EGCG Is Green Tea’s Silver Bullet

EGCG Is Green Tea’s Silver Bullet

EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), as found in green tea, is one of the most valuable nutritional supplements known to science.

There is growing evidence of its potent protective effects against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, microbial infections, and possibly Parkinson’s disease. And all that from ordinary green tea! But what about green tea and weight loss?

EGCG belongs to the family of chemical compounds called catechins, which are a subclass of the polyphenols, compounds well known for their antioxidant properties. Of the various catechins in green tea, EGCG is by far the most pharmacologically active and, by a stroke of luck, also the most prevalent, accounting for at least half the total polyphenol content of green tea.

I already drink regular “tea”( iced or hot its called black tea), you say. What’s the difference between my “tea” and green tea? Does it have to be green tea? Yes, because in the oxidative fermentation process used to make the other two basic kinds of tea, oolong and black, the EGCG and related beneficial compounds are largely destroyed. Green tea is not fermented, so the catechins remain unscathed. (All three teas are made from leaves of the same plant, Camellia sinensis.)

EGCG Sparks Thermogenesis

Many of the remarkable health benefits attributed to EGCG are believed to be due to its powerful antioxidant activity, but there is clearly more to it than that. As if the benefits listed above weren’t enough, EGCG is also an effective stimulator of thermogenesis, a process that is central to weight loss.

Thermogenesis is the generation of heat by physiological processes. In our bodies, it occurs in part through a series of chemical reactions in which fat molecules are “burned” to form carbon dioxide and water. These reactions liberate thermal energy (heat), which, along with the carbon dioxide and water, is tangible evidence of the disappearance of those fat molecules. Thermal energy is measured in units of calories. By stimulating thermogenesis, EGCG contributes to your body’s caloric output. Hence, energy expenditure is increased. That is why green tea is a key ingredient in CortiSlim ^TM and Cortisyn ^TM.

Thermogenic Properties of EGCG and Caffeine

Throughout the 1990s, university researchers in Switzerland were investigating the thermogenic properties of green tea, whose star ingredient, as we have seen, is EGCG. In one study a few years ago, they recruited ten healthy young men, aged 24–26, who ranged from lean to mildly obese (8–30% body fat) and who ate a typical Western diet in which fat contributed 35–40% of their usual daily energy intake.

On a rotating, randomized, double-blind basis at intervals of about one week, the men were given three supplement treatments for one day each. Each treatment consisted of: (1) a powdered green tea extract (in an amount roughly equivalent to four cups of the beverage per day), or (2) an amount of caffeine (which is known to be thermogenic) equal to that found naturally in the green tea extract, or (3) a placebo. The amount of green tea extract used was 375 mg of polyphenols per day, of which 270 mg (72%) was EGCG.

During the entire 5–6-week duration of the study, the men were restricted to a standard weight-maintenance diet in which the daily energy intake consisted of about 13% protein, 40% fat, and 47% carbohydrate. For each of the three one-day treatments, the men were confined for 24 hours to a respiratory chamber (the size of a small room) designed to allow precise measurement of their energy expenditure. They took the supplements in three equal doses, with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

EGCG Burns the Fat

Compared with placebo, the green tea extract produced a significant increase in total energy expenditure: about 4%. This corresponds to a large increase in the thermogenic component of total energy expenditure: about 35–43%. That is why green tea is a key ingredient in CortiSlim ^TM and Cortisyn ^TM. The authors concluded that “. . . oral administration of the green tea extract stimulated thermogenesis and fat oxidation and thus has the potential to influence body weight and body composition . . . .” Their discovery—the first demonstration of this effect of green tea in a human trial—built upon their own previous laboratory work that led to the same conclusion.

In the new study, caffeine alone produced no significant increase in total energy expenditure compared with placebo, presumably because the amount given (150 mg per day) was below its threshold for stimulating thermogenesis. It may well be, however, that the green tea effect was due partly to its caffeine content, through a synergistic interaction between the caffeine and EGCG.