A Soothing Way to Lose Weight

Studies have shown that green tea helps lab rats lose weight, but does the same hold true for people? Yes, is the good news from Japan.

In a recent study, 35 healthy men downed either a bottle of plain oolong tea or oolong tea with added green tea extract (equal to four to five cups of tea) every night with dinner. All the subjects ate a low-calorie diet. After three months, those drinking the enriched tea had lost an average of 5.3 pounds, compared to 2.9 pounds in the control group. The treatment group also lost about twice as much body fat and half an inch more off their waists.

Green tea may spur weight loss in several ways, says naturopath Timothy Birdsall of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, in Zion, Illinois. “It appears to rev up the rate at which the liver breaks down fat, decrease fat absorption from the gut, and boost levels of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which plays a role in how the body burns calories.”

So drink up. Just be sure not to use your tea to wash down a plate of cookies.