Is Black Tea More Effective for Weight Loss than Green Tea?
One the subject of weight loss and tea, green tea generally comes to mind first. But black tea, the fermented version of Camellia sinensis, may have more positive effects on reducing body fat than previously thought.
Scientific studies have found that polyphenol compounds in black tea inhibit the absorption of sugars, limit their breakdown into simple sugars, and reduce the absorption of fats, and activate enzymes in the body that help metabolize fats to prevent them from accumulating.
Aside from those direct actions, tea is a powerful antioxidant. The less oxidative stress your body has, the less likely it is to activate inflammatory processes that can also contribute to weight gain and other metabolic syndrome factors like high blood pressure and arterial damage.
The potential for black tea to support health conditions that once seemed only reserved for green tea may come as a surprise, but only accentuates the amazing attributes of one of the world’s most popular drinks.
Abstract:
Pan H, Gao Y, Tu Y. Mechanisms of Body Weight Reduction by Black Tea Polyphenols. Molecules. 2016;21(12):1659. Published 2016 Dec 7. doi:10.3390/molecules21121659
Obesity is one of the most common nutritional diseases worldwide. This disease causes health problems, such as dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, hypertension and inflammation. There are drugs used to inhibit obesity. However, they have serious side effects outweighing their beneficial effects. Black tea, commonly referred to as “fermented tea”, has shown a positive effect on reducing body weight in animal models. Black tea polyphenols are the major components in black tea which reduce body weight. Black tea polyphenols are more effective than green tea polyphenols. Black tea polyphenols exert a positive effect on inhibiting obesity involving in two major mechanisms: (i) inhibiting lipid and saccharide digestion, absorption and intake, thus reducing calorie intake; and (ii) promoting lipid metabolism by activating AMP-activated protein kinase to attenuate lipogenesis and enhance lipolysis, and decreasing lipid accumulation by inhibiting the differentiation and proliferation of preadipocytes; (iii) blocking the pathological processes of obesity and comorbidities of obesity by reducing oxidative stress. Epidemiological studies of the health relevance between anti-obesity and black tea polyphenols consumption remain to be further investigated.
