Green Tea: Lesson 9 Slimming with green tea

Obesity and coronary artery disease go hand in hand. A person who is roughly 20% overweight is much more likely to have high cholesterol and high blood fat levels, leading to an overworked heart. High blood pressure is extremely prevalent in overweight people. In fact, if you are between the ages of 20 and 45 and overweight, you are 5 1/2 times more likely to be hypertensive than your slim counterparts. The group hardest hit by heart disease is women. 115,00 women, ages 30-45 were studied for eight years by researchers at Harvard Medical School. They found that 40% of those who developed heart disease had no risk factors for heart disease, except being overweight. If you are overweight, you are three times more likely to develop diabetes than someone who is normal weight. When too many fat cells surround the healthy cells, they can block the insulin from allowing the glucose in. In this case, there is plenty of glucose to go around; it just can’t make it into the cell. Imagine your favorite meal is sitting right in front of you, but you are unable to open your mouth to eat. The other scenario is that there is simply not enough insulin being produced. Not enough fuel in the tank. Maintaining a healthy weight is a critical factor in treating diabetes. So far, no one has developed a cure for obesity, and green tea does not claim to be that cure, but it has shown to be very promising in countless studies. Clinical studies suggest that green tea extract may boost metabolism and help burn fat. One study confirmed that the combination of green tea and caffeine improved weight loss and maintenance in overweight and moderately obese individuals. Researchers believe that substances in green tea known as polyphenols, specifically, catechins are responsible for green tea’s fat-burning effect.