Green Tea and Thermogenesis

An examination of the mechanism behind green tea thermogenesis and the best ways to use green tea to stimulate thermogenesis.

Contents

Page 1
Green tea and thermogenesis
How powerful is green tea thermogenesis?
Energy expenditure.
Respiratory quotient.
Page 2
Noradrenaline storage & release.
Noradrenaline metabolism.
How green tea stimulates thermogenesis.
Discussion.
Page 3
Green tea products.
Green tea for weight loss.

Green Tea Products

Green tea has so many health benefits that it's impossible to pick a single best product. The only logical way to evaluate green tea products is to separate them according to their suitability for specific purposes such as weight loss, blood pressure reduction, etc. If you are interested in green tea for cancer prevention and health enhancement, I would shoot for at least 10 cups of tea per day. That's a lot of tea! Perhaps a combination of supplements and drinking tea is the easiest way to consume enough tea.

For the price comparison, whenever possible, I calculated the price per 100 mg of polyphenols and the price per 100 mg of EGCG. These calculations make it easy to compare products with different size capsules and extracts that are standardized to different potencies. I was surprised to find that, based on polyphenol and EGCG content, there were huge price differences between products. For example, Natrol Green Tea Extract is only 3.6 cents per 100 mg of polyphenols; Natures Way Green Tea Extract is a whopping 28.21 cents.

Green Tea For Weight Loss

Research suggests that EGCG is the most important catechin for weight loss. Although most products specify the amount of polyphenols, only a few list the EGCG content. For weight loss purposes, the most powerful Green Tea extract is the standardized Green Tea Extract by NSI -- it contains a whopping 220 mg of EGCG per capsule. The second most powerful green tea extract is the Life Extension Super Green Tea Extract, which contains 122 mg of EGCG per capsule.

Apparently, all of these green tea extracts that are standardized to extremely high levels of EGCG contain very little caffeine. This is good if you are adding green tea to win ECA stack; however, if you are interested in using one of these high EGCG green tea supplements by itself, you'll get much better results if you take some caffeine with it.

A good ephedra-free stack would consist of one or two NSI green tea capsules and 100 to 200 mg of caffeine. This would be taken three times a day just like any ECA stack. This is less expensive and better researched than most of the ephedra-free concoctions. If you do not understand why sufficient caffeine is absolutely necessary to normalize the thermogenic defect, be sure to read "How ECA Works."

Please note that if you normally consume very little caffeine you could feel unpleasantly stimulated if you take 200 mg of caffeine. It is best to start with a small amount and see how it affects you.

To find the best current price on green tea products, go to the Price Comparison: Green Tea page.

Written
Dec 2000
Last Update
Dec 2000

Sig.gif (2206 bytes)

Home
DrumLib's Posts
Vitamin Price Comparison
Document Retrieval
Dictionary
FAQ
Links
E-mail
Terms & Privacy
TOC

References

Get full-text medical articles cheap!
Selma's Document Retrieval Service

1.) Dulloo AG, Duret C, Rohrer D, Girardier L, Mensi N, Fathi M, Chantre P, Vandermander J "Efficacy of a green tea extract rich in catechin polyphenols and caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in humans" Am J Clin Nutr 1999, Vol 70 (6), Pg 1040-5. PMID: 0010584049.

2.) Dulloo AG, Seydoux J, Girardier L, Chantre P, Vandermander J "Green tea and thermogenesis: interactions between catechin-polyphenols, caffeine and sympathetic activity" Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000, Vol 24 (2), Pg 252-8. PMID: 0010702779.

3-BK.) Feldman, RS; Meyer, JS, and Quenzer, LF "Principles of Neuropsychopharmacology" Sinauer Associates, Inc. 1997.

4-NA.) Astrup A, Buemann B, Toubro S, Raben A "Defects in substrate oxidation involved in the predisposition to obesity" Proc Nutr Soc 1996, Vol 55 (3), Pg 817-28. PMID: 0009004326.

5-NA.) Astrup A, Raben A, Buemann B, Toubro S "Fat metabolism in the predisposition to obesity" Ann N Y Acad Sci 1997, Vol 827 Pg 417-30. PMID: 0009329772.

6.) Astrup A, Madsen J, Holst JJ, Christensen NJ "The effect of chronic ephedrine treatment on substrate utilization, the sympathoadrenal activity, and energy expenditure during glucose-induced thermogenesis in man" Metabolism 1986, Vol 35 (3), Pg 260-5. PMID: 0003512957.

