Green tea
extract is one of the most popular workout supplements on the market, used
widely by bodybuilders, runners and others seeking to increase fat-burning
effects of exercises.
One of the
key compounds in green tea is Epigallocatechin gallate,
or EGCG, a potent antioxidant thought of by some as a sort of Kryptonite to
body fat.
Supporters say it reduces fat gain and enhances fat-burning. But the
amount found in a typical cup of green tea is not enough to have much effect.
It was found out that, regularly drinking green tea had no meaningful effect on
the weight loss in overweight adults.
Green tea
extracts, more richly concentrated with EGCG, may not be much better.
In a
small but detailed study published this month in the journal Medicine and
Science in Sports and Exercise. Scientists look at the effects on a group of 31
healthy men who were monitored closely and put on similar diets.
Over a
weeklong period, one group consumed a green tea extract supplement twice daily
– the equivalent of eight cups of green tea a day – while another group was
given a placebo.
A third group was given a placebo for six days and then the
extract on the seventh day.
At the start and the end of the week, the man
cycled on stationary bikes at “an exercise intensity known to elicit maximal
fat oxidation”.
The
researchers took blood samples and did extensive testing, all of which
indicated that the green tea extract did not improve fat oxidation.
Research
suggest that green tea extract may not have any meaningful effects of the
body`s ability to burn fat.
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