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Green Tea Fights Fat
Need another healthy reason to drink
Green Tea? Aside from fighting
heart disease, cancer, and other diseases, a new study shows that
drinking green tea may also fight fat.
The study showed that people who drank a bottle of tea fortified
with green tea extract every day for three months lost more body fat
than those who drank a bottle of regular oolong tea.
Researchers say the results indicate that substances found in green
tea known as catechins may trigger weight loss by stimulating the
body to burn calories and decreasing body fat.
The findings appear in the January issue of the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition.
Green Tea: Fat Fighter?
Black tea, oolong tea, and green tea come from the same Camellia
sinensis plant. But unlike the other two varieties, green tea leaves
are not fermented before steaming and drying.
Most teas contain large amounts of polyphenols, which are
plant-based substances that have been shown to have antioxidant,
anticancer, and antiviral properties.
However,
Green Tea is particularly rich in a type of polyphenols
called catechins. These substances have also been shown to have
anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties, but recent research in
animals show that catechins may also affect body fat accumulation
and cholesterol levels.
In this study, researchers looked at the effects of catechins on
body fat reduction and weight loss in a group of 35 Japanese men.
The men had similar weights based on their BMI (body mass index, an
indicator of body fat) and waist sizes.
The men were divided into two groups. For three months, the first
group drank a bottle of oolong tea fortified with green tea extract
containing 690 milligrams of catechins, and the other group drank a
bottle of oolong tea with 22 milligrams of catechins.
During this time, the men ate identical breakfasts and dinners and
were instructed to control their calorie and fat intake at all times
so that overall total diets were similar.
After three months, the study showed that the men who drank the
green tea extract lost more weight (5.3 pounds vs. 2.9 pounds) and
experienced a significantly greater decrease in BMI, waist size, and
total body fat.
In addition, LDL "bad" cholesterol went down in the men who drank
the green tea extract.
The catechin content varies by amount of green tea used and steeping
time. But general recommendations, based on previous studies on the
benefits of green tea, are at least 4 cups a day. Green tea extract
supplements are also available.
Researchers say the results indicate that catechins in green tea not
only help burn calories and lower LDL cholesterol but may also be
able to mildly reduce body fat.
"These results suggest that catechins contribute to the prevention
of and improvement in various lifestyle-related diseases,
particularly obesity," write researcher Tomonori Nagao of Health
Care Products Research Laboratories in Tokyo, and colleagues.
SOURCE: Nagao, T. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January
2005; vol 81: 122-129.
About the Author:
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