Green Tea Weight Loss Research - It's Sound Science!

Green tea has gained increasing popularity as an aid to weight loss. Is it all hype or is there some truth to this? The good news is - it's true! There has been ample scientific research on this subject showing there are 2 components of green tea, that do indeed help us slim down. These 2 components are catechins and caffeine.

Catechins are a group of antioxidant plant chemicals of the polyphenol family. These catechins break down into 5 different types:

1) Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)
2) Epigallocatechin (EGC)
3) Epicatechin gallate (ECG)
4) Epicatechin (EC)
5) Catechin (C)

It is EGCG that receives the most attention. It is the most powerful of all 4 catechins and fortunately the most abundant in green tea. The dosage of green tea extract is primarily measured by the amount of EGCG it contains. So high dosages of EGCG is what you need to look for when you pick out a green tea extract supplement.

In a study, 123 obese Japanese men and women were given a cup of green tea containing 583mg everyday for a period of 12 weeks. They were also asked to maintain their normal eating habits and physical activity levels. Amazingly the participants experienced a decrease in body weight, body mass index, body fat ratio, body fat mass, waist circumference, hip circumference and a reduction in visceral and subcutaneous fat areas. So in short they lost weight! Also in this same study another 117 obese Japanese men and women were only given 96mg of catechins per day. They still lost weight, but to a much lesser degree than the other group. The real amazing thing here is these men and women still lost weight while maintaining their normal eating habits and physical activity levels! Although I strongly advocate eating healthy and exercising for overall health and longevity!

Through a process called thermogenesis - this is the process by which the body generates heat, or energy, by increasing its basal metabolic rate above normal. Your basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy (calories) your body uses for its basic involuntary or semi-involuntary functions such as breathing and pumping blood around your body. So they are basically calories you burn up even if you don't move at all.

Another study has suggested that catechins reduce the absorption of carbohydrates by having an inhibiting effect on amylase, even possibly inhibiting up to 25% of ingested carbohydrates. Amylase is an enzyme found in human saliva and and in the digestive tract that digests carbohydrates. This is clearly great news for a weight loss plan!

Just like catechins but to a lesser degree, caffeine also Increases your basal metabolic rate by thermogenesis to aid in losing weight.

The combination of the catechins and caffeine is a sound science for weight loss. There is no problem either if you like to stay clear of caffeine, decaffeinated green tea isn't any lower in catechins. To get a higher dosage of these catechins for green tea weight loss, you can buy green tea as supplement called "green tea extract". Green tea extract has become very popular as a herbal supplement for losing weight.