Aug 9, 2005 – Tea May Help With Weight Loss, Preliminary Clinical Trial Finds1 conducted in Japan.
Researchers in the lab of an oolong tea manufacturer conducted a double-blind clinical trial with 35 company employees. Their goal: to check the effects of catechins, polyphenols contained in tea, on weight loss. They made two oolong tea drinks: one was rich in catechins (690 mg / 340 ml), while the other had very little (22 mg / 340 ml). Both drinks were low in caffeine.
During the 12-week trial, subjects ate a diet corresponding to the average Japanese’s fat intake. Each drank 340 ml of oolong tea daily, 17 of the subjects taking the high catechin version, 18 taking the other.
The results indicate that the subjects who drank the tea rich in catechins lost more weight than those in the control group. Moreover, their body mass index fell further, as did their waist circumference. They also had less body fat and less subcutaneous fat deposits than those who consumed the tea with low catechins.
It is the antioxidant action of catechins that oppose the accumulation of fat in body tissues, according to the authors of the study. Although this trial was funded by a manufacturer (Kao Corporation, Tokyo) and the number of participants was minimal, the effects observed are sufficiently marked to warrant further independent studies.
Green tea and oolong tea are generally richer in catechins than black tea. Very popular in Japan, oolong tea is the result of partial fermentation of tea leaves (Camellia sinensis). It is therefore between green tea (dried leaves, but not fermented) and black tea which has undergone further fermentation.
Pierre Lefrançois – Proteus Network
1. Nagao T, Komine Y, Soga S, Meguro S, Hase T, Tanaka Y, Tokimitsu I. Ingestion of a tea rich in catechins leads to a reduction in body fat and malondialdehyde-modified LDL in men.Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jan; 81 (1): 122-9.