Tea Capsules and Weight Loss

Green tea has been found in scientific studies to be a powerful ally in promoting a healthy body weight an even in burning off unwanted fat. For those who don't have the time or inclination to consume the several cups of tea a day that are recommended to reap these benefits, tea capsules that contain a standardized dose of compounds extracted from tea may be a great option. Tea capsules for losing weight are readily available from many different retailers and provide an effective way of gaining the powerful weight loss benefits of green tea.

History

• The history of green tea dates to ancient China where, legend has it, an emperor was boiling water when a leaf of the Camelia sinesis plant floated into his pot. From then on green tea has been consumed as a daily beverage that is considered healthy for many different reasons throughout Asia. Recently, due to anecdotal evidence and several different studies, green tea has gained a strong reputation as a powerful weight loss beverage and tea pills are now marketed for their ability to effect human metabolism as well as many other health benefits.

Function

• Obesity is a growing worldwide health concern among industrialized countries. According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in November 2000, researchers found that EGCG, a polyphenol compound in green tea appeared to be able to reduce the incidence of obesity in rats and found it to positively effect various markers such as body weight loss, body fat, serum lipid nutrients, thermogenesis and fat oxidation.

Effects

• The powerful polyphenol compounds in green tea seem to directly effect the way that the body metabolizes fat. In a study published in the The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry in Novemeber 2003, researchers administered green tea extract to mice that were also fed a high fat diet designed to effect weight gain and fat accumulation. They found that the addition of green tea extract effectively prevented the increase in body fat gain that would have resulted from a high fat diet.

Benefits

• The compounds that are commonly extracted from green tea and used to make tea pills designed for weight loss usually include high doses of EGCG. EGCG was studied by French researchers in a study published in Phytomedicine in 2002. The researchers found that a standardized extract containing 25 percent EGCG was able to decrease body weight and waist circumference in moderately obese human patients.

Considerations

• There are many different varieties of manufactured tea pills that are marketed as weight loss supplements. Make sure that the supplement you choose has been standardized to include a high percentage of the polyphenol compound EGCG, which is believed to be the main contributing factor in green tea's powerful fat burning capabilities.