Does Green Tea Help You Lose Weight? Benefits and Drawbacks

Green tea and green tea extracts have become popular beverages and supplements for starting the day. The health halo surrounding these green tea products makes them enticing for many trying to lose weight and improve their health.

But can drinking green tea really help you lose weight?

In this article, we’ll review green tea, whether it helps with weight loss, other potential health benefits, and how best to prepare and consume it.

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What Is Green Tea?

Green tea is also known as “unoxidized tea.” Like black tea, it comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant. Green tea was originally only used for medicinal purposes, but in the early Tang Dynasty (600 -900 AD), many of the wealthy started drinking it for enjoyment as well. Green tea eventually made its way to Europe and the Americas but has only recently become appreciated for its health benefits and flavor.¹

Green tea is still harvested by hand, as it has always been. The leaves are cooked immediately to preserve the green color and prevent oxidation. In contrast, black tea is harvested, rolled, and allowed to dry and oxidize, which causes the leaves to turn black.

Green tea has a much higher concentration of chlorophyll, polyphenols, and antioxidants than black tea or oolong tea. It’s especially rich in the antioxidant catechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG─more on this below).

There are many varieties of green tea, most of which come from China or Japan. The Chinese green teas, Longjing and gunpowder, and Japanese green teas, sencha and tencha, are the most common varieties. Matcha green tea is a powdered form of the tencha tea leaf. Matcha is the primary tea used in Japanese tea ceremonies.

Can Green Tea Help You Lose Weight?

Green tea has become more popular in recent years due to its presumed wellness benefits, one of which is weight loss.

Both caffeine and EGCG are believed to help with fat burning and weight loss, although the jury is still out on how significant an effect drinking green tea may have.²

In animal studies, green tea extracts have shown a lot of promise. Studies have found significant weight loss along with reductions in blood glucose, insulin resistance, visceral fat accumulation, and plasma cholesterol levels.³

Unfortunately, the results in human studies have been variable, with only limited and mild weight loss benefits.⁴

Some studies have shown that a short-term combination of caffeine and catechin EGCG might slightly boost metabolism, increasing energy expenditure and fat oxidation. A recent meta-analysis found that both catechin and caffeine in tea boosted energy expenditure for over 24 hours. When combined, the catechin and caffeine mixture also increased fat oxidation rates.⁵

In a large study of middle-aged Korean adults, women who consumed higher amounts (>4 cups of green tea per week) had lower rates of abdominal obesity. The same effects were not seen in men, however. Longer-term studies have been less favorable. A recent systematic review found a very small (and not statistically significant) effect on weight loss from drinking green tea over 12 weeks.^{6, 7} 

While the effects of green tea on weight loss are conflicting, its ability to oxidize fat, especially visceral fat, is promising. Decreasing visceral fat, or “belly fat,” may help reduce the risk of other chronic diseases and health issues, including metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, diabetes, and heart disease.

<div class="pro-tip"><strong>Also Read: </strong><a href=best-tea-for-digestion>Best Tea for Digestion: 9 Best Teas to Aid Digestion</a></a>.</div>

What Kind of Green Tea Is Best for Weight Loss?

With green tea cold brews and matcha everywhere, you may wonder what type of green tea beverage is best to support your weight loss efforts. Is caffeinated tea better than decaf? And what about those bottled green teas?  Let’s tease out the facts from the fallacies.

Hot vs Cold Green Tea

There’s an old myth that hot beverages (like hot water first thing in the morning) will increase your metabolism, but research has largely squashed that belief. Hot or cold, the temperature of the beverage you choose has little to no effect on your ability to burn extra calories.  

The bigger question is if one type of tea brewing method produces and preserves more health-promoting antioxidants than others, which may affect how much weight you can lose.

Both hot and cold brew teas release similar amounts of catechins and have similar antioxidant capacity. Cold-brewing tea takes longer to reach the same level but may have a milder flavor. One study found that the phenol and caffeine content is better preserved by adding ice to hot tea than in hot or cold brewed tea alone. Hot water allows for the greatest extraction of phenols and caffeine while chilling it quickly diminishes oxidation.^{8, 9}

Tip from an RD: If you find the flavor of hot-brewed teas too intense, give cold brewing a try. Add tea leaves or tea bags to cold water and let them infuse overnight. Your mild-flavored tea will be ready for you first thing in the morning!

Matcha Green Tea

Matcha green tea is a powdered form of the Japanese tencha variety. It’s grown in the shade, which increases its amino acid and antioxidant content. Shade growing also gives matcha its vibrant green color and smooth, savory flavor.

