Green Tea Extract Burns Fat

Green Tea Extract Burns Fat

A University of Geneva team of researchers investigated whether green tea extract, by virtue of its high caffeine and catechin polyphenols content, could increase 24-hour energy expenditure and fat burning. Twenty-four-hour energy expenditure and urinary excretion of nitrogen (a measure of muscle breakdown) were measured in a respiratory chamber in ten healthy men. On three separate occasions, subjects were randomly assigned one of three treatments: green tea extract (50 mg caffeine and 90 mg epigallocatechin gallate); caffeine (50 mg); or placebo. They ingested these at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Relative to placebo, treatment with the green tea extract resulted in a significant increase in 24-hour energy expenditure without any change in urinary nitrogen. Treatment with caffeine in amounts equivalent to those found in green tea extract had no effect on energy expenditure or on urinary nitrogen. The authors concluded that green tea has thermogenic properties ands promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content. Amer J Clin Nutr, 70:1040-1045,1999)

Vitamin Research offers a standardized, encapsulated (200 mg) green tea extract with a 52% polyphenol potency per capsule.