Mega Green Tea Diet

Green tea, a popular beverage in China and Japan for hundreds of years, was virtually unheard of in the Western world until scientists---and marketers---discovered the tea's possible weight-loss benefits. Now, it's nearly as easy to find bottles of green tea as cans of soda on grocery store shelves. But if you don't like the taste of green tea, you can enjoy its metabolism-boosting powers by taking mega green tea capsules.

Check Product Labels

If you are buying green tea capsules and want to reap the full benefits of brewed tea, read the product labels carefully. A cup of brewed green tea from loose leaves contains 127 mg of catechins, the antioxidants in green tea known for their fat-burning properties. Some types of mega green tea capsules provide nearly as many catechins; others fall short. Benefits from drinking brewed green tea are most apparent at levels above 300 mg daily, but you may not attain this many by taking the maximum recommended dose of green tea capsules. Some product labels list catechins as an ingredient. Other names for the antioxidant include its formal name---epigallocatechin gallate, the abbreviation EGCG, and flavonoids.

Ingredients in Green Tea Supplements

Green tea capsules contain caffeine, although less than you'd find in a cup of coffee. Most mega green tea capsules contain ingredients other than green tea. One popular brand contains seven additional ingredients, some of which may be harmful. Eleuthero, also known as Siberian ginseng, may cause sleep disorders and high blood pressure. Guarana, another ingredient in some mega green tea capsules, produces caffeine-like side effects such as jitters and nervousness. Gotu cola may cause liver problems if taken habitually. Some capsules contain types of seaweed---kelp and bladderwrack, for example---that could cause hyperthyroidism.

Weight Loss

Green tea capsules proved effective in recent clinical trials, included one conducted at Oklahoma State University. Supplements helped participants lose 4.9 lbs. in eight weeks in a trial led by OSU researcher Arpita Basu, whose results were published in August 2010 in the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition." The results for participants who drank 4 cups of strong green tea were slightly superior---5.5 lbs.---than for those who took the supplements containing a total of 460 mg of catechins. People in the control group drank 4 cups of water daily and did not lose weight.

Expert Insight

Weight loss linked to green tea capsules is too minimal to warrant their use, according to Craig Coleman, of the University of Connecticut. Coleman, an associate professor of pharmacy practice at the university, said he would not recommend green tea capsules---or green tea extract in any form---as a weight-loss supplement. Catechins in green tea produced weight loss of 1 to 3 lbs. in three to 24 weeks, according to Coleman's review of 15 studies.

Safety Considerations

If you take mega green tea capsules that contain only green tea powder, you should find them safe unless you are sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Since caffeine is a diuretic, it may cause problems for people with kidney disorders. And its stimulating effect may prove adverse for anyone with a nervous disorder. Pregnant women should also avoid or limit their use of caffeine. Caffeine consumption in levels higher than 100 mg daily causes higher incidences of low birth weight babies, according to the "British Medical Journal."