Green tea could raise your energy expenditure, and possibly even help battle obesity, according to a new study. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound found in green tea, was shown to increase fat oxidation by 33 percent. This result comes from one of many studies that have looked at green tea's potential in weight loss. EGCG has been shown to be a key component in many of these studies. Green tea does appear to have fat-burning properties, which are related to a class of polyphenols called catechins. Catechins are naturally occurring antioxidants, which have been reported to have a number of physiological and pharmacological properties. Green tea provides a number of potent antioxidants that can benefit your body in many ways, including increased metabolic rate and greater use of body fat for fuel. One of the key compounds in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a potent antioxidant that has the ability to stimulate your body's metabolism and increase fat burning. Together with the caffeine that is found in green tea, ECGC works to stimulate the central nervous system (CNS) and releases fatty acids into the bloodstream, which the body uses as fuel. This is known as thermogenesis, which involves the production of extra energy, the shedding of excess water and the burning of body fat. Green-tea extract has been shown to increase thermogenesis (the body's own rate of burning calories) by as much as 4% over a 24-hour period, and translates to a 35-43% increase in daytime thermogenesis. It appears that there is some interaction going on with the active ingredients of green tea that promotes increased metabolism and fat oxidation, that caffeine alone does not affect. Also, unlike caffeine, green tea has the potential to accelerate metabolism without over stimulating your adrenal glands, which can lead to fatigue and the inability to burn fat as fuel. Green tea may also act to reduce food intake and inhibit the main enzymes involved in fat storage.
