This weekend was a cold and windy one! I went for a run on Saturday morning and it was freezing! Warming up after was a little hard for me to do. I turned the heat a bit higher, took a warm shower and had my morning coffee. Nothing worked. After a few hours, I finally made a cup of green tea and it worked wonders! I love green tea, and the fact that it warms me up with just one sip was beyond perfect!
Not only does green tea warm you up, it is beneficial for your body as well. Green tea contains an antioxidant epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG), which is helpful in treating and preventing a variety of diseases. These include cancer; heart problems; high cholesterol levels; tooth decay; infections; diabetes, liver and kidney problems and arthritis. The antioxidants found in green tea don't just keep you healthy and prevent those diseases, but it can also help with your anti-aging regimen. By consuming green tea, you are also delaying the symptoms of aging! If that doesn't make you want to start drinking more of it, maybe knowing that by consuming enough green tea a day it will help with weight loss too!
Hard to believe? Well believe it! There are four reasons why green tea will help with weight loss.
1) Green tea revs up your metabolism-
A study reported in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, found that green tea extract resulted in a significant increase in energy expenditure (a metabolism 'boost'). The researchers also concluded that that over a 24-hour period, green tea extract increases the metabolic rate by 4%. These effects are probably due to the high concentrations of catechin polyphenols found in green tea. These work to help intensify levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis (the rate at which your body burns calories).
2) Green tea inhibits fat absorption and helps glucose regulation-
Experts tell us that the catechins in green tea help to inhibit the movement of glucose into fat cells. Green tea may also act as a glucose regulator. It helps to slow the rise in blood sugar after a meal. This prevents high insulin spikes (lots of insulin promotes fat storage) and the subsequent fat storage.
3) Green tea may help reduce appetite-
Scientists at the University of Chicago found that green tea caused rats to lose up to 21 percent of their body weight. Rats injected with a green tea extract lost their appetites and consumed up to 60 percent less food after seven days of daily injections. This may have something to do with the blood sugar regulating effects of green tea.
4) Green tea can help you save calories on your morning brew-
We are a nation hooked on our java. Between the regular double-cream, double-sugar or that mocha frappucinno, the calories we ingest just to get our morning caffeine is wreaking havoc on our waistlines.
(This is taken from Green tea boosts metabolic weight loss.)
Although green tea is helpful for weight-loss and it is good for you, just remember that drinking green tea alone will not help you lose all the weight you may want. Daily physical activity and a healthy diet including green tea will take you to the place you want to be.
So yes- green tea helped me warm up this past weekend, but as you can see, there are many other reasons to start drinking more today!
Stay healthy and warm this holiday season!
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