Green Tea Extract

[noimpossibility]

So how long does it rly take to go into effect and how much of a difference does it make in weight loss, metabolism acceleration? Is it worth buying while cutting?

[abuwat]

Over rated. Not worth it IMHO. You may use it as an antioxidant though. But even as an antioxidant, there are better options out there. Also, with most of the extracts out there, you would need to take huge amounts to get the antioxidant effects (or drink a gallon a day or something). I would pass on this one.

[noimpossibility]

thanx, i'm thinkin i'll skip it, my multivitamin has an antioxidant combo anyway

[cakedonkey]

Originally Posted by abuwat

Over rated. Not worth it IMHO. You may use it as an antioxidant though. But even as an antioxidant, there are better options out there. Also, with most of the extracts out there, you would need to take huge amounts to get the antioxidant effects (or drink a gallon a day or something). I would pass on this one.

Ouch--a wealth of misinformation in the post above.

Let me start by saying that green tea (well, its main polyphenol constitute--EGCG) is anything but over-rated; in fact it's largely under-rated. Green tea will absolutely aid in fat-loss and better body composition through a number of novel mechanisms which are included but not limited to: up-regulated CCK [1], decreased dietary fat absorption (via inhibition of pancreatic lipase) [2]; COMT-inhibition [3] (which results in increased thermogenesis).

Moving on, you claim that there is a better antioxidant out there--and that's all good and well if you "think" that--but EGCG is a powerhouse when it comes to overall well-being and health, and as stated above, body composition. That said, saying that you need to take "huge amounts of the extract" to get its beneficial effects is largely wrong and inherently incorrect. Green tea shows benefits in the literature at around 500mg EGCG/day and this can be obtained with 2 caps of a good 50-60% standardized extract. It should also be noted that a green tea extract it just as bioavailable as actual green tea and it actually enhanced flavanol absorption [4].

Take the above to heart. Green tea is one of the most worthwhile supplements on the market--don't let anyone tell you otherwise. For those interested in better health or better body composition, it is a "go-to" supplement and should be included in the vein of things like fish oil and a multivitamin. When choosing your green tea supplement however, look for a product with at least 50-60% EGCG as I noted above.


References cited:

1. Kao YH, Hiipakka RA, Liao S. Endocrinology. 2000 Mar;141(3):980-7. Modulation of endocrine systems and food intake by green tea epigallocatechin gallate. [PDF]
   
2. Koo SI, Noh SK. J Nutr Biochem. 2007 Mar;18(3):179-83. Green tea as inhibitor of the intestinal absorption of lipids: potential mechanism for its lipid-lowering effect.
   
3. Shixian Q, VanCrey B, Shi J, Kakuda Y, Jiang Y. J Med Food. 2006 Winter;9(4):451-8. Green tea extract thermogenesis-induced weight loss by epigallocatechin gallate inhibition of catechol-O-methyltransferase.
   
4. Henning SM, Niu Y, Lee NH, Thames GD, Minutti RR, Wang H, Go VL, Heber D. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6):1558-64. Bioavailability and antioxidant activity of tea flavanols after consumption of green tea, black tea, or a green tea extract supplement.

[noimpossibility]

Originally Posted by cakedonkey

Ouch--a wealth of misinformation in the post above.

Let me start by saying that green tea (well, its main polyphenol constitute--EGCG) is anything but over-rated; in fact it's largely under-rated. Green tea will absolutely aid in fat-loss and better body composition through a number of novel mechanisms which are included but not limited to: up-