Morning is synonymous with coffee. Just the smell of fresh brew wafting in the air is a signal that a new day is underway. But there’s another hot drink that you should consider making part of your wake up routine. In fact, it can help you lose weight! Everyone pour a mug of green tea.
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“Including a cup of green tea in the morning with your breakfast and not on an empty stomach can possibly help with weight loss,” says Dr. Jennifer Stagg, naturopathic physician and author of Unzip Your Genes: 5 Choices To Reveal A Radically Radiant You.
A clinical study of more than 100 women with excess belly fat who drank green tea for 12 weeks had significant reductions in waist circumference and their BMI without any adverse effects, reports Stagg.
More research needs to be completed, but experts believe the tea has a positive effect on hormones related to fat metabolism including ghrelin and adiponectin. Ghrelin is the hormone responsible for increasing appetite. Adiponectin is involved in regulating glucose levels and breaking down fatty acids in the body.
So why do you need to have hot green tea in the a.m.? “It appears green tea should be consumed during the light phase – the morning - of our 24 hour circadian rhythm because that timeframe greatly impacts fat metabolism,” says Dr. Stagg. We're definitely going to be having some green tea tomorrow...