Specialized diets have become a mainstay of modern society, given the desire many people have to lose weight quickly. While not all diets are designed to help lose weight, people use these programs to expedite results and maximize their time with their new selves. Some diets are more effective than others, and some do not work at all, but there is a constant evolution in modern diets that makes them extremely popular.
Most modern diets focus on a specific type of food or fasting period to jumpstart our metabolism. Others focus on using specific resources and practices to purge our bodies of toxins and fats to promote a healthier body. One of the newer diets to reach the masses is the Green tea detox diet.
You might not have heard of the Green tea detox diet yet, which is hardly surprising given the niche it fills. As with most diets, few people understand how the diet works or what it strives to accomplish without researching it first. Unlike the keto diet, the Green tea detox diet is fairly self-explanatory, similar to the popular coffee diet that gained traction some time ago. Despite that, many people are still unclear about the Green tea detox diet and its effectiveness. Before committing to a lifestyle change like this, figuring out how and if it works is important.
What is the Green Tea Detox Diet?
Like the coffee diet pioneered by Dr. Bob Arnot, the green tea detox diet focuses on a commonly consumed beverage. Green tea is one of the oldest and most beloved in existence, originating in China and closely associated with the mythological emperor Shennong. Green tea rose to prominence in China over 1,400 years ago and has remained relevant in the 20th century as one of the premier breakfast beverages in America.
While most Americans favor coffee over tea, both beverages contain significant concentrations of caffeine that make them excellent ways to begin the day. Despite the disparate cultures between China and America, combined with refined brewing options, green tea is one of the best drinks you can have.
Therefore, it should not surprise anyone that someone built a diet around the multiple health benefits associated with green tea. The green tea detox diet was created to capitalize on the purifying effects green tea is purported to have. The basic principle is that consuming green tea daily can flush toxins from our bodies and improve our overall energy. Such an effect would be a major boon to anyone facing a stressful day and serves to overcome poor diet issues. The alleged effects of the green tea detox diet claim to be promising, but the execution of the diet is another matter entirely.
The green tea detox diet involves drinking green tea daily, but the important part is knowing how much to drink. When dealing with a diet focusing on a specific substance, the key is finding the middle ground between too little and too much. Too little and the effects will be negligible or non-existent, whereas too much could overload your body and have adverse effects. Fortunately, the diet has a standard that all practitioners should aim for to maximize their results. The green tea detox diet states that practitioners should drink between 3 to 6 cups of green tea daily. This translates to roughly 0.7 to 1.4 liters of tea daily.
According to the practitioners and creators of the green tea detox diet, consuming 3 to 6 cups of green tea a day will cleanse your body of toxins and bolster your daily energy reserves. While this might seem groundbreaking, we must answer a bigger question. Does the green tea detox diet work?
What Benefits Does Green Tea Provide?
Aside from being a popular breakfast beverage, green tea possesses several vitamins and nutrients that benefit the human body. Green tea is easily one of the healthiest substances you can introduce to your body, but the benefits are not strictly nutritional. Green tea can trigger a body response that temporarily changes how it works. These changes can make losing weight and maintaining a healthier body easier, albeit with some additional lifestyle changes.
The green tea detox diet capitalizes on these effects by ensuring you drink enough tea to trigger them. However, you are likely wondering what kind of effects something as simple as green tea can have on your body.
The first major benefit green tea provides is the ability to rehydrate you and promote prolonged hydration. Hydration is a necessary part of organic life since our bodies are composed mainly of liquid, and our organs need it to function. While we can hydrate ourselves from various sources, certain forms of hydration are outright better. The best source of hydration will always be water, but green tea has developed a reputation as a close second. In addition to keeping us alive, proper hydration is essential to our body's natural filtration system.
The better hydrated we are, the more effectively our bodies purge toxins from food, drink, environment, etc. Green tea is primarily water, with the tea component being the addition of herbal leaves that add additional nutrients and flavor. Because of the water content, green tea is highly effective at rehydrating us but should not be used as the sole source of hydration.
The truly interesting thing is that green tea offers benefits directly related to weight loss. Increased fluid intake has been linked to improved weight loss in the past, specifically in a year-long study involving 173 women. The women who drank more water than normal in the study saw significant weight and fat loss despite diet or exercise. While this study focused primarily on water, additional studies uncovered benefits unique to green tea consumption that bolstered the effects of water on weight loss.
A study involving 23 adults divided the subjects into two groups:
- Test Group: The test group in this study was given green tea extract.
- Control Group: The control group in this study was given a placebo.
