Should You Consume Caffeine To Lose Weight?

Should You Consume Caffeine To Lose Weight?Copyright (c) 2007 Jon M. StoutGolden Moon Teahttp://www.GoldenMoonTea.comPeople seeking to lose weight are typically anxious to hear aboutany trick to make weight loss easier. One way to help speedweight loss is to find ways to speed up the metabolism, so thatmore calories are burned in a day.Research has shown that caffeine is effective at speeding up themetabolism, so that you burn more calories. According to the MayoClinic, caffeine stimulates many body functions, including theheart rate, central nervous system function and metabolism. Inaddition, caffeine may decrease the appetite short term. So,adding caffeine may be an effective way to jump start weightloss. There are some things to consider, however:You may see no effect if you're already a caffeine consumer. Ifcaffeine is already a part of your daily diet, you would likelyneed very high doses of caffeine to increase your metabolismabove the level at which it already functions. However, those whodon't regularly consume caffeine may see some benefit.You must be careful where the caffeine comes from. If you startgetting your caffeine from sugary sodas, you'll likely gainweight rather than lose it. However, if you get your caffeinefrom coffee, tea and sodas without sugar, you may see someresults.You must consider your other health issues. If you already sufferfrom an irregular heart rate or high blood pressure, your doctormay have warned you to stay away from caffeine. If this is thecase, caffeine may not be safe for you. Be sure to talk to yourdoctor before adding caffeine.What if I'm Caffeine Sensitive?Many people stay away from caffeine because they find that toomuch caffeine causes sleeplessness or jitters. For these people,supplementing with caffeine for weight loss might seemunreasonable. However, there's one form of caffeine that seemsto be tolerated well by those who are normally caffeinesensitive.Green Tea May Be the AnswerGreen tea may well be the best way to get your caffeine forweight loss. Though green tea does contain caffeine, it is insmaller amounts than many other beverages. In addition, thecaffeine in green tea seems to be better tolerated by thecaffeine sensitive than other caffeinated beverages. This isthought to be because of the anti-oxidants in green tea.These anti-oxidants, in addition to making the caffeine less of aproblem, also offer a myriad of health benefits. Green tea'santi-oxidants have been shown to lower cholesterol and preventheart disease and some forms of cancer. So, even if you don'tlose weight from drinking green tea, it's a healthy habit to addto your diet.But, the best news is that in addition to being healthy and welltolerated by the caffeine sensitive, it may just be that greentea is the best way to get your caffeine for weight loss. This isbecause studies have shown that green tea is more effective inpromoting weight loss than other caffeinated beverages. Thecombination of caffeine and green tea's anti-oxidants appears tobe more effective in promoting weight loss than caffeine alone.One important study on this subject was reported by the ObesityResearch Group. In this study, ninety overweight men and womenwere studied. First, the group was put on a low calorie diet forfour weeks. The subjects were divided between low caffeineconsumers and high caffeine consumers. At the end of the fourweek diet period, the subjects were placed on a weightmaintenance program. During this weight maintenance period,subjects either received a green tea/caffeine supplement or aplacebo. Within the groups, both high caffeine consumers and lowcaffeine consumers were given the green tea/caffeine supplement.The weight maintenance period lasted for 3 months.At the end of the study, the results were as follows:* Caffeine consumers overall seemed to have higher satietylevels and lower leptin levels, which helped speed weight loss.* During the weight loss period, caffeine consumers lost moreweight than non-caffeine consumers.* During the weight maintenance period, the low caffeineconsumers who received the green tea/caffeine supplement kept offmore weight than the low caffeine consumers who received theplacebo. In fact, many of them continued to lose weight.* During the weight maintenance period, the high caffeineconsumers who received the green tea/caffeine supplement did notreport a significantly higher success rate in keeping the weightoff than those high caffeine consumers receiving the placebo.While more research is needed to truly determine how green teaand caffeine can help with weight loss and maintenance, it doesappear that consuming green tea and other forms of caffeine canhelp you lose weight. In particular, caffeine and green tea maybe especially effective for those who don't consume a great dealof caffeine on a regular basis. And, since green tea is a form ofcaffeine that is well tolerated by most caffeine sensitivepeople, green tea may be the best way to use caffeine as a weightloss aid.You have nothing to lose by adding green tea to your diet. It'shealthy, refreshing and has no side effects. And even those whoare sensitive to other forms of caffeine can usually drink greentea without experiencing unpleasant side effects. So, see ifgreen tea can help you in your efforts to lose weight! http://www.obesityresearch.org/cgi/reprint/13/7/1195----------------------------------------------------------Jon M. Stout is Chairman of the Golden MoonTea Company. For more information about tea,(http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea) green tea (http://www.goldenmoontea.com/blacktea) and black tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com