Green tea weight loss buzz under the spotlight

There was considerable talk about the alleged weight loss properties of green tea when on an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show entitled "Look Ten Years Younger in Ten Days", Oprah's guest Dr. Nicholas Perricone, writer of "The Perricone Prescription", a New York Times bestseller, said that if people substituted green tea for coffee and did nothing else differently, they would lose 10 pounds in six weeks.

Consequently, Oprah has reportedly taken to a regimen that is believed to take advantage of the health benefits of apples, green tea, almonds, and parmesan cheese which she takes between 3:30 and 4 PM.

After the airing of that Oprah episode, discussions and debates arose regarding the true abilities of green tea in bringing about weight loss. Many say that the doctor's claim was taken out of context and that the true essence of his declaration was not that green tea actually contributed to weight loss but rather that it's replacing coffee that did the trick.

Upon replaying tapes of the Oprah episode, we saw that what Dr. Perricone had actually declared was that coffee has organic acids that increase people's blood sugar, thereby raising insulin. Insulin imprisons body fat. When individuals switch to green tea, they will still get their caffeine fix but they decrease their insulin levels and body fat will likewise be reduced very rapidly.

However, many people also cite the results of a 1999 research study done by Dr. Abdul Dulloo in Switzerland & published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Urology that concluded that green tea extract has thermogenic properties in men and promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content per se. It thus appears that green tea extract may potentially have the ability to promote weight loss.

Another research study published in the International Journal of Obesity concluded that green tea extract improves the burning of calories and fat needed for weight loss. Previous studies conducted on animals have shown that green tea extract increased thermogenesis, which is the generation of body heat that occurs as a result of digestion and absorption of food.

Research studies done in many parts of the globe have concluded that this may be partly attributable to the action of the antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG. It is one of many antioxidant flavonoid substances found in green tea. There are various EGCG health benefits but among the most important is its reported ability to burn fat & increase metabolism, thereby contributing to loss of weight.

Whatever the truth of the matter is, it appears that the weight loss benefits of green tea do indeed exist, though it shouldn't be regarded as a magic bullet. Research have yet to definitively prove that green tea, taken alone, can get the job done. As of this time, research studies show that individuals still have to combine drinking green tea with other lifestyle changes, such as exercise and reducing calorie intake, for the desired effects to be realized.