The Weight Loss Benefit of Green Tea

For 4,000 years, Asians have regarded green tea as something more than simply a drink. Green tea was used as herbal medication and treatment for everything from headaches to depression and even for weight loss.

Research has been conducted over the last few years to discover what compound present in green tea makes it a strong health drink. The scientists have found that green tea contains a few antioxidants that are responsible for many of green tea's health benefits, including weight loss benefit.

A research study by American and Swiss scientists on the weight loss benefit of green tea was done and the results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Urology. Throughout the course of their investigation, they have found that green tea contains certain compounds that contribute to its weight loss benefit.

Lead researcher, D. Abdul Dulloo said in a press release there are only two ways to arrive at weight loss - either reduce energy intake or increase energy expenditure. Green tea seems to have compounds that can increase the body's normal metabolism rate, therefore its weight loss benefit.

At the University of Geneva, where the study was conducted, Dr. Dulloo and his colleagues experimented on ten healthy young men. They theorized the major contributor to green tea's weight loss benefit is its caffeine content. To test this theory on green tea's weight loss benefit, they placed the study's participants on a conventional "Western" diet that is about forty percent fat, thirteen percent protein, and forty-seven percent carbohydrates.

Three times daily, the researchers measured their subjects' energy expenditure (the measurement used in discovering the number of calories burned in 24 hours) and recorded their respiration quotient to find out how well they used their carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

When they interpreted the statistics they collected, they found out the men receiving regular dosages of green tea extract showed a significant increase in their 24-hour energy expenditure. The men showed a decrease in their respiration quotient (which means that more fat is burned, achieving maximum weight loss). On the other hand, those men who were only given caffeine or a placebo with each meal showed only slight increases in their metabolism rates.

The scientists construed the substance catechin polyphenol present in green tea adds to its weight loss benefit. These substances in green tea may change how the body uses the hormone norepinephrine that is responsible for increasing the metabolism rate, thus leading to weight loss.

In their supposition, the scientists inferred that green tea owes its weight loss benefit to the presence of antioxidants and the substance catechin polyphenol. These substances promote increased fat and calorie burning and weight loss.

For more information about green tea diets please visit Green Tea Diet Site.com.