How to Stop Weight Gain with Green Tea
Green tea is in the news again. This time for its ability to stop weight gain. Prior studies have indicated that green tea might facilitate weight loss and now a recent study from Penn State University shows that green tea can stop weight gain in obese rats.
Though the findings are consistent with other studies on green tea, this study is unique in that it used mice already obese to see what the impact of EGCG found in green tea would be on weight gain. See our previous post, “Green Tea and Weight Loss”.
The Penn State study involved feeding obese mice with EGCG, a compound found in green tea along with a high fat diet. One group of mice just received the high fat diet (control group), and the other group received EGCG and high fat diet.
The group of mice that received the EGCG gained weight 45% more slowly than the control group. The EGCG group showed a 30% increase in excretion of fecal lipids indicating that the EGCG limited fat absorption.
So EGCG found in green tea provides two benefits. It decreases fat absorption, and it enhances the ability to use fat – a pretty good combination to stop weight gain. In this study EGCG did not suppress appetite like previous studies have shown.
As the results of more studies become available on green tea and EGCG we will continue to report on them on this site.
More Green Tea in the News
Another recent study published in Carcinogenesis shows that green tea suppresses the growth of lung cancer. Again EGCG is the key compound in green tea that suppresses lung cancer by raising levels mi-R210. Cancer rates are lower in countries like Japan where more green tea is consumed.
Green tea extracts are readily available and probably the best way to obtain the health benefits of green tea.
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