteners to your tea. This will ruin the potential health benefits and add on a load of empty calories.