Benefits of Drinking Green Tea While Dieting

In my daily updates, you may have read that I drink Green Chai tea along with water daily. I have read and heard that green tea is a good dietary aid when you are looking to lose weight and it is also in my opinion a great alternative for when you need that “Morning Caffeine Fix”.

Green tea basically comes from the same plant as regular black tea called Camellia sinensis. The difference between the two is in the processing. Green tea is dried, but not fermented. The shorter processing gives green tea a lighter flavor than black tea. It also helps keep all the beneficial chemicals intact, which is why green tea is so good for you.

Many studies have shown that drinking green tea will aid in helping you with your weight loss goals. Drinking green tea alone is not the miracle diet additive that will cause you to lose ten pounds in a week, but many research studies have shown that it does genuinely burn up calories. Studies suggest, you can burn 70 to 80 calories per day if you drink 5 cups a day. So green tea weight loss combined with healthy eating and exercise can be a great combination to accelerate weight loss. Additionally, if your aim is just to lose a few pounds, then simply drinking 5 cups of green tea a day might just do the job. You might find this will work without changing your usual diet or physical activity levels.

Some research indicates that green tea may trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and mildly decrease body fat, possibly through catechins, a type of phytochemical. The phytochemicals in tea have a half-life of a few hours, so have one cup now, and another later in the day to get the biggest benefit. When deciding which green tea to buy (there are some great flavored options on the market,my favorite is Chai), remember your nose always knows. If a tea bag smells delicious, that's how it will usually taste when brewed. Below is an excellent recipe for a no calorie Green Tea beverage:

Lemon Ginger Iced Green Tea
2 cups water
1 cup Splenda low-calorie sweetener
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
6 green tea bags
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

• Add water, Splenda, ground ginger, and lemon peel to medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to where it sustains a gentle boil and cook for about 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat and add the green tea bags. Steep this tea mixture for 10 minutes, stirring or dunking the bags often.

• Remove tea bags and stir lemon juice into the tea liquid. Cover and refrigerator for up to 1 to 2 weeks.

• To make a cup of iced tea, pour 1/4 cup of the concentrated tea mixture into a tall glass and stir in 3/4 cup of sparkling or seltzer water or club soda. Add ice cubes and enjoy!
Yield: 1 1/3 cups of syrup (or at least 5 glasses of iced tea)

Nutrition Information: 2 calories, 0 g protein, .7 g carbohydrate, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, .1 g fiber, 0 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 0%

Recipe provided by Elaine Magee; © 2006 Elaine Magee