When the study concluded, the subjects in the test group experienced a 17% boost to their body's ability to burn fat during exercise. This compounded with the natural effects of water hydration on weight loss and resulted in significant fat loss. These effects were further supported by a large review of 11 other studies that connected substances in green tea to improved weight and fat loss.
Finally, there is evidence proving that green tea consumption can help purge the body of excess blood sugar and other toxins that could cause disease or illness. One review, in particular, revealed that drinking 3 cups of green tea a day reduced the risk of diabetes by 16%—additional research linked green tea consumption to decreased risk of heart disease and stroke.
With all the benefits green tea has for weight loss and purging harmful substances from the body, it might seem like the green tea detox diet has merit. While it is true that green tea offers a plethora of health benefits, it is far from perfect. As with almost anything we use or consume, there is a downside.
What Risks Does Green Tea Pose?
Despite being from a completely different family than coffee, tea is a caffeinated beverage and bears the risks associated with caffeine consumption. There is a very good reason why the green tea detox diet recommends no more than 6 cups daily. Excessive consumption of green tea exposes you to health risks that could be very dangerous if corrective measures are not taken. The first of these risks is the caffeine concentration in a single cup of green tea.
An 8 oz. serving of green tea contains 35 mg of caffeine, significantly less than what is found in coffee, energy drinks, and soda. Nevertheless, the green tea detox diet recommends a maximum of 6 cups of green tea daily. This means you are consuming up to 210 mg of caffeine from green tea alone.
The maximum amount of caffeine recommended for humans is 400 mg daily, with excess leading to high blood pressure, anxiety, digestive issues, and withdrawal symptoms. While the maximum number of cups allowed by the green tea detox diet only yields a little more than half that amount, you might drink other caffeinated beverages during the day. Some foods also have small concentrations of caffeine that can compound with what was absorbed from your tea. This means the green tea detox diet puts you at a higher risk of caffeine overdoses if you are not careful.
Unfortunately, caffeine is the least of the issues the green tea detox diet causes. The biggest threat is green tea's effect on your body's ability to absorb nutrients. Green tea has polyphenols, which can block certain nutrients from the body and prevent you from accessing necessary resources. The biggest example is that green tea has been scientifically proven to inhibit iron absorption and, in extreme cases, can lead to iron deficiencies. Iron is one of the most important minerals in human biology due to its role in producing hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein in the red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout our body and helps us stay alive.
Iron absorption issues are unlikely to arise in people who drink tea every once in a while, but chronic consumption increases the risk. While these risks might be discouraging, they do not answer whether the green tea detox diet is effective. For those answers, you will have to read further.
Does the Green Tea Detox Diet Work?
The simple answer is "no," the green tea detox diet is not a reliable lifestyle for weight loss and cleansing. The long answer is that the diet has inherent flaws that prevent it from being sustainable long-term. To start, the caffeine concentration and nutrient absorption issues mean chronic green tea consumption can lead to serious health complications. Unfortunately, even if you view this as worth the risk, the green tea detox diet has another fatal flaw that makes it a poor choice. The diet is ineffective for the role it is meant to play. The benefits the diet offers are not viable long-term and will fade the longer you pursue the diet. This is because we naturally adapt to stimulants that alter how our bodies function.
Over time, we grow accustomed to the tea's effect on our bodies and require more to regain a fraction of the initial results. Additionally, our bodies are equipped with a natural detox system that is more effective than dietary fads. This is not to say that green tea is without merit; drinking it instead of coffee for your morning boost is infinitely healthier. The problem is that relying on green tea to address an issue our bodies are more adept at handling puts you at risk of harmful side effects.
Keep it All Natural!
Like so many others, the green tea detox diet is little more than a fad that has little merit as a healthy lifestyle alternative. The benefits afforded by green tea are impressive but not powerful enough to brook long-term changes to our metabolic rate. While the diet might be a bust, green tea remains one of the healthiest beverages on the planet and is worthy of consumption.
The only catch is making sure you do not drink too much and induce the harmful side effects chronic consumption is known for causing. Drinking green tea in moderation can still help bolster the body's natural detox function short-term while providing additional benefits. The key is finding green tea optimized to yield results.
We at Bella All Natural can help with the last part. While the green tea detox diet is ineffective, our Extreme Detox Tea provides the benefits of green tea and can boost your body's natural detox function. While our bodies are equipped to handle these issues without help, a natural supplement can make the task easier and minimize the strain on your health. We encourage you to visit our website and assess our product, though the choice is yours. Regardless of your decision, always remember to keep it All Natural!
