Powerful polyphenols called catechins mediate green tea’s anti-obesogenic effects. According to numerous experiments, green tea catechins can arrest lipogenesis or fat creation in humans.
In a Taiwanese study, researchers were able to observe among 1103 adults that those who drank tea at least once a week for more than 10 years had 20% less body fat and 2% lower visceral fat compared to those who hardly consumed any tea. Likewise, a cohort study that followed 4,280 Dutch females for 14 years noted an inverse relationship between catechin intake and body mass index.
Numerous studies have probed into the various ways green tea consumption positively affects body weight. To keep the results from getting skewed participants were asked not to change their normal food intake or regular activities. Most of these studies made the same observation: that those who consumed catechin-rich green tea for 3 months not only lowered their bad cholesterol but also ended up slimmer in terms of body weight, waist and hip proportion, and body fat mass. Researchers also saw that catechins in green tea can aid in the nutritional prevention and treatment of modern, life-threatening diseases such as obesity.
It Enables You to Burn More Energy
The total amount of energy you burn if you did nothing but sleep all day is called resting energy expenditure (REE). It is the amount of daily energy your body spends in order to maintain basic biological functions. Some of this energy is used for heat production— thermogenesis. Thermogenesis is partially dependent on the food we eat. Some foods can induce greater heat production in the body than others. Foods that can increase your REE by way of increased body heat production are called thermogenic foods.
One French experiment found out that the daily administration of green tea capsules can cause an increase in REE by inducing thermogenesis. The 10 healthy male participants were all treated with green tea extract, caffeine, and placebo on separate occasions. They experienced a 4% increase in their REE after taking green tea capsules. This increase was not observed after taking caffeine or placebo.
In another study, 31 men and women were instructed to drink 3 servings of green tea a day. After three days, they experienced an REE increase of 4-8%, which is equivalent to 100 more calories burned per day. What the study strongly suggests is that green tea can deliver great weight loss results when habitually consumed in conjunction with a balanced diet and regular physical activity.
