There’s been a lot of talk on Oprah and other television shows about the power of green tea as a weight loss supplement. This article is going to take a look at the pros and cons of using green tea, not only for weight loss but for its health benefits as well. We’ll review Power Tea as product that enhances the benefits of green tea.

What is Power Tea made with?

Obviously the main ingredient in Power Tea is green tea. This particular product uses organic great tea, to avoid the harmful effects of chemicals and fertilizers. It is supplemented with Guarana, citris aurantium, and Vitamin B12, all of which have their own weight loss and energy benefits that we’ll discuss in detail.

A Brief History of Green Tea

Green tea has a long history of use in Chinese medicine. Its benefits include the ability to treat headaches, body ache, and poor digestion. It has been said that it improves well-being and can increase life expectancy. The real benefit of green tea is its high level of polyphenols, which fight free radicals in the body. Green tea is common in many other fat burner products because it helps with improving metabolism and thermogensis without increasing heart rate.

What does the Guarana do?

Guarana is an added ingredient in PowerTea that has some pretty incredible powers. It comes from a fruit found in the rainforest. Its seed has up to 4 times the amount of caffeine than a comparable coffee bean. Guarana is a stimulant that can increase mental alertness, stamina, and endurance.

What does the citris aurantium do?

Citris aurantium is another ingredient with roots in Chinese medicine. It is often called bitter orange because it is made from the immature and unripe fruit of the citrus family. Studies show that it can increase your metabolic rate at rest, and encourages the use of stored fat in the body for energy production. In addition, it burns these extra calories at a faster rate without actually causing any increased jitters.

What are free radicals and how do they affect the body?

Those polyphenols in Power Tea? They’re antioxidants that fight free radicals. But what are free radicals in the body and why should you care?

Without going into a long chemistry lesson, we’ll try to give you the gist of free radicals in the body. Free radicals do not usually form naturally in the body, and when they do your body can take care of them. Free radicals create unstable molecules in the body thus damaging healthy cells. They work against the immune system and are responsible for aging.

Over time pollution, radiation, smoking, herbicides and pesticides cause free radical build up in the body. The free radicals speed up the aging process and create a better environment for cancer cells to form. Free radicals do not really affect weight loss, but they do harm your overall health. If you’re not healthy, then weight loss is kind of a moot point.

The antioxidants in Power Tea stabilize these free radicals naturally. Studies show that antioxidants can prevent many diseases like cancer, stroke, arthritis, and cardiovascular disease.

Should I try Power Tea for weight loss?

As you can tell from this article, the benefits of green tea are numerous. But green tea alone will not help you lose weight. That’s where Power Tea comes in by adding supplements like guarana, citrus aurantium, and vitamin B12. When combined together, Power Tea can be a great supplement to any weight loss plan. Not only for losing weight, but improving overall health.

Keep in mind, of course, that you won’t lose weight if you do not improve your diet and commit to some exercise. Any weight loss product on the market won’t help you if you don’t take these things into consideration. Always consult your physician before starting a weight loss regime.

Want to learn more about free radicals?

Green Tea Benefits

Many people use energy drinks to get an extra kick for a few hours in their day. They’ve become incredibly popular over the past few years. Red Bull started the energy drink craze, through some very clever guerrilla marketing, and then many, many copycats followed. Regular people (non athletes and those who don’t train) use energy drinks to stay awake at work, or to party with at night (Red Bull and Vodka anyone?).

Since this site is geared towards fitness, we’ll get into which energy drinks are best for athletes and people who stay active. Everyone gets tired. Whether you’ve had a long night at the office or are becoming fatigued from training, sometimes we all need a boost to get us through our workouts. But not all energy drinks are the same. Some energy drinks give you a boost from a whole lot of sugar, while others are made specifically optimized for athletes

Red Bull, Rockstar, and Others – Not recommended

If your goal is to lose weight or train harder, and you’re drinking Rockstar, Red Bull, or Go Fast, then you’re out of your mind. These energy drinks that you find in your local convenience stores and bars are so full of sugar and empty calories you might as well be drinking a soda with a caffeine pill thrown in.

Do you know how much sugar these drinks actually have in them? Rockstar Energy Drink: 200 Calories, 48 grams of carbohydrates, and 46 grams or sugar. Red Bull: 160 Calories, 40 grams of carbohydrates, and 39 grams of sugar. Go Fast: 90 Calories, 23 grams of carbohydrates, and 21 grams or sugar.

Even if you’re not into fitness, you shouldn’t make a habit out of drinking these kinds of energy drinks. They have great marketing gimmicks to make you think that they’re not that bad for you, but they really are.

FRS Healthy Energy – Highly Recommended

This is a product I’ve recently come across and I have to say it’s great. FRS Healthy Energy was designed specifically for athletes. While I am not the greatest of athletes, when I need a boost, it is not going to come from a can of sugar. FRS Healthy Energy not only gives you a boost, but helps speed up your metabolism too. It was originally designed as a fatigue fighting health drink for cancer patients, but endurance athletes got a hold of it and now it is being marketed that way.

FRS Healthy Energy’s key ingredient is Quercetin, which is a natural antioxidant found in apples, blueberries, and fruits. The rest is a patented mix of vitamins, metabolic enhancers, and antioxidants designed in a way for your body to fully absorb all of the main ingredients. It also increases focus, so you can probably use it to study for a final or finish up a giant pile of work.

Coffee – Use at your own risk

Coffee has been the “energy drink” of the ages. It’s debatable whether or not coffee is good for you or bad for you, but when used in moderation it’s the cheapest “energy drink” out there. While you don’t want to be drinking from a coffee thermos during a workout, it can really give you enough energy to jump start your day.

Drink it black. Straight up and black. When I say coffee, I don’t mean a 400 calorie double caramel latte from Starbucks. If you want caffeine in its purest form, you have to drink it black. That means no sugar, no creamers, and no whatever else they are putting in coffee nowadays. This is especially true for those aiming to lose weight. Adding those extra sugars will null any benefits that coffee may give you. Stick to one or two cups. It can be very habit forming, so do not start your day with a half a pot of coffee. Drinking excessive amounts of coffee can cause all sorts of problems, not limited to bowel problems and blood pressure problems.

More Supplements to consider for your Daily intake

This article “supplements” (sorry) Lush’s article on performance enhancing dietary supplements in part 1 of Supplement Rack. As Lush notes, some of the great supplements for fitness training to use on an every day basis include protein powders, glutamine, BCAAs (or amino acids), creatine monohydrate, flaxseed, and a multi-vitamin. While the products Lush mentions are of significant importance, and probably top the list, there are a couple others that I would like to talk about briefly, which are either highly recommended or highly beneficial at the least.

But first a word of warning: if you do not have your diet in check, do not waste your time with any supplements other than vitamins, protein powders, and essential fatty acids (EFAs - see below).
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Review of some common, and not so common supplements

In this day and age, there are more supplements on the market than there are people to ingest all these magically enhanced, super engineered, biologically improved, and chemically re-structured pills. Yea right! Let me tell you what a supplement is, and why we need them or don’t need them. We won’t get in to much science here; I’m just going to explain what athletes actually benefit from, and what is actually bullshit.

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