With most weight loss attempts ending in failure, any supplement that makes the process easier remains highly attractive to dieters. Green tea extracts stand out as a natural and effective option to increase fat burning, with particular attention falling on the catechins that appear responsible for such effects.
Green Tea
Green tea comes from the camelia sinesis plant, which grows in many countries. The Institute of Optimum Nutrition explains how, even though the plant also produces black and oolong tea, green tea leaves are those that have not undergone any processing. The lack of processing maintains a specific nutrient content, especially the catechins.
Catechins
Around 10 percent of the weight of tea leaves come from catechins, making them a significant constituent of the herb. As the active ingredient in green tea's weight loss action, most supplement manufacturers standardize their supplements on the basis of the catechin content. Most list the amount of epigallocatechin-gallate, the most potent catechin, on the label.
Action
David Tolson, a nutritional researcher and the contributor to Bulk Nutrition, explains how the catechins inhibit the breakdown of noradrenaline in the central nervous system. This action stimulates an increase in thermogenesis, a process in which the body burns fat to increase core temperature. Such effects can help increase weight loss.
Evidence
Scientific tests have supported green tea extracts' effects as a weight loss aid. An 2002 experiment, which appeared in the "Phytomedicine" journal, provided volunteers with a green tea extract each day for three months. The French scientists leading the study found an average reduction in body weight of 4.6 percent and in waist circumference of 4.5 percent. The extract provided 95 milligrams of epigallocatechin-gallate, also known as EGCG.
Dosage
Dr. Joseph Mercola, a U.S. physician and the author of several books on alternative approaches to nutrition, rates green tea as a useful fat-burning supplement that also offers a number of health benefits. However, he advises his patients not to go overboard with green tea extracts and points to a daily intake of between 60 and 105 milligrams of EGCG per day as a suitable dosage.
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