A Little Solid Information on Green Tea

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dave87

New member
Green tea has numerous benefits. It can be consumed either as the well-marketed green tea extract (EGCG) found in stores, or simply brewed in a cup to be enjoyed. What benefit does it have? Well for one, studies show that green tea extract reduced weight gain and improved insulin resistance when subjects were fed a high fat diet (1). The extract demonstrated increased amounts of the enzyme responsible for fat metabolism in muscle, and also decreased amounts of adipose storing genes in the liver (2). Similar findings in yet another study showed an increase in lean body mass when subjects were fed a high fat diet, with the mechanism linked to a suppression of fat cell differentiation and uptake of fat into adipose tissue (3). It also significant to mention that green tea improved glucose tolerance in these studies, suggesting a protective role against diabetes. Additionally, green tea is loaded with anti-oxidants; a proposed mechanism against free radical cellular damage. Overall, store bought tea or EGCG is a highly recommended safe substance to add to your weight loss plan.









References



1.Jang HJ, Ridgeway SD, Kim JA. Effects of the Green Tea Polyphenol, Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG), on High Fat Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance and Endothelial Dysfunction. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Oct 22.

2. Hodgson AB, Randell RK, Jeukendrup AE. The effect of green tea extract on fat oxidation at rest and during exercise: evidence of efficacy and proposed mechanisms. Adv Nutr. 2013 Mar 1;4(2):129-40. doi: 10.3945/an.112.003269.



3. Chen N, Bezzina R, Hinch E, Lewandowski PA, Cameron-Smith D, Mathai ML, Jois M, Sinclair AJ, Begg DP, Wark JD, Weisinger HS, Weisinger RS.
Green tea, black tea, and epigallocatechin modify body composition, improve glucose tolerance, and differentially alter metabolic gene expression in rats fed a high-fat diet. Nutr Res. 2009 Nov;29(11):784-93. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2009.10.003.
 
Green Tea is best for your body.
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i normally drink coffee and tea with milk and tons of sugar...to my surprise green tea actually tastes wonderful and is soothing...just on its own.
 
The Mayo Clinic are less enthusiastic in their claims...

Product
Green tea extract

Claim
Decreases appetite, and increases calorie and fat metabolism

Effectiveness
Insufficient evidence to evaluate

Side effects
Dizziness, insomnia, agitation, nausea, vomiting, bloating, gas, diarrhea



The OP has cited several studies - but for my money has missed out one or two aspects in their solid information.

The first study cited was a study on the effects on mice. When a study states that something "may have beneficial health effects in glucose metabolism" - it doesnt mean that it DOES have those effects... I may soon win the lottery (I regularly buy a ticket)... It doesnt mean that I will soon be rich...



The second study cited by the OP includes the phrase However, to date, evidence from human studies to support these adaptations is lacking.



The third study was one examining rats. Again - nothing conclusive about how a human body would react.



I can understand why the Mayo Clinic say that there is insufficient evidence to evaluate.

As far as I can see it - if people want to drink green tea - and are happy with the risks of the "dizziness, insomnia, agitation, nausea, vomiting, bloating, gas, diarrhea" then that is fine... It may indeed benefit them (there is insufficient evidence to say either way)- or indeed it may give them a placebo effect that they believe that it is something positive that they are doing to benefit their weight loss - so could help them to stay on track.

It may be that some people who are taking such pills or drinking this tea are modifying their food and exercise habits which in turn is causing the weight loss that they see...

People should not read something with a title like "solid information" and believe that they are seeing the whole picture... This forum is often frequented by people that come here to sell their wares... We should always be suspicious of people that come here - especially if they are not part of our community and making a lot of postings on an array of subjects. Single topic posters of this type are often spammers.
 
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I regularly drank green tea for around five months or so. I really enjoyed it, but it didn't seem to have any effect on my weight loss or other health markers (blood pressure and bloodwork). I still have it occasionally, when we are out running around...

I know some people swear by it; I'm happy for them.
 
Doesn't a high fat diet improve insulin resistance by itself? (talking about study 1 here).

-If so- How can you accurately determine what was the role of the green tea here? How can you know what part had to do with the change on the diet and what part had to do with the tea.

the 'reduced weigh gain' can also be said for several high-fat diets, including or not green tea.

It's the same problem for the study number 3, '(...) when subjects were fed a high fat diet (...)' (and, as Omega said, it was on rats).

(Note that I'm not trying to antagonize here, I'm just questioning how can you accurately measure the role of the tea when you've changed more than 1 factor?)

If you want to add green tea is fine, but don't obsess by taking extracts or other stuff because of the little benefit it may give you. If you search around you'll find thousand of articles telling you how [insert product here] helps you burn fat.

Also, do keep in mind that the more you process it (*cough* extracts! *cough*), the more mistakes that can be made, and the more you destroy it.
 
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