Now, here's a fat burner, besides eating unrefined carbs, and putting in apples for fiber and pectin to help w/the fat burning. It's called GREEN TEA!!! And note: you can do this remarkable tea with caffeine or non-caffeine, Hot or Cold! The remarkable other aspect of Green Tea besides fat burning, is it's well known immune enhancement, with many reputable periodicals stressing that it may be a good food to fortify against cancer and heart disease. We know that Green Tea is a staple in most Asian populations, and we also know that until they were introduced to a westernized diet (thanks to our fast food chains, etc. :( they had for decades the best stats for low cancer/heart disease, as well as they had a reputation for lack of even mild obesity. Just food for thought! Now to GREEN TEA!
Green Tea is rich in catechins, making it VERY high in antioxidants that help eliminate the "bad guys," free radicals, and that is why it is so valuable. It also works as an anti-inflammatory, is anti-viral, and has been considered by some to benefit their lowering of LDL (bad) cholesterol..But as a side effect to empowering your health, it also helps in weight loss. It surely did with me, when I did it daily. Let's discover why.It appears that Green Tea slows down an enzyme called amylase, the one that breaks carbs down. Well, that is good. The slower carbs break down, the better. We understand that by now. Slower insulin response= less fat storage. YIPEE! Green Tea has been shown to also raise the metabolic rate, in a safe, healthy way. (I am not a fan of the pills you see on TV or in Walmart that raise metabolism by stimulation..no no no!) In my opinion, Green Tea is just something you may want to use on a regular basis. In the cold version, I suggest HONEST TEA, as it is so much lower in sugars than say, Tazo. Which is tasty, but pretty high in carbs and sugar. OR make your own cold like my hubs does. He brews Green Tea from bulk (my Dee days you get so much more out of bulk than a bag) and he adds some sweetener...your choices would be Stevia, Agave if you can adjust to the taste, a flat teaspoon of LOCAL RAW honey (but NO babies can have honey) or some of the other dry sweeteners we'll discuss soon. If you were at a place where they serve white, blue, pink or brown packets, use the BROWN one. Please consider limiting aspartame/nutrasweet/white sugar! OK, so he brews it hot, so the sweetener he uses will melt, then he mixes it, and pours the hot now over a glass of ice cubes and Voila, has Iced Green Tea. He loves this. If you don't want to mess with bulk in a French Tea Press or Tea ball, just buy the bags, Yogi, Tazo, there's a ton. But I'm lazy. And I like it cold, so I watch for Honest Tea to go on sale and buy cases at a time and get a really good price. I'm used to little sweetener, so I do the one shown in the picture called COMMUNITY. It is very unsweet, but yummy to me. You could add a touch of stevia. I suggest for the general populace, GREEN DRAGON by Honest Tea if you like medium sweet, and it is still low in sugars. Just consider, when you are relaxing, some GREEN TEA. It is so empowering, so fat burning. Let me know which brand you like, and for those of you not wanting caffeine, yes, there are many caffeine free ones.
OK...now use what things appeal to you. If something doesn't taste good to your palate at all, then move onto something else. Just watch portion size and keep up the exercising. Little by little your tastebuds change, but sometimes they put up a roadblock to going too drastic too fast. Thanks to all who comment and tell me what does, and what doesn't work for them.
So are you onto Coconut Oil and Coconut milk yet??? Oops, I've given away another segment. And has anyone tried the KIND bar, PLUS brand, with the brown colored ends with pluses on it! LOVE IT!!! OKIE DOKIE. Over and Out from HealthAngel.
Green tea is one of my favorite beverages. It is important to stress that the water used to brew green and white teas should never be boiling. 180° max. My experience has been that the people who dislike green tea have prepared it with boiling water, which makes it very bitter. Using lower-temp water makes a lovely, smooth beverage that I have found is even better with no sweetening. Does rooibos have fat-burning capabilities? I can't do caffeine after noon, and rooibos has even more antioxidents than green tea. Plus, delicious. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great comment Karen! Sometimes in my writing, I try not to overwhelm folks with too many details. But the making green tea more palatable by not using too hot a water is indeed an important aspect I did not mention. It is a trick I learned from a class, and yes, it does indeed make it LESS bitter and just plain, more tasty. The healthy Asian restaurant we eat at also does the same thing. And my husband noticed how mellow and good it is, and how it takes very little sweetener. You are so kind to comment and bring this fact to people's attention. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteRooibos tea. Awwwww yes, it is indeed an excellent tea, although it does not have the fat burning effects of the green tea. In the 90's, I worked for a nutrition company that this was one of their biggest hits, and this is why. Rooibos, a tea sometimes called Red Bush (South African) has no caffeine, is extremely high in flavonoids making it even higher in antioxidants than green teas. It soothes the nervous system. It is a tea I like because it is a pick me up in the morning, but a relaxer later on. It is widely known to help with insomnia, headaches (stress) anxiety, and even depression. Because it is so high in antioxidants, it of course enhances immune function, on many levels, also helping some w/such things as allergies/asthma, etc. and I find because of it's ability to combat free radicals, it really restores skin to it's healthiest. So become a Rooibos tea drinker as well. And I've grown to love the taste. I hope you enjoyed the info. You ask such great questions! ENJOY!