Green Tea: Decreased Appetite, Increased Happiness.

Part of my problem with food is that I always want it.... especially when I'm trying to eat healthy. I never feel like I'm full. That's why I made the last post on snacking. I feel like if I'm going to eat all the time it probably shouldn't be munchies. BUT, what if there was a way where you weren't hungry all the time. A way that didn't involve diet pills or shrinking your stomach. A very natural way to decrease your appetite.

 I have news my friends, this way exists. GREEN TEA.

There are two ways that green tea is a proven cause of weight loss: 

1. Green Tea suppresses appetite: 


Green tea appears to demonstrate the ability to suppress appetite, although a number of mechanisms may be at work. The major appetite suppressant factor lies behind its effect on norepinephrine and dopamine. These two peptide hormones, known as catecholamines, activate the sympathetic nervous system; one of the known effects includes a reduction in the desire for food. Researchers believe that ECGC, one of the most active compounds in green tea, mediates this effect by inhibiting the breakdown of an enzyme that would normally break down the catecholamines.

* I tried to put this in my own words, but I didn't understand most of it well enough to reword it. This is more for those interested in a scientific explanation for the suppression of appetite. I trust the experts. 

2. Green Tea increase fat burning

Beyond its effects on appetite, green tea demonstrates further effects on fat burning. The polyphenols contained within green tea, which include ECGC, increase thermogenesis, preferentially burning fat in preference to protein. Studies compared the rate of fat burning in a group that consumed green tea against another group that did not. They found that polyphenols contained within the brew performed well. While energy expenditure from fat in the control group only amounted to 31.6 percent of total energy use, this rose to 41.5 percent in the green tea group.

*Same story with this one.... :) 

If you think green tea is gross, that's okay! There is still hope for you. Water and Coffee also work in similar ways. If you don't like either of these.... find healthy snacks.