Green Tea Extract effective for weight loss

    Supplementing obese men with a high dosage of Green Tea Extract increases energy expenditure and helps beat the battle of the bulge according to results from a new human study. The men who supplemented with a Green Tea Extract supplying 300mg of Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) increased their oxidation of fat by 33 % (fat calorie burning).“This pilot study provides for the first time evidence that a single green tea catechin, EGCG, can increase fat oxidation in obese men, at least within 2 hours after meal intake. Within this postprandial phase, EGCG is equipotent with caffeine with regard to fat oxidation,” wrote the authors, led by Dr. Frank Thielecke.
    Green tea has been studied extensively for its potential in the weight management category, with the compound Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) highlighted as a key component. Three mechanisms have been proposed: EGCG could increase energy metabolism and fatty acid oxidation; inhibit fat cell development (adipogenesis); and/or reduce lipid absorption and increase fat excretion.
    The new research, performed in collaboration with scientists from the University of Medicine Berlin, does support a link between caffeine and EGCG for weight loss, but also found that both of the compounds produce similar effects when used independently. A daily dose of 300 mg of EGCG was associated with a 33 per cent increase in fat oxidation, while a daily dose of 200 mg caffeine was linked to a 34.5 per cent increase. However this is a large dose of caffeine that can potentially increase blood pressure. When male subjects were given a combination of EGCG (300 mg) and caffeine (200 mg), fat oxidation increased by almost 50 per cent, added the researchers. Dr Josh Lambert, assistant professor in the Department of Food Science at Penn State told NutraIngredients.com that laboratory studies and small-scale human intervention studies “indicate that consumption of tea might promote weight loss, help maintain body weight following weight loss, and prevent the development of some diseases associated with obesity such as diabetes and fatty liver disease”. “The effective doses seem to be 3 to 10 cups of green tea per day,” he added. The study is published online ahead of print in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.