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Tea Diet Plans

Jul 25, 2011 | By Danielle Tworek
Tea Diet Plans
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From green tea and black tea to oolong tea and herbal tea, there are many herbal teas on the market. Manufacturers claim that these ancient herbal tonics may shrink your waistline. Before you begin a diet plan that includes tea, discover which teas are the most effective in helping you lose weight.

Green Tea Meal Replacement

In 2009, a study published in the "International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition" revealed that a novel green tea meal replacement supplement effectively and safely resulted in weight loss and lower LDL cholesterol levels in participants. All subjects in the study were obese and the control group was placed on a "normal" diet. This means that in comparison to a normal healthy diet, the subjects consuming the green tea meal replacement lost more weight than subjects who were not eating a reduced-fat or reduced calorie diet, simply a controlled diet. While this does not entirely discredit the supplement, it is a red-flag of its effectiveness for long-term weight control and satiety.

Green Tea Consumption

A more effective demonstration of the power of green tea consumption for weight loss was described in a 2007 study published in "Obesity," which supplied the treatment group with green tea extract supplemented with 583 mg of catechins, a phytochemical found in high quantities in green tea, versus the control group who was given green tea extract containing only 96mg of catechins. Both groups maintained their normal diets and amount of physical activity. At the end of 12 weeks, the group who consumed higher levels of catechins, saw decreases in their weight, waist size, blood pressure, and cholesterol. These results suggest that adding a quality herbal green tea to your diet may impact your weight loss as well as help lower your risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Oolong Tea Consumption

A less familiar tea known as oolong, was studied and published in 2009 in "The Chinese Journal of Integrated Medicine." This study took 102 subjects who were overweight or obese and currently dieting and added 8g of oolong tea to their diets for 6 weeks. More than half of all subjects from each category -- morbidly obese, obese, and overweight -- experienced some weight loss, 2.2 lbs or more, while 12 percent of all subjects also saw a decrease in fat. Subjects who entered the experiment with high levels of triglycerides, saw a decrease in plasma triglycerides and total cholesterol at completion of the study. These results suggest that oolong tea may impact weight loss and cardiovascular disease risk factors, however the trouble with this study is that there was no control group for comparison.

How Green Tea Impacts Health

There have been many studies conducted in an attempt to determine the impact green tea has on human health. A 2011 review in "The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry" investigated the mechanism of action that makes consuming 270-1200 mg/day of green tea catechins effective in reducing body weight. This review noted that the strongest theory for green tea's effectiveness is that when coupled with its natural caffeine content it strongly impacts the sympathetic nervous system potentially resulting in greater energy expenditure and fat oxidation. Additional mechanisms green tea may modify include influences on appetite, up-regulation of specific enzymes involved in fat oxidation and changes in nutrient absorption.

References

Article reviewed by Jenna Marie Last updated on: Jul 25, 2011

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