Green Tea Diets

You can thank Oprah and Dr. Perricone for all the hoopla on Green Tea Diets. Back in 2004 Oprah had a show with the good doctor all about the benefits of losing weight by switching from drinking coffee to Green Tea. Every time this episode is replayed people get excited about the easy weight loss described by Dr. Perricone from drinking the tea.

The statement that started all the rumors and conjecture was:

"Coffee has organic acids that raise your blood sugar, raise insulin. Insulin puts a lock on body fat. When you switch over to green tea, you get your caffeine, you're all set, but you will drop your insulin levels and body fat will fall very rapidly. So 10 pounds in six weeks, I will guarantee it."

Based on my research, I could find no scientific proof of that statement or any documented weight loss properties from just drinking Green Tea. That's not to say that Green Tea doesn't have any good qualities, it does. And there are many examples of the benefits of drinking Green Tea versus coffee in general.

One of the components of Green Tea, epigallocatechin gallete, or EGCG, is an excellent and well known antioxidant. And Green Tea contains much less caffeine than most coffee. Many people find drinking Green Tea can provide a little boost in energy (probably from the caffeine and sugar) is less caustic than coffee.

Other popular unsubstantiated claims are that Green Tea will lower cholesterol levels, suppress your appetite, burn fat, and protect your skin from sun damage. Sorry, there is no documented proof of any of these characteristics either.

Is Green Tea better for you than coffee? Most likely due to the lesser amounts of caffeine and acid in coffee and high levels of polyphenols in Green Tea, which are powerful antioxidants. Will you lose weight just from switching from drinking coffee to Green Tea? Doubtful. Although you would be better off due to getting the antioxidants which coffee lacks.

If you add drinking Green Tea to any healthy diet that includes less calories and proper exercise it can't hurt. But it will not add any magical weight loss capabilities. And if you add sugar and milk to Green Tea, you're adding calories to your diet, which is not a good thing.

Many Green Tea Diets recommend drinking up to ten cups of tea a day. That's a lot of caffeine and most doctors say is too much. The best advice I can give is get up off the couch and quit watching so much TV. Sorry, there is no magical element that can make you lose weight. Any successful diet will involve less daily calories and proper nutrition.