WHAT’S BETTER FOR WEIGHT
LOSS: GREEN TEA OR GREEN COFFEE?
More than just a
pick-me-up, your morning cup of tea or coffee may actually help your
weight-loss efforts! But when it comes to fat loss, which one of these greens
reigns supreme?
When it comes to losing fat, no magic pill or powder can replace
consistent work in the gym and a clean diet. Your efforts will always trump
anything a supplement can do. That said, there are a handful
of ingredients that may help boost your metabolism and enhance your weight-loss
efforts.
Two of those ingredients—green tea and green coffee—may already
be part of your daily morning ritual, but they're also sold in supplement form
as green tea and green coffee extract. If fat loss is your goal, is
one extract better than the other? It's time to put these two green titans in a
head-to-head battle for fat-loss supremacy!
MAKE TIME FOR TEA
Green tea, which comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, has
been recommended as a healthful drink for centuries with potential health
benefits ranging from improved antioxidant status to cardiovascular support.1 Although
multiple parts of the plant can be used, it's the extract from the leaves that
seems to offer the most health benefits, especially when it comes to weight
loss.
GREEN TEA, WHICH COMES FROM THE CAMELLIA
SINENSIS PLANT, HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED AS A HEALTHFUL DRINK FOR CENTURIES WITH
POTENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS RANGING FROM IMPROVED ANTIOXIDANT STATUS TO
CARDIOVASCULAR SUPPORT.
The two components primarily responsible for green tea extract's
(GTE) health benefits are catechins, which provide the majority of antioxidants
benefits, and caffeine, which enhances thermogenesis and fat metabolism.
When compared to a placebo and caffeine alone, GTE has been
shown to significantly increase 24-hour energy expenditure.1,2 Over time,
increasing the number of calories you burn both at rest and during exercise
could lead to favorable changes in your body composition. Furthermore, there
are multiple studies showing GTE's ability to increase rates of fat oxidation
(or fat burning) over a 24-hour period.
Long-term consumption of green tea extract has been shown to
support modest weight loss, around 2-3 pounds, over a 12-week period.3 While GTE
clearly won't do all the work for you, research suggests that, when combined
with exercise, it can support greater weight loss when compared to exercise
alone.4
SHOP GREEN TEA EXTRACT IN OUR STORE!
* Ratings as of article's date of publication
GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK
Green coffee extract (GCE), as the name implies, is extracted
from unroasted green coffee beans. Its main active ingredients are compounds
known as chlorogenic acids, which are thought to be responsible for its
weight-loss effects.
While it's not entirely clear how it works, chlorogenic acid may
be able to promote fat loss by increasing the activity of PPARalpha—a gene
involved in fatty-acid transport and oxidation—and reducing the creation of new
fat cells through its antioxidant effects.5,6
GREEN COFFEE EXTRACT (GCE), AS THE NAME
IMPLIES, IS EXTRACTED FROM UNROASTED GREEN COFFEE BEANS. ITS MAIN ACTIVE
INGREDIENTS ARE COMPOUNDS KNOWN AS CHLOROGENIC ACIDS, WHICH ARE THOUGHT TO BE
RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS WEIGHT-LOSS EFFECTS.
To date, there has been only one study to demonstrate a positive
effect of GCE on weight loss in humans. A 2007 study published in the Journal
of International Medical Research found that when GCE was added to coffee,
participants lost (on average) almost 12 pounds over a 12-week period, when
combined with diet and exercise. This compared to only 3 pounds lost in the
coffee-only group.7
While results from this study are promising, larger,
better-controlled studies are needed to truly determine the effectiveness of
GCE as a weight-loss tool.
CHECK OUT GREEN COFFEE EXTRACT!
* Ratings as of article's date of publication
LEAN, MEAN, GREEN
Green tea extract is the current winner in the battle of the
bulge! For one, GTE has a higher caffeine component, and when it comes to
ingredients that can have a significant impact on supporting your metabolism
and help you burn more fat, caffeine is king. Second, the research on GTE far
exceeds that of GC, making it a little more convincing that including GTE as
part of your diet may potentially be beneficial to fat loss.
