High dose Green Tea reduces weight, fat, and waist size in obese Japanese subjects

240 Obese Japanese men and women were given either a high potency Green Tea supplying 583mg of Polyphenols known as Catechins or a low potency Green Tea supplying just 96mg of Catechins for 12-weeks in a double-blind study. The lower potency Green Tea served as the placebo. The subjects maintained their regular diet and their usual level of physical activity. The high Catechin group experienced a drop in blood pressure back towards normal if they had elevated blood pressure, and their LDL-cholesterol dropped. The higher dose of Green Tea caused a larger drop in many parameters vs. the lower dosage including; a decrease in weight, improved body mass index, as drop in body fat, a smaller waist, decrease in fat near the hips, and a drop in the more dangerous type of fat known as VAT fat which is insulin resistant. The study is published in the June 2007 issue of the American journal Obesity (Silver Spring).

Fish Oils improve the fatty acid composition of the heart muscle; reducing inflammatory arachidonic acid, but Flaxseed oil lacks this effect

Increased fish or fish-oil consumption is associated with reduced risk of cardiac mortality, especially sudden death. In this fantastic study, patients slated for cardiac bypass surgery who took no oil supplements and ate fish very infrequently were split into 6 different groups; no supplement, fish oil capsules daily for either one, two or three weeks before surgery, flaxseed oil for 21 days pre-surgery, or olive oil for 21 days pre-surgery. Fish Oil supplementation increased EPA and DHA levels in the heart muscle tissue and leveled off at a steady saturation by the 30-day (some patients were rescheduled for surgery at a later date giving the 30-day plus elapsed time). Fish oils displaced dangerous-problematic and pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid; this is a very good thing. Flaxseed oil improved EPA levels only slightly, and had no effect in improving DHA levels. Olive oil which does not supply EPA or DHA and had no impact as expected. The study is published in the May 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph. ? do not confuse Flaxseed oil which supplies omega-3 fatty acid precursors, with Flaxseed Lignans that come from the husk and not from the seed. Lignans are very important for both prostate and breast health.