Active Lifestyles: Does green tea really help with weight loss? – Rocky Mountain Collegian

(photo courtesy of Morgan Sessions via Unsplash.com)

There are all types of “weight loss” secrets popping up around the internet nowadays. I hear about how you should eat grapefruit and almonds, drinking coconut oil in water (apparently JLaw is using that method right now), drink detox teas precisely 45 minutes before a meal and all sorts of other magic foods and drinks that supposedly make the never-ending challenge of creating a perfect body a little bit easier.

The method I am most interested in though, is whether or not the famed green tea drinking solution is actually one that helps with weight loss. I love green tea so it would be great to know if it is also secretly keeping me a little thinner around the waistline. 

According to livestrong.com, a component found in green tea, called catechins, may help the body avoid retaining fat molecules as well as raise it’s temperature which in turn will burn more calories. The reason that green tea is the type to drink for these catechins is because it’s less processed than other teas, thus containing more catechins in the leaves. The problem with this whole deal though is that you have to drink quite a bit of tea to get even a little benefit from these catechins, around 2-3 cups worth at least says this particular article. It is also important to note that many studies that proclaim the teas beneffits used green tea extract instead of just regular old green tea. But, keeping that in mind, there is still evidence in other studies to suggest that one could still lose a little weight by adding green tea in their diet.

I suggest doing your own research to see what conclusion you come to regarding the topic, but I personally do believe in the benefits of green tea on weight loss. And, even if the catechins don’t work and it’s all a placebo effect, green tea is still insanely good for you because of the antioxidants in it. I am hoping that it works to help with a little bit of weight loss, but even if it doesn’t, upping my green tea intake is still so beneficial that I definitely still recommend everyone do it.

Collegian blogger Katy Mueller can be reached at blogs@collegian.com or on Twitter @katymueller13.