You may find some supplements that use a combination blend of
green tea with green coffee extracts, but there is currently no research
suggesting this is a more effective combination than either in isolation.
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR
The weight-loss benefits associated with green coffee and green
tea extracts are greatly reduced when you mix the extracts with milk and sugar.8-9 Additionally,
research suggests that protein consumption can have an inhibitory effect on
their absorption.10 Therefore, benefits of GTE and GCE may be maximized when
consumed with water 2-3 hours before or after a meal.
Both of these substances typically contain caffeine and
therefore may cause potential side effects associated with caffeine
consumption, such as increased heart rate and digestive upset, but as long as
you don't guzzle the stuff, you should be in pretty good shape. Start with a
low dose, see how your body handles it, and then make adjustments from there.
A PRACTICAL APPROACH FOR USE
GTE and GCE are most effective when caffeine resistance is
minimized. If you're already a coffee addict, the benefits of green tea extract
and GCE supplements will likely be less effective.
While you may think you can get your daily dose of GTE just by
sipping on some green tea, think again. An effective dose (about 600
milligrams) would require you to drink 8-10 cups of tea!1,4 Supplements
can definitely make things a little easier on you; just make sure you're
getting 30-60 percent EGCG—the active ingredient in green tea responsible for
its fat-burning effects—in each serving.
Green coffee supplements are generally sold containing 40-50
percent chlorogenic acid by weight. In order to get the most effective dose of
120-300 milligrams of chlorogenic acid, you'll want to look for a supplement
containing 300-750 milligrams of green coffee extract.
REFERENCES
1.
Cabrera, C.,
Artacho, R., & Giménez, R. (2006). Beneficial effects of green tea—a
review. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 25(2), 79-99.
2.
Dulloo, A. G.,
Duret, C., Rohrer, D., Girardier, L., Mensi, N., Fathi, M., ... & Vandermander,
J. (1999). Efficacy of a green tea extract rich in catechin polyphenols and
caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in
humans. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 70(6),
1040-1045.
3.
Wang, H., Wen, Y., Du, Y., Yan, X., Guo, H., Rycroft, J. A., ...
& Mela, D. J. (2010). Effects of catechin enriched green tea on body
composition. Obesity, 18(4), 773-779.
4.
Maki, K. C., Reeves, M. S., Farmer, M., Yasunaga, K., Matsuo,
N., Katsuragi, Y., ... & Blumberg, J. B. (2009). Green tea catechin
consumption enhances exercise-induced abdominal fat loss in overweight and obese
adults. The Journal of Nutrition, 139(2), 264-270.
5.
Hsu, C. L., Huang, S. L., & Yen, G. C. (2006). Inhibitory
effect of phenolic acids on the relation to their antioxidant activity. Journal
of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 54(12), 4191-4197.
6.
Cho, A. S., Jeon, S. M., Kim, M. J., Yeo, J., Seo, K. I., Choi,
M. S., & Lee, M. K. (2010). Chlorogenic acid exhibits anti-obesity property
and improves lipid metabolism in high-fat diet-induced-obese mice. Food
and Chemical Toxicology, 48(3), 937-943.
7.
Thom, E. (2007). The effect of chlorogenic acid enriched coffee
on glucose absorption in healthy volunteers and its effect on body mass when
used long-term in overweight and obese people. Journal of International
Medical Research, 35(6), 900-908.
8.
Onakpoya, I., Terry, R., & Ernst, E. (2010). The use of
green coffee extract as a weight loss supplement: a systematic review and
meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials. Gastroenterology Research
and Practice, 2011.
9.
Anderson, R. A., & Polansky, M. M. (2002). Tea enhances insulin
activity. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 50(24),
7182-7186.
10.
Bohn, T. (2014). Dietary factors affecting polyphenol
bioavailability. Nutrition Reviews, 72(7), 429-452.
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