7-NA.) Borchardt RT and Huber JA "Catechol O-methyltransferase. 5. Structure-activity relationships for inhibition by flavonoids" J Med Chem 1975, Vol 18 (1), Pg 120-2. PMID: 0001109569.

8.) Yokogoshi H, Kato Y, Sagesaka YM, Takihara-Matsuura T, Kakuda T, Takeuchi N "Reduction effect of theanine on blood pressure and brain 5- hydroxyindoles in spontaneously hypertensive rats" Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 1995, Vol 59 (4), Pg 615-8. PMID: 0007539642.

9.) Huang Y, Zhang A, Lau CW, Chen ZY "Vasorelaxant effects of purified green tea epicatechin derivatives in rat mesenteric artery" Life Sci 1998, Vol 63 (4), Pg 275-83. PMID: 0009698036.

10.) Huang Y, Chan NW, Lau CW, Yao XQ, Chan FL, Chen ZY "Involvement of endothelium/nitric oxide in vasorelaxation induced by purified green tea (-)epicatechin" Biochim Biophys Acta 1999, Vol 1427 (2), Pg 322-8. PMID: 0010216249.

11.) Hodgson JM, Puddey IB, Burke V, Beilin LJ, Jordan N "Effects on blood pressure of drinking green and black tea" J Hypertens 1999, Vol 17 (4), Pg 457-63. PMID: 0010404946.

12.) Sato Y, Nakatsuka H, Watanabe T, Hisamichi S, Shimizu H, Fujisaku S, Ichinowatari Y, Ida Y, Suda S, Kato K and others. "Possible contribution of green tea drinking habits to the prevention of stroke" Tohoku J Exp Med 1989, Vol 157 (4), Pg 337-43. PMID: 0002741170.

13.) Uchida S, Ozaki M, Akashi T, Yamashita K, Niwa M, Taniyama K "Effects of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (green tea tannin) on the life span of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats" Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol Suppl 1995, Vol 1 Pg S302-3. PMID: 0009072402.

14.) Kono S, Ikeda M, Tokudome S, Kuratsune M "A case-control study of gastric cancer and diet in northern Kyushu, Japan" Jpn J Cancer Res 1988, Vol 79 (10), Pg 1067-74. PMID: 0003143695.

15.) Ruch RJ, Cheng SJ, Klaunig JE "Prevention of cytotoxicity and inhibition of intercellular communication by antioxidant catechins isolated from Chinese green tea" Carcinogenesis 1989, Vol 10 (6), Pg 1003-8. PMID: 0002470525.

16.) Karawya MS, Abdel Wahab SM, El-Olemy MM, Farrag NM "Diphenylamine, an antihyperglycemic agent from onion and tea" J Nat Prod 1984, Vol 47 (5), Pg 775-80. PMID: 0006512531.

17.) Muramatsu K, Fukuyo M, Hara Y "Effect of green tea catechins on plasma cholesterol level in cholesterol-fed rats" J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 1986, Vol 32 (6), Pg 613-22. PMID: 0003585557.

18-NA.) Chisaka T, Matsuda H, Kubomura Y, Mochizuki M, Yamahara J, Fujimura H "The effect of crude drugs on experimental hypercholesteremia: mode of action of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate in tea leaves" Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 1988, Vol 36 (1), Pg 227-33. PMID: 0003378286.

19.) Yokozawa T and Dong E "Influence of green tea and its three major components upon low-density lipoprotein oxidation" Exp Toxicol Pathol 1997, Vol 49 (5), Pg 329-35. PMID: 0009455677.

20-BK.) Greenspan, FS and Gardner, DG "Basic & Clinical Endocrinology" Lange Medical Books/McGraw-Hill 2000.

21-BK.) Munson, PL; Mueller, RA, and Breese, GR "Principles of Pharmacology. Basic Concepts & Clinical Applications." Chapman & Hall 1996.

22.) Deriaz O, Dionne F, Perusse L, Tremblay A, Vohl MC, Cote G, Bouchard C "DNA variation in the genes of the Na,K-adenosine triphosphatase and its relation with resting metabolic rate, respiratory quotient, and body fat" J Clin Invest 1994, Vol 93 (2), Pg 838-43. PMID: 0007509349.