Green Tea for Weight Loss?

In my previous article - I introduced the concept of water as a weight loss secret weapon.

I forgot however to mention this study aimed at seeing if water as part of a calorie controlled diet could lead to greater weight loss. The article was published in a medical journal [Obesity (2009) doi:10.1038/oby.2009.235].

The findings showed that just drinking water reduced energy intake during meals amongst the study population of middle to older aged adults. Over a 3 month period the group that drank about 500mL of water prior to each daily meal had a weight loss of approximately 2 kg (or 44% greater weight loss) than the group that didn't drink water.

These results were consistent with another study where water wasn't being specifically reviewed, the results were noticed as the people participating had to report on everything they were consuming including water.


Okay I'm glad I remembered to share that with you. Now let's move onto Green Tea.

Green tea has been touted as a wonder health product and natural supplement. This is because studies have shown it to have positive effects on atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, cholesterol levels, cancer protection, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, liver disease, even on tooth decay!

But how about green tea for weight loss? How may it boost metabolism and help burn fat?

Green tea appears to fight obesity by increasing the rate of calorie burning, reducing body fat levels and preventing excess weight gain. How does it do this?




The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1999) published the results of a study by the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva. Researchers found that the group of 10 male test subjects who took a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than the group who only took caffeine or a placebo.
Their conclusions were: "Green tea has thermogenic properties and promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content per se".  In English? The fat burning properties of green tea exceed what would be expected to be produced by its caffeine content.

So what is the theory behind green tea's calorie burning effectiveness?



Increased body heat or thermogenesis increases the metbolism and leads to more calories burnt. Caffeine has shown to contribute to thermogenesis (Caffeine - friend or foe in weight loss? - upcoming article)
Caffeine is contained in green tea however specific antioxidants (polyphenols, specifically the catechins) which exist in large quantities in green tea have a greater effect on thermogenesis. Interestingly enough another in addition to burning more calories thermogenesis has a suppressive effect on appetite.

However the increase in metabolism - which was 80 calories a day to be exact - is not massive enough for green tea to be called a magic solution.

The other study of 38 men performed by Health Care Products Research Laboratories, Tokyo and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) measured the difference in weight, BMI, waist circumference and other weight related indicators of two groups. 
For 12 weeks, the group that was given green tea extract (690 mg catechins per day), were compared with the control group which was given 25 mg catechins per day.
The study showed body weight, BMI, waist circumference, body fat mass, and subcutaneous fat area to be significantly lower in the green tea extract group than in the control group.

In additon to these human studies, there are key animal studies that show various other promising results such as green tea catechins slow the rate of fat accumulation, burns fat in lab animals, especially when exercise is added, that it slows weight gain, fat storage and food intake and that green tea catechins plus caffeine produce marked decrease in belly fat. 

Despite these findings the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the US states that  there isn't enough reliable data to determine whether green tea can aid in weight loss
Additionally, the United States Food and Drug Administration's Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (2010) also states that there is insufficient reliable evidence to rate the claim that green tea extract increases calorie and fat metabolism and decreases appetite and it rates it as "possibly safe".



This may be in part due to the large number of potential interactions it has with certain drugs (beta blockers, anti-coagulants, lithium, clozapine, and certain antidepressants to name a few) as well as risk groups of people who shouldn't drink green tea. Such risk groups include people with heart problems, kidney disorders, stomach ulcers, and psychological disorders (particularly anxiety), pregnant and breastfeeding women.

So if you're still not put off and want to give green tea a trial for weight loss? Here are some tips:

Brew your tea for about 3-4 minutes before drinking it.

Try drinking it with your meals or 3 times a day. (If you aren't all that keen on my water suggestion then you may wish to substitute your regular coffee/tea soft drinks, fruit juices or alcohol for green tea.)

General recommendations, based on previous studies on the benefits of green tea for a health adult is an average of about 4 -5 cups a day or alternatively try a supplement of green tea extract in capsule form.

I find that the green tea blends are quite palatable. Lipton does a green tea with mint and Dilmah have a green tea with jasmine petals. (In the UK you were able to buy green tea and peach or with pear - delicious!)

Whilst the jury is still out until more conclusive studies can be done, the evidence that is there is enough for me to keep drinking that instead of the Lindt hot chocolate I bought on a naughty whim... sigh


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