For many years now, several benefits are attributed to drinking green tea. Today, researchers have come up with newer proofs to solidify the belief that green tea can be used as a treatment for obesity and for weight loss.
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| 500 year old green tea fields, Boseong, Jeollanam-do, South Korea (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
It is held that more than half of the American population have weight problems or are obese. Conditions like these are almost always linked to certain complications like heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, gall bladder disease, and hypertension. Weight loss can aid in assuaging the symptoms of some of these conditions.
Scientists have tirelessly investigated on the weight loss benefits of green tea. They have found that green tea can actually enhance the total amount of energy spent by the body. From their findings, they were able to deduce that green tea has great potential for a weight loss benefit.
Other researches were able to confirm the weight loss benefit of green tea. A recent study at the University of Geneva had the conclusion that, “Green tea has thermogenic properties and promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content per se.” Where before it was generally believed that the caffeine content in green tea is the reason for its weight loss benefit, this recent study deviated from that theory. Green tea has other substances in them that are helpful in weight loss.
The same team who conducted the study on green tea’s caffeine content and weight loss banded together in Switzerland to perform another experiment. They were still able to come up with the same results – that green tea has several thermogenic attributes that make it perfect to use in any weight loss program.
Sample Studies: Green Tea and Weight Loss
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| The appearance of green
tea at three different stages (from left to right): the infused leaves,
the dry leaves, and the liquor. This particular green tea is Xu Fu Long
Ya, a fine Chinese green tea from Sichuan. This is a representational
visual reference of a large percentage of fine Chinese green tea, though
there are varieties that can be different. The infusion colour is a
result of a 1.5 minute duration, at 1 g of leaves to 100 ml of water at
70°C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Green tea reduces body fat accretion caused by high-fat diet in rats through beta-adrenoceptor activation of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. Conducted by chief scientist J.J. Choo of the Department of Food and Nutrition, Kunsan National University, this study aimed to find out if green tea can suppress body fat and to find out whether this suppression is connected with thermogenesis spurred by the body’s beta-adrenoceptor being activated.
To investigate the weight loss benefit of green tea on rats, the scientists placed their subjects on a high-fat diet and provided them with green tea extract. It was discovered that even though the rats were on a high-fat diet, the green tea extract counterbalanced fat gain without affecting the amount of energy they took in. Green tea was said to have shown some weight loss benefits in the fact that it can prevent fat from being stored, can increase protein levels, and promote thermogenesis by triggering beta-adrenoceptor to action.
Recent findings of green tea extract AR25 (Exolise) and its activity for the treatment of obesity. This study is a collaborative work between Doctors P. Chantre and D. Lairon of the Laboratoires Arkopharma in Carros, France. Published in the 2002 issue of Phytomedicine, this study aimed to find out if green tea extract has weight loss benefits and can be a potential cure for obesity.
In their study, they used an 80% ethanolic concentrate in green tea extract with standardized 25% catechins. They tested the green tea extract and were able to find that it could directly inhibit gastric and pancreatic lipases. These enzymes are the primary cause of fat storage and by delaying their actions; green tea extract therefore exhibits a weight loss benefit that can help solve obesity problems.
It was also discovered in this study that green tea can stimulate thermogenesis. Given to moderately obese patients, the green tea extract was said to have caused a decrease in weight by 4.6% and a reduction of waist circumference by 4.48% after only three months. The findings of the study clearly implicate the weight loss benefits of green tea.
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