Green tea catechins linked to weight loss: Study

Still working on those New Year’s Resolutions? With the first quarter coming to an end, don’t give up just yet — help is on the way, and is right there in your tea cup. We know that catechins, the major component of green tea extract, has several positive physiologic effects on the body. A new study however, shows that these antioxidant compounds from green tea also help promote fat loss. Green tea is a rich source of catechins, (a sub-class of flavonoids), long known for their antioxidant activity. Antioxidant properties play a beneficial role in our health — but this new study from the American Society of Nutrition underscores that tea catechins may help actually promote weight loss.

Published in The Journal of Nutrition, it was found that consuming green tea catechins (625mg/d) may enhance the exercise-induced loss of abdominal fat, and improve your triglyceride levels. An exercise routine in your weight loss/maintenance program is important, and the properties of green tea play an important role. In another study from Federal University of Santa Catarina, resistance training and weight-lifting increased the production of free radicals — sometimes beyond the body’s antioxidant defense capacity — causing oxidative stress. Results from the study suggest that tea offered significant protection against this oxidative damage, providing benefits before and after exercise.

The affirmative health properties of tea continue to make news, and predictions are that the US market for tea will double over the next five years with the growing interest in wellness. There are many new green tea flavored products on the market too, (including green colored, green tea-flavored Kit Kat candy bars, recently launched in Japan). But THAT won’t help with weight management, so best to just enjoy your daily tea routine and let that work for you, and those 2009 resolutions!