Fat loss in a tiny bag: if your belly runneth over, fill your cup with green tea to shrink it - Nutrition Science

Men's Fitness, Sept, 2002 by Ben Kallen

When you're trying to lose fat, the risk-vs.-reward scale isn't always tilted in your favor. Some things that help you burn fat can also make you as jittery as Ozzy Osbourne at a Backstreet Boys concert. What you really need is a cheap, easy-to-prepare potion that burns lard and is good for you, too.

What is this magical brew? It's your basic, everyday, bag-in-hot-water tea. In particular, green tea, the kind that Asia's inhabitants have been drinking for millennia, but that America's European ancestors shunned in favor of orange pekoe. There's good reason Hoss Cartwright was an overweight lunker and Hop Sing was lean and mean.

Green tea is inexpensive and readily available. When brewed, it looks kind of like liquefied grass, with a light, organic flavor that reminds you that you're drinking leaves. True, it may take some getting used to, but if a billion people have already learned to enjoy the stuff, you can too. So if you're looking for a metabolic boost, put down the crumpets and brew up some green tea, Grasshopper.

WHY GREEN TEA BURNS FAT

All green and black tea is brewed from the leaves of one bush, the camellia sinensis. While black tea leaves are fermented, green tea is steamed and dried right after picking. This gives it a different composition, including a whole lot more catechin polyphenols, chemicals that act both as an antioxidant and as a metabolism booster. Green tea has about 27 percent catechins, while black tea has just 4 percent. (Sorry, Grandma, but herbal teas like chamomile don't have any.)

When Swiss researchers gave volunteers a green-tea extract with every meal, the subjects displayed a 4 percent increase in energy expenditure over the next 24 hours, a boost the scientists attributed to the combination of catechins and caffeine. A 4 percent increase doesn't sound like much, but it could make a significant difference to someone who is training seriously and eating right. Look at it this way: If you're taking in 2,200 calories a day and neither gaining nor losing weight, that extra 4 percent will translate into 88 burned calories. If you make no other dietary or lifestyle change, you'll still lose almost nine pounds during the next year. Apart from the calorie savings, tea appears to give an extra boost by encouraging your body to burn fat rather than carbohydrates.

HOW TO BOOST FAT LOSS THROUGH TEA

Here's what you need to know to get the most from your catechin content.

Brewed tea As mentioned, green tea may taste a little grassy and somewhat bitter (although some people find it "fresher" than black tea). In fact, the catechins are part of what causes that subtle bitterness. A little sweetener can help, though too much sugar or honey will counteract the calorie-burning action of the tea. You can also try the many flavored green-tea bags now available, or you can add a bag of fruit-flavored herbal tea to the cup to minimize the astringency.

Sugar and honey aren't the only additives to avoid, says Adam Drewnowski, Ph.D., director of the nutritional sciences program at the University of Washington. Studies have suggested that adding milk to tea may reduce the tea's antioxidant potential, because milk proteins affect your body's absorption of polyphenol chemicals. It's unknown whether green tea's metabolism-boosting properties would be reduced as well, but that seems unlikely, since volunteers in the Swiss study consumed their tea with meals.

Remember that while green tea has less than half the caffeine of coffee, you can still overdo it. Some experts believe that calming chemicals in the tea give it a more gradual energy boost--which can also mean you may not notice its effect on you. If you find you're getting jittery or having trouble sleeping at night, cut back or switch to decaf versions.

Bottled tea Several companies offer iced green tea in bottles, but tests on some popular brands have found they contain virtually none of the healthful chemicals found in freshly brewed tea. If only bottled tea is available, try to find a brand made from brewed tea leaves rather than from powder or extract. Honest Tea and Tea's Tea by Ito En are two brands that bottle real tea--catechins and all--and have zero calories, unlike sugary Kool-Aid-type teas. Read the label to ensure you're not getting a huge hit of sugar with your tea.

Tea supplements It's a good idea to talk to your doctor before taking a green-tea capsule, especially if you have a medical condition such as high blood pressure. Find a brand that lists the amount of catechins on the label, as percentages can vary widely. The catechin that appears to have the greatest metabolic potential is listed as "EGCG" (epogallocatechin gallate).

Recently, supplement manufacturers have begun marketing these pills as a "thermogenic," or metabolism booster, that could replace the controversial stimulant ephedra. Many products, such as Xenadrine EFX, contain combinations of green-tea extracts along with other sources of caffeine. The amount of caffeine in these tea extracts can add up quickly, and is often not listed on the label. So take no more than the suggested serving size and, again, monitor yourself for jitteriness or insomnia. If you're still rolling around in bed, wide awake, at 2 a.m., that's a sure sign to cut back on the tea intake.