Green Tea And Metabolism/Weight Loss

Obesity in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that 66 percent of the American population, aged 20 or older, is either overweight or obese. Overweight and obese people are at higher risk for various health disorders such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, osteoarthritis, gall bladder disease, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and certain types of cancer.nWhat is the cause of obesity? One of the factors for weight gain is consuming too many more calories than we burn! There could be other medical reasons such as thyroid issues, genetics or other eating disorders.nBut here’s promising news for those wanting to lose those extra pounds. More and more research indicates the potential weight-reducing properties of Green Tea. To lose body weight the body must consume less calories and burn more energy. One study found that Green Tea drinkers burn as much as 4% more energy or calories than people who did not consume Green Tea. This study is documented in Efficacy of a green tea extract rich in catechin polyphenols and caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in humans.in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. These results are further confirmed in a 2006 study called Green tea extract thermogenesis-induced weight loss by epigallocatechin gallate inhibition of catechol-O-methyltransferase.nnnThree ingredients in the Green Tea weight loss process are major chemical components which help the body to burn fat—antioxidants called catechins, especially epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), caffeine, and theanine. These work in the body through a process called thermogenesis (fat-burning process). Studies suggest that Green Tea inhibits gastric and pancreatic lipase and the enzymes that digest triglycerides. They also appear to inhibit fatty acid synthetase, the enzyme which synthesizes fatty acids into a form which can be stored in the body’s adipose (fat) cells. Phytomedicine, 2002 documents these properties in Recent findings of green tea extract AR25 (Exolise) and its activity for the treatment of obesity.nn Green Tea not only is believed to promote the loss of fat, but specifically the loss of visceral fat. Visceral fat accumulates in the tissues lining the abdominal cavity and surrounding the intestines and internal organs. Visceral fat is usually associated with “apple” shaped bodies, as against “pear” shaped bodies. The antioxidants found in Green Tea play an important role when metabolic rate increases during the oxidation of fat. Oxidation of fat produces free radical activity leading to a number of harmful diseases. Green Tea antioxidants help to reduce free radical activity in the body. Weight-reducing properties of Green Tea and continuing research on this subject raises the possible potential of the Green Tea weight loss therapy.nn is also known to have overall beneficial effects on most health concerns. Research indicates its use in lowering the risk of certain types of cancers, coronary heart disease, arthritis, increasing immunity, healthy metabolism, improving liver function and in regulating blood sugar levels and therefore keeping diabetes under control. However, the importance of a proper balanced diet—low in saturated fats, high in fiber, lots of fruits and vegetables, and low in calories—should never be undermined. Doctors recommend a good diet and plenty of regular physical exercise as the best way to lose weight. Green Tea and its related products, like Green Tea Plus, can nutritionally assist your body in the weight loss process. If you are not used to drinking tea, or don’t have the time to brew it every day, Green Tea Plus or other Green Tea supplements (in the form of powder, gum, candy pills or drops), can give you the health supplements you need from Green Tea. Green Tea Plus is all natural and convenient to use, containing all the nutritional benefits of Green Tea in its natural form, plus 72 trace elements essential for good nutrition. For further reference:nGreen tea and thermogenesis: interactions between catechin-polyphenols, caffeine and sympathetic activity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000 Feb;24(2):252-8.nDulloo AG, Seydoux J, Girardier L, Chantre P, Vandermander J.nInstitute of Physiology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland. abdul.dulloo@unifr.chnnThe thermogenic effect of tea is generally attributed to its caffeine content. We report here that a green tea extract stimulates brown adipose tissue thermogenesis to an extent which is much greater than can be attributed to its caffeine content per se, and that its thermogenic properties could reside primarily in an interaction between its high content in catechin-polyphenols and caffeine with sympathetically released noradrenaline (NA). Since catechin-polyphenols are known to be capable of inhibiting catechol-O-methyl-transferase (the enzyme that degrades NA), and caffeine to inhibit trancellular phosphodiesterases (enzymes that break down NA-induced cAMP), it is proposed that the green tea extract, via its catechin-polyphenols and caffeine, is effective in stimulating thermogenesis by relieving inhibition at different control points along the NA-cAMP axis. Such a synergistic interaction between catechin-polyphenols and caffeine to augment and prolong sympathetic stimulation of thermogenesis could be of value in assisting the management of obesity. International Journal of Obesity (2000) 24, 252-258 PMID: 10702779 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Some useful citations:

1. Park EJ, Pezzuto JM. "Botanicals in cancer chemoprevention." Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2002;21(3-4):231-55.
2. Kazi A, Smith DM, Daniel K, Zhong S, Gupta P, Bosley ME, Dou QP. "Potential molecular targets of tea polyphenols in human tumor cells: significance in cancer prevention." In Vivo. 2002 Nov-Dec;16(6):397-403.
3. Chung FL, Schwartz J, Herzog CR, Yang YM. "Tea and cancer prevention: studies in animals and humans." J Nutr. 2003 Oct;133(10):3268S-74S.
4. Iso H et al. (2006). "The Relationship between Green Tea and Total Caffeine Intake and Risk for Self-Reported Type 2 Diabetes among Japanese Adults" 144 (8): 554–62.
5. Geleijnse JM, Launer LJ, Hofman A, Pols HA, Witteman JCM. Tea flavonoids may protect against atherosclerosis: the Rotterdam study. Arch Intern Med. 1999;159:2170-2174.
6. Yang TTC, Koo MWI. Chinese green tea lowers cholesterol level through an increase in fecal lipid excreiton. Life Sciences . 1999:66:5:411-423.