10 Best Green Teas for Weight Loss in India 2021 - Buying Guide Reviewed By Nutritionist

Now that you are ready to choose the type of green tea you want, here are our ten recommendations for green tea products and green tea herbal blends for helping you shed those extra pounds.

Ruchi Wadhwa is a certified Nutritionist with a keen interest in Ayurvedic sciences. She has a wholesome, holistic, and sustainable approach to nutrition. You can reach out to her on Facebook, Instagram, or quora.

Green tea has several compounds that promote weight loss in humans, and each of them does it differently. The caffeine content of green tea acts as a stimulant that has proven to aid in the fat-burning process. Various studies have shown that caffeine also improves energy and focus during exercise.

Since green tea is low on calories, you can make it a part of your breakfast or snacks. The presence of antioxidants known as catechins in green tea improves metabolism, but only when it is combined with regular workouts. 

If you don't already know, stress is also a reason for the increase in body fat in adults. An active ingredient in green tea called theanine, which is an amino acid, is known for its calming effects on the brain without making you drowsy.

In our buying guide below, we will go through various factors you have to consider before choosing a green tea. Consider the benefits of choosing one over the other, depending on your convenience and needs.

Green tea comes in two forms—loose and bagged. If you are trying to make green tea in your house, loose tea leaves may be an excellent choice, but tea bags are convenient for preparing in the office. Find out more benefits in the sections below.

Loose tea leaves are meant to be brewed in boiling water, unlike tea bags that can only be dipped in hot water. When you are using loose green tea, brew it for a longer time. This allows more bioactive compounds, flavors, and aromas to seep into the water, and the tea becomes stronger too.

When you are buying loose green tea, the pack contains top-quality tea leaves that are unbroken or minimally chopped. When tea leaves are harvested, it contains leaf dust and fannings, which are low-quality tea leaves that don't contain any beneficial nutrients, and this normally ends up in tea dip bags. This one of the reasons why loose tea leaves are preferred over tea dip bags.

Green tea and black tea are made from the leaves of the same plant, Camellia Sinensis! But green tea leaves don't go through the oxidation process. This makes sure that our body gets all the antioxidants originally present in the plant when we brew green tea.

If you are at the office, where brewing tea is not a convenient option, or maybe you are hungry and need something immediate to suppress it, dip bags are the way to go. You can pour some hot water from your thermos flask into a cup and dip the tea bag for about 5 minutes, and it's ready to drink.

But green tea bags contain more dust and fannings and the minimum space for it to expand when steeped in hot water. And because of this, the quality of dip bags is not as good as loose ones.

Even if you buy some empty tea bags and fill them with loose green tea leaves, the lack of space for it to expand prevents the beneficial compounds from seeping into the water. But if you aim to suppress hunger, tea bags are convenient while traveling or at public places.

There is green tea, a blend of green tea leaves from various parts of our country; then there is matcha, sencha, and many more varieties. The flavor and amount of various compounds present in each of them are different because of the unique growing conditions. Below, we mentioned two of the most popular green tea varieties in India—sencha and matcha.

Sencha green tea contains the leaves and stems of the plant. They have comparatively lower caffeine content than matcha, so people who are not looking for a stimulant effect from green tea but the weight loss benefits of catechins, which are antioxidants that fight the signs of aging and diseases, can opt for this variety.

Since they are grown in full sunlight, the amount of healthy antioxidants in sencha is higher compared to matcha. This variety of green tea is steamed and rolled before packing. This process ensures that oxidation doesn't destroy the colors, flavor, and nutritional compounds present in it. Sencha tea has a grassy flavor and is much more pungent than matcha.

Matcha green tea only has leaves; all the stems are removed before grinding them into a powder. Since matcha is grown in the shade, it has high levels of caffeine and l-theanine, a compound known to relax your mind. And because of the high caffeine content, you can substitute this for coffee.

With other green tea varieties, we brew the tea and filter the leaves out. But matcha is prepared by mixing the powder into water or milk, just like a protein shake is prepared, taking in all the nutrients the tea leaves have to offer when we drink it.

Benefits of matcha include alertness without anxiety due to the combination of caffeine and l-theanine and improved immunity from the presence of a special catechin antioxidant called EGCg. This green tea variety is also known for promoting heart health, memory, and improved brain functions.

The caffeine metabolization in people with caffeine sensitivity is much slower. Because of this, they experience increased heart rate, blood pressure, headache, and jitters for a long time.

There is a common misconception that green tea doesn't have any caffeine. Of course, compared to other caffeinated drinks, green tea has lesser caffeine content. It is dangerous enough for people who are sensitive to caffeine since the caffeine content of green tea can range from 30 to 50 milligrams per 150 ml.

But if you want the health and weight loss benefits of green tea without the unpleasant effects of caffeine, look for decaffeinated green tea. The decaffeination process will only remove the caffeine from the green tea, not other nutrients, flavors, or aroma.

Obviously, green tea is not the only beverage that promotes weight loss in humans. Ayurveda mentions that many herbs and spices can help people with losing extra fat for a healthier life. You can find many herbal blends in the market that amplify the weight loss benefits of green tea.

Green tea with lemon and honey is a popular weight loss remedy mentioned in the Ayurvedic scriptures. Instead of buying these ingredients separately, you can buy a green tea blend that combines all these to make a healthy cup of weight loss tea.

You may know that plants that grow far away from polluted areas get pesticide-free water, and produce more beneficial nutrients. Himalayan green tea is one such green tea type that grows in the foothills of the Himalayas, known for being antioxidant-rich and superior in quality.

For some people drinking green tea may not be an enjoyable experience. Especially when it comes to low-quality tea bags, the flavor can be very bitter. But if you are adding sugar to your green tea, you will be negating all the weight loss benefits of it.

Instead, use natural sweeteners like stevia or erythritol that have an extremely low amount of calories. Honey is another option for sweetening your green tea, but remember that honey has more calories than sugar per teaspoon. But since honey makes you feel full, you will be forced to cut down on meals and snacks, which is beneficial for promoting weight loss.

• Drink green tea with ajwain and fennel seeds before going to bed for better digestion. 
• Don’t consume tea with your medications, as caffeine in tea can hinder the activity of drugs. 
• Avoid combining iron/calcium-rich foods/supplements with green tea as caffeine hinders absorption of Ca and Fe.

Every weight loss plan has more than one type of diet change. Below are three articles about three foods—honey, oats, and olive oil, that are known to promote healthy weight loss in adults.

Now you are well-versed in the green tea varieties and herbal green tea blends that popular for promoting weight loss in adults. But keep in mind that drinking green tea alone will not get you far; you have to combine it with regular exercise and a balanced diet to achieve your dream healthy body.

Author - Arun F Xaviour