Matcha is considered the highest quality green tea. It contains higher levels of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) compared to other types of green tea and is slightly higher in caffeine than other teas.¹⁰ 

Matcha also contains the antioxidant quercetin, which may help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, support cognitive function, improve insulin sensitivity, and, when combined with EGCG, may have stronger anticarcinogenic effects. Along with other forms of green tea, the EGCG in matcha may inhibit the absorption of fat and glucose in your GI tract and help improve insulin sensitivity.¹⁰

As for weight loss, like other types of green tea, matcha's effects on weight loss vary.  One small study in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that women who drank matcha green tea combined with a brisk walking program experienced increased fat oxidation. The study was small and short duration, so more research is needed, but the impact on fat oxidation when combined with exercise is promising.¹¹‍

Tip from an RD: If the flavor of matcha is a bit too bitter for you, try adding a teaspoon of matcha powder to your morning green smoothie or make a matcha latte with hot milk (or a dairy-free milk alternative).

Decaffeinated Green Tea

One of the suggested reasons tea may help with weight loss is its caffeine content. If this is true, decaffeinated green tea would be less effective than regular green tea. However, some research indicates there may be more to the story.

A recent study with overweight girls aged 6-10 found consuming decaffeinated green tea polyphenols resulted in decreased percent body fat over 12 weeks.¹²

Keep in mind that a typical cup of regular green tea contains significantly less caffeine than a cup of coffee─only 20 to 50 mg of caffeine.

Tip from an RD: If you are caffeine-sensitive, stick with decaffeinated coffee and enjoy its flavor and other health benefits.

Bottled Green Tea

Bottled green teas have a similar composition of catechins and other bioactive compounds as home-brewed tea. One of the benefits is that they are manufactured under controlled conditions, which means the amount of these beneficial compounds tends to be more consistent than home-brewed tea.¹³

Be aware of added sugar and sweeteners in bottled green teas. Many brands include added high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, or artificial sweeteners.

Tip from an RD: Read the nutrition label and ingredient list carefully on bottled teas. Look for an unsweetened version or find a version that has no more than 5 grams of added sugar and uses a natural sweetener like monk fruit.

Green Tea Consumption: Health Benefits

While the effects of green tea on weight loss may be minimal, there are many other reported overall health benefits you may get from drinking green tea regularly, including:

• Reduced inflammation
• Reduced risk of cancer
• Reduced risk of metabolic syndrome
• Reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
• Improved insulin sensitivity
• May help improve mood and memory

Green tea contains many antioxidants and phytochemicals, especially EGCG and quercetin, that may help protect against free radical damage, reduce inflammation, and decrease visceral “belly” fat for weight management.

EGCG and caffeine may play a role in decreasing inflammation and oxidative damage in the brain and heart and may help support the immune system. Along with its anti-inflammatory functions, EGCG may inhibit carbohydrate digestion and lipid absorption into fat cells, helping to reduce blood glucose and decrease lipid levels.^{10, 14}

Because of EGCG’s potential to reduce inflammation and protect cells against oxidation, it has long been thought to have a role in reducing the risk of some cancers. When the FDA reviewed the research, it found minimal evidence to support a health claim that green tea reduces breast and prostate cancer risk.^{15, 16}

What does this mean for you? The benefits of green tea may include a reduced risk for these and other cancers, but much more research needs to be done.

Green Tea: Potential Drawbacks

With all the positive benefits of drinking green tea, you may wonder if there are any downsides to adding green tea to your daily routine. As with just about anything, everyone is different and will react differently.

Here are a few potential things to watch out for when drinking green tea.

As mentioned, if you are sensitive to caffeine, look for a decaffeinated version to reduce caffeine-associated side effects.

High amounts of green tea or green tea extract may reduce the blood levels of a blood pressure medication called a beta-blocker. Check with your doctor or pharmacist to see if this may be a concern for you.¹⁷

In rare instances, some people have experienced liver problems when taking green tea extract. If you have liver disease, talk with your doctor before adding green tea to your routine or starting a GTE supplement.¹⁸

Green Tea for Weight Loss: Is It Good for You?

Overall, green tea is a healthful beverage choice for most people. The powerful antioxidant EGCG may have some effect on visceral fat, but don’t rely on EGCG alone to meet your weight loss goals. Your best bet is to combine a cup of tea with a healthy diet and exercise to maximize your weight loss efforts.

While the ability of green tea to help with weight loss may still be questionable, consider the additional health benefits you may get from enjoying a cup or two of green tea each day.

Deciding to give green tea a try? Go for it! Just remember that green tea with sweeteners or milk may affect your blood glucose levels. You can monitor your blood sugar response with your CGM and the Signos app to see how adding green tea to your routine affects your blood glucose levels.

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