Health Claim: Green tea can help you lose up to 89 lbs./yr!
Posted: Jul 27th, '05, 16:51
This is in regards to the claim that Adagio publicizes in their little Discover Tea brochure that comes with their teas. It claims that if you consume 2000 Cal/day, you can lose up to 89 lbs. in one year. Pretty amazing, huh? Well, remember the adage that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is? Well, this falls right in line with that. While I think that drinking any kind of tea is definitely healthy because of all of the antioxidants in it (white has the most, then green, then black), this weight loss claim is not true. Let's do the math. If green tea can help you burn up to 4% more energy per day, and you are on a 2000 Cal diet that keeps you at a constant weight, then 4% of 2000 = 80. So that's 80 extra Cal./day that you're burning. Now, 80 Cal/day multiplied by 365 days/year = 29200 extra Cal that you're burning in one year. For those of you who don't know, 1 lb. of fat is 3500 Cal. Therefore, 29200 Cal/yr divided by 3500 Cal/lb = 8.34 lbs/yr.
Like I said, I'm not knocking the health claim at all. Drinking tea MAY help to ward off cancers because of the antioxidants. (If you are a cancer patient, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting to take antioxidants or starting to drink tea. Though it sounds like an oxymoron, it may counteract your treatments.) Drinking tea MAY help you lose weight. However, I can guarantee you that simply drinking green tea will NOT get you anywhere close to losing 89 lbs. in one year.
Like I said, I'm not knocking the health claim at all. Drinking tea MAY help to ward off cancers because of the antioxidants. (If you are a cancer patient, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting to take antioxidants or starting to drink tea. Though it sounds like an oxymoron, it may counteract your treatments.) Drinking tea MAY help you lose weight. However, I can guarantee you that simply drinking green tea will NOT get you anywhere close to losing 89 lbs. in one year.