Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
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Green tea is one of nature’s most superior foods, with a diverse range of benefits that support overall health and longevity, proven by numerous clinical trials. New studies further support evidence that green tea can support weight loss and fat burn.
Green tea grows in rainy areas, tropical and subtropical, throughout the world. However, Japan, India and China are the most well-known sources of green tea. Green tea has very high concentrations of antioxidants, known as catechins. The most important is EGCG. According to Amanda Williams, MPH, Director of Nutrition for InVite Health, EGCG has an antioxidant activity of about “25 to 100 times greater than that of Vitamins E and C, respectively.”
Green tea and its major antioxidant EGCG have been the subject of numerous human clinical studies. EGCG has been shown to inhibit the uptake of fat into fat cells and, at higher doses, has been shown to support fat burn and reduce a person’s waistline – sometimes considerably, according to Pharmacist and Scientific Director of InVite® Health, Jerry Hickey.
Green tea quickly travels throughout your system and offers superior protection for the digestive tract, a man’s prostate, a women’s breasts, and cervical tissue. It also has a beneficial effect for upper respiratory tract infections and during the cold and flu season. Green tea controls the bacteria associated with bad breath and gum disease and is hard on problematic bacteria in the digestive tract, including yeasts, yet ignores the intestine’s healthy bacteria required for proper digestion. Green tea has also been shown to improve the health of the skin, rejuvenating old skin cells and improving its texture.†
According to the International Diabetes Federation, the worldwide definition of metabolic syndrome is a cluster of the most dangerous heart attack risk factors – diabetes, prediabetes, abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. In a small study of 45 elderly hospital patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome and using criteria from the International Diabetes Federation, researchers from the Geriatrics and Gerontology Institute, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande de Sul, green tea users lost about 3lbs and an inch on their waistline, in comparison to those who did not consume green tea. Participants were instructed to consume three cups of concentrated green tea per day for 60 days. The study is published in the Journal of Nutrition Health and Aging.
Published in the American journal Physiology and Behavior, medical researchers in Thailand placed 60 obese subjects on the same controlled diet; one group was placed on a green tea regimen and the other was given an inactive, placebo. By the 12th week of the study, those consuming green tea lost 7.26 more pounds than those on the diet alone. There was no difference in the level of satiation, amount of physical activity, or calorie intake between the two groups. The green tea achieved its effect by, researchers report, “burning more calories and reducing body fat levels.”
If you are questioning whether green tea is best by the cup or from a supplement, here’s some research that you should be aware of. While making green tea by brewing tea leaves still contains important components of green tea, water temperature, steeping time, and brand of tea leaves have been shown to affect not only the flavor of the green tea, but the quantities of compounds present in the tea itself.
In one study, “brewed tea contained 87-106mg of polyphenols per gram of green tea dry matter, of which 52-84 mg were catechins. Per gram of green tea dry matter, 11-20mg of caffeine was also extracted. Considering a proportion of 3g of dry tea leaves per cup of green tea, the study proposed that an estimated 405g of catechins could be consumed per day within 2 cups of green tea”.†
Another study found that the primary green tea catechin content from supplements ranged from 27.9-484.9mg per serving. High-quality green tea supplements are made with concentrated polyphenol or catechin extracts. These high-quality supplements are purified to remove non-essential and harmful ingredients like aluminum and heavy metals and is decaffeinated. The more rigorously tested supplements are standardized to ensure the supplement contains a certain percentage of polyphenols in each capsule/dropper.†
The evidence speaks for itself. But, if you need more assistance, we’re here to help! Speak with a certified nutritionist or naturopathic doctor today!
Sources
Gadkari PV, et al. (2014). Catechin concentrates of garden tea leaves (Camellia sinensis L.): extraction/isolation and evaluation of chemical composition. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 94:2921-2928. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.6633.
Grand View Research. (2014). Tea Polyphenols Market Analysis By Application (Functional beverages, Functional food, Dietary supplements) By Product (Green tea, Oolong tea, Black tea) and Segment Forecasts to 2020.
Henning SM, et al. (2004). Bioavailability and antioxidant activity of tea flavanols after consumption of green tea, black tea, or a green tea extract supplement. Am J Clin Nutr. 80(6):1558-1564.
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In the Standard American Diet (SAD), breakfast is typically composed of heavy, highly refined carbohydrate foods such as cereal, waffles, pancakes, toast, muffins, danishes, donuts, biscuits and orange juice. These refined carbohydrates enter your blood stream as glucose, or sugar, providing quick energy. Now, this would be an ideal breakfast choice for the day you run a marathon, but most often the only place we run to is our cubical at work, our desk at school, or our couch on the weekends. With our mornings spent sitting and our blood full of glucose, our bodies secrete insulin to remove the sugar from our bloodstreams and harmfully transfer it into our muscles and our vital organs.
Any time our blood sugar is high, we cause damage to our blood vessel walls and nerve tissue in a process called glycation. To avoid this, the pancreas overcompensates by dumping more insulin into our bloodstream. This process results in a hypoglycemic state, where excess sugar gets stored as fat. This results in the majority of our bodies having too high proportions of fat in three types –
Epidemiologists are beginning to demonstrate that having fat in place of muscles or lean tissues could be more of an indicator of poor health than having a high Body Mass Index.¹ Obesity leads to chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. Belly fat leads to fatty liver or hyperlipidemia. Skinny fat leads to osteoporosis and frailty as we age.
Research shows that eating protein in the morning (as opposed to leaving protein for evening meals) has multiple benefits for maintaining proper body composition. Protein gets digested more slowly than carbohydrates, adding a sustained sugar release into the bloodstream that is maintained over a longer amount of time. There is no longer a rapid or spiked insulin response. Blood sugar is secreted into the tissues at a more even rate, and is used as it is received. It has been demonstrated that if protein is eaten in the morning (as opposed to a carbohydrate equivalent), subsequent caloric intake is reduced for the rest of the day.² This is good news for those of us who are obese, as protein as a healthy breakfast would naturally reduce food intake, without the feeling of deprivation. Apple-shaped individuals may be able to tighten their belts by eating protein for breakfast, as it encourages a decreased amount of carbohydrates later in the day that would otherwise be stored as belly fat. Furthermore, protein in the morning helps our bodies build and repair muscle tissue more effectively throughout the day, whereas saving protein for evening meals does not appear to be as beneficial for muscle maintenance.³ Maintaining lean muscle tissue is one of the first ways to get rid of unwanted fat in obese, underweight or ‘skinny-fat’ individuals.
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It appears that eating a healthy breakfast also stops carbohydrate cravings later in the day by affecting hormone and brain signaling that controls food regulation, leaving a more satiated and nutritionally nourished individual.? In fact, obese individuals looking to lose weight may find success with the addition of a protein breakfast, leading to decreased food intake, decreased body weight, and increased satiety due to positive hormonal influences.5 It’s clear that protein appears to be the variable that influences satiety by decreasing ghrelin, the hormone that signals individuals to eat, and by increasing PyY3-36, which reduces appetite. 6And by eating most calories in the beginning of the day as opposed to the end of the day, we find better insulin responses resulting in weight loss as fat loss rather than a loss in muscle or lean tissue.7
Next, only a few of us can report feeling even-tempered and satiated, all while maintaining good cognitive performance throughout our day. Most deal with high and low moods and times when fatigue sets in. Many describe brain fog affecting performance. These issues can be directly related to blood sugar imbalances due to meals of highly refined carbohydrates.8 Having a higher protein breakfast may reduce cravings after meals and may increase dopamine levels, the neurotransmitter responsible for memory, recall, and learning.9 More research on orexin, a neuropeptide that signals the brain when we have eaten protein, has demonstrated that protein plays a role in energy and motivation.¹º If the orexin receptor is not stimulated, the result is fatigue and sleepiness.¹¹ A change in breakfast choice could be the solution to achieving a stellar performance in school or work.
So what are some fast and easy ways to incorporate protein into your morning routine? If you are looking for a SAD food suggestion, you could go for eggs and turkey bacon from organically fed, pastured poultry. Keep in mind that eggs are one of the most common food intolerances and might not be the right choice for you. For those looking to stay away from a SAD diet, these options may help –
In this society, breakfast is often skipped due to lack of time for preparation. Before grabbing a piece of toast for your long commute or driving children to school, consider making a protein shake for breakfast, but make sure you have the right blender for protein shakes otherwise you may end up with a clumpy shake and no one wants that. Start with a scoop or two of a protein powder like whey protein, soy protein, and meal replacement powder. Add in organic flaxseed powder, some seasonal fruit like berries or peaches, chopped kale or spinach, and unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk. Blend and drink. If you are really in a rush, place a scoop of one of the protein powders in a shaker bottle with some unsweetened chocolate almond milk and fly out the door knowing you will be maintaining your muscle and using your fat as fuel, all while feeling like a champion – more satiated, focused, and even-tempered – throughout your day. Enjoy!