# Green tea revisited: Drinking it religiously, but not noticing metabolic benefits. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754 "2005-10-25T00:40:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/1 "2005-10-25T00:40:40Z")
Quite a while ago I posted to ask about green tea and its metabolic benefits. Unfortunately I can’t find the thread because “tea” is too short to search, but at any rate, I’ve been drinking it conscientiously without noticing any benefits. Well, OK, I’ve actually started to drink white tea, but that’s supposed to be equally chock full of anti-oxidant goodness. But I’m not noticing any change in metabolism. I’m not dropping a pants size. And, I’m reasonably sure that I’m not consuming more food and alcohol than before; to the contrary, actually. Are there other factors to consider? LIke the time of day that I drink it? I usually take a small pot (about three “teacup” size cups) in the early morning, but I still drink coffee later in the day. Do I have to eliminate coffee for the tea to do its work? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/2 "2005-10-25T01:11:20Z")
I think, perhaps, you are expecting too much from this humble beverage. If you simply add green tea without making any other changes in your diet/routine the differences, if any, will be too slight to notice. Nor is three small cups of tea a day a particularly large amount. Drink green tea (or white) if you like the taste, but don’t expect miracles. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/3 "2005-10-25T01:25:53Z")
Is this the original [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=268679) you were talking about? ---
**Author:** ![enitocinnlonahte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@enitocinnlonahte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enitocinnlonahte)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/4 "2005-10-25T01:43:26Z")
You need to drink a LOT of green tea to achieve the effect that you desire. At least 10 cups a day. The antioxidant benefit does not enter the picture until you get to about that amount. Most studies of green tea indicate some health benefit - but only for those people who imbibe large quantities. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/5 "2005-10-25T02:53:13Z")
10 cups?! If you lost weight, it’d be because of all the calories you burned running to and from the bathroom! Not that I don’t lurves me some green tea. Mmmm. Lung ching . . . ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/6 "2005-10-25T07:55:04Z")
How I lost 10 pounds with herbs: I didn’t rely on green tea as a beverage. I couldn’t drink that much. I took a capsule of Solgar Green Tea Leaf Extract (_Camellia sinensis_) with every meal for a few months. Each capsule contains 400 mg of standardized green tea extract (polyphenols 200 mg [50%]), in 100 mg of raw green tea leaf powder. It’s decaf, BTW. I also used it in combination with an Ayurvedic herbal formula called _triphala_ (‘three fruits’), composed of _Emblica officinalis, Terminalia belerica_, and _Terminalia chebula_. During the time period when I used green tea standardized extract every day, plus triphala maybe a couple times a week, I dropped about 10 pounds and I went from a size 16 skirt to a size 14 pretty quickly. So even if it’s a modest, not a dramatic difference, it was enough of a result to please me. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/7 "2005-10-25T13:04:32Z")
10 cups?! If you lost weight, it’d be because of all the calories you burned running to and from the bathroom! Not that I don’t lurves me some green tea. Mmmm. Lung ching . . . ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/8 "2005-10-25T13:24:40Z")
> [@Podkayne](#): > > 10 cups?! If you lost weight, it’d be because of all the calories you burned running to and from the bathroom! > > Not that I don’t lurves me some green tea. Mmmm. Lung ching . . . Double posted after a 7 minute bathroom break. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/9 "2005-10-25T13:28:27Z")
Nah, drinking it only gets you that far, unless you have a bladder the size of an elephant’s. I take the extract, along with biotin, acetyl-l-carnitine, alpha lipoic acid and conjugated linoleic acid. Took about two and a half weeks off my last cutting season, which is really pretty impressive for an OTC supplement stack. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/10 "2005-10-25T13:58:31Z")
Hmmm…now that you mention it, I think I’ll start drinking more green tea. I love it, but I never really considered making tea at work. But I see no reason why I couldn’t. We have a nukerowave, and/or I could get an electric kettle. It will certainly help me lose weight. But only because it will replace some of the Coke I drink! ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/11 "2005-10-25T14:24:21Z")
Garg! Sorry about the double post. **Green Bean** , electric tea kettles rock. I strongly recommend that you also pick up a thermometer, too, because green tea should be made with water at 160-180[sup]o[/sup]F. You don’t need anything fancy. [Something like this will do.](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004XSC4/qid=1130250128/sr=2-3/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_3/102-3181472-9749712?v=glance&s=kitchen) And don’t forget a timer. Steep for 1-3 minutes, depending on your taste. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/12 "2005-10-25T15:49:36Z")
Or, it could be that the medicinal powers of a bunch of leaves have, in fact, been said to be far greater than they actually are? If simply drinking a lot of tea can magically rejuvinate your clogged arteries, make you lose weight, keep time from effecting you, and fight cancer, why aren’t doctors handing cancer/heart disease/obese patients a bunch of teabags rather than pills? I’m just saying… (obviously, yeah, if you replace your daily fix of non-diet soda with unsweetened tea, you may drop a few pounds, but other than that? I’m skeptical.) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/13 "2005-10-25T15:58:50Z")
I have to say I’m skeptical too. It’s just tea. When I lived in Japan I drank at least 3 cups a day, and probably 10 cups a day in winter. I never expected any “change in metabolism” and never noticed any. ---
**Author:** ![enitocinnlonahte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@enitocinnlonahte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enitocinnlonahte)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/14 "2005-10-25T17:11:39Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Or, it could be that the medicinal powers of a bunch of leaves have, in fact, been said to be far greater than they actually are? > > If simply drinking a lot of tea can magically rejuvinate your clogged arteries, make you lose weight, keep time from effecting you, and fight cancer, why aren’t doctors handing cancer/heart disease/obese patients a bunch of teabags rather than pills? > > I’m just saying… > > (obviously, yeah, if you replace your daily fix of non-diet soda with unsweetened tea, you may drop a few pounds, but other than that? I’m skeptical.) Doctor’s use the drugs they use because they are specific in their effect. They treat pre-existing conditions for the most part. People go to doctors to detect illness, not prevent it. Many animal studies have demonstrated that tea can have a beneficial effect on antioxidant enzyme activities. That leads to increased resistance to toxicity in general. So, tea can definitely minimize the damage that obesity causes. What is more interesting is that tea seems to prevent and correct the metabolic changes that are the result of a high-fat diet. Again, in animals. There are not nearly as many human studies. Assuming that tea has a similar effect in humans, then yes it can to some extent do the things that you mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/15 "2005-10-25T19:10:48Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > Is this the original [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=268679) you were talking about? correct. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-revisited-drinking-it-religiously-but-not-noticing-metabolic-benefits/327754/16 "2005-10-25T19:12:57Z")
Thanks for the responses. I have some extract capsules that I hadn’t been taking, so I’ll add a couple of those every morning and see what happens.