Green tea is often talked about as having miraculous weight loss benefits- so much so that it probably sounds like another fad. Certainly, it’s no magic cure-all. But adding a few cups of green tea into your daily diet can help you to burn an extra 70 calories per day, boosting your metabolism, reducing your appetite, and even inhibiting fat absorption. Plus, it’s full of antioxidants, which give you numerous other health benefits as well, so there are plenty of reasons to put the kettle on…

Metabolism boost

Studies have shown that drinking green tea can give your metabolism a boost. This is probably because of the high concentrations of catechin polyphenols found in green tea, which leads to higher levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis, or the rate at which your body burns calories. Basically, this means that elements contained in green tea have the effect of heating up the body, which revs your metabolism.

Reduced fat absorption

Those catechins have other benefits too- they help to inhibit the movement of glucose into fat cells. This means that green tea can help to slow down the rise in blood sugar after a meal, and prevent high insulin spikes and the resulting fat storage.

Lowered appetite

Another result of the blood sugar regulating effects of green tea is that it may help in reducing your appetite. Studies done on rats have shown that green tea extract caused them to eat 60% less food and lose up to 21% of their body weight.

Saving calories

An indirect weight-loss benefit of green tea is that if you drink it instead of coffee or other beverages, you can save on the extra calories. Green tea still has caffeine, so it can wake you up in the morning without all the milk, sugar, chocolate, or whatever else goes in your coffee.

So along with healthy eating and exercise, green tea can help give your weight loss efforts a little boost. Though recommendations vary, generally 3 to 5 cups of green tea a day is considered optimal for losing weight. This might sound like a lot, but green tea is light and easy to drink, and keeps you feeling fresh and alert- without mountains of caffeine. Try drinking it in the morning instead of your usual coffee, and whenever you need a little pick-me-up. Green tea is also nice and refreshing iced, so keep some in the fridge to sip on throughout the day.