You may have heard that green tea can help you lose weight, and decided to give the antioxidant-rich beverage a try. But if brewing tea seems like a lot of work --- some directions suggest you use a thermometer to measure water temperature --- you might want a less labor-intensive alternative. Green tea mixes provide convenience, but few of them will help you shed pounds.
Check Labels
It's not impossible to find a green tea mix with weight loss benefits, but you need to read labels carefully and learn about green tea's chemical properties. Some green tea mixes contain more than twice as many metabolism-boosting antioxidants per serving as freshly steeped tea, while others include so few the manufacturers don't specify their number in the ingredients. Green tea's antioxidants can be referred to by a number of different names such as catechins, epigallocatechin gallate, EGCG, flavonoids and polyphenols.
Counting Catechins
The more catechins a green tea mix contains the better. A cup of properly brewed green tea from loose leaves contains 127 mg of catechins, according to the United States Food and Drug Administration. Some green tea mixes contain 300 mg of catechins per serving, some fewer than 20 mg. You would need to drink six cups of green tea made from a mix with 20 mg of catechins to gain the benefits of a single cup of brewed tea. On average, processed tea contain 10 to 30 percent of the catechins found in brewed tea, according to the USDA.
Caution
If the labels specify that the green tea mix contains catechins, epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, your homework is straightforward: check the number of milligrams and measure it against the number in a cup of brewed tea. If the labels list flavonoids or polyphenols, be wary. The flavonoids or polyphenols may not have come from green tea and may not contain tea's fat-burning properties. When doing your green tea math, keep in mind that you may need to consume hundreds of catechins daily to attain weight loss benefits.
Weight Loss
In a study conducted at Oklahoma State University, participants who consumed 460 mg of green tea catechins daily lost an extra 4.9 lbs. in eight weeks compared to those who took none. Based on this study, led by Arpita Basu, you would need to drink 1 1/2 cups of tea made from a mix with 300 mg of catechins per serving or 23 cups from a mix containing 20 mg of catechins per serving. Some participants in Basu's study drank four cups of strong green tea daily and lost an average of 5 1/2 lbs. The control group drank four cups of water and took two placebo pills, according to the report published in the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition" in August 2010.
Considerations
Some green tea mixes contain no calories, but sugared mixes contain about 70. Green tea also contains caffeine. Freshly brewed green tea contains less caffeine than coffee or black tea and green tea mixes contain less. But if you drink a lot of green tea from mixes, the caffeine content can add up. Caffeine consumption by pregnant women may result in low birth weight babies, according to the "British Medical Journal." Although green tea has been positively linked to weight loss in clinical trials, results are seldom dramatic. Craig Coleman, an associate of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut, reviewed 15 studies and found weight loss linked to green tea ranged from one to 3 lbs. over the course of three to 24 weeks.
References
- USDA: Brewing Up the Latest Tea Research
- "Journal of the American College of Nutrition"; Green Tea Supplementation Affects Body Weight, Lipids, and Lipid Peroxidation in Obese Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome; Arpita Basu etal; August 2010
- BMJ: Maternal Caffeine Intake During Pregnancy and Risk of Fetal Growth Restriction; a Large Prospective Observational Study
- "Los Angeles Times"; Green Tea Sets Weight-Loss Industry Abuzz.; Chris Woolston, Aug. 16, 2010
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