Green tea has been used for thousands of years to control blood sugar and improve heart health. Most of green tea's effects are due to antioxidant compounds called polyphenols. The major polyphenolic compound found in green tea is catechins, which may play a role in promoting fat loss, especially from the stomach region. Consult your health care provider before taking any herbs.
Stomach Fat
The two main types of fat are subcutaneous, which is underneath your skin, and visceral, which covers your organs in the abdominal area. Visceral fat, or stomach fat, is more dangerous than subcutaneous fat, since it secretes inflammatory cells that damage blood vessels that supply your organs with nutrients and oxygen. Over time, your organs don't receive the proper nutrients it needs to function properly, which can increase your risk of organ damage and disease, according to the Harvard Medical School.
Abdominal Fat Loss
Green tea catechins combined with moderate exercise might be a belly fat fighting combo, according to research reported in the December 2008 issue of "The Journal of Nutrition." Researchers at Kao Corporation in Japan studied the effects of green tea in conjunction with exercise on body composition, or fat to muscle ratio in the body. Overweight and obese subjects were assigned to receive 625 mg of catechins with 39 mg of caffeine, or a control beverage with 39 mg of caffeine. Both groups performed moderate exercise at least three times a week for 12 weeks. Scientists found that those in the green tea catechin group lost more abdominal body fat compared with those in the control group.
Mechanism
One of the ways green tea might increase abdominal fat loss is by increasing levels of norepinephrine, a fat-burning hormone, in your body. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China found that green tea inhibits methyl-O-transferase, an enzyme that breaks down norepinephrine. Therefore, green tea allows you to have higher levels of norepinephrine, which accelerates fat loss. The findings were reported in the 2006 issue of the "Journal of Medicinal Food."
Interactions
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, green tea may interact with several medications, including adenosine, beta-blockers and blood-thinning medications. Speak to your health care provider before taking green tea.
References
- Harvard Medical School; Abdominal Fat And What To Do About It; February 2007
- "Journal of Nutrition"; Green Tea Catechin Consumption Enhances Exercise-Induced Abdominal Fat Loss in Overweight and Obese Adults; K.C. Maki et al.; February 2009
- "Journal of Medicinal Food"; Green Tea Extract Thermogenesis-Induced Weight Loss By Epigallocatechin Gallate Inhibition of Catechol-O-Methyltransferase; Q. Shixian et al.; 2006
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Green Tea; 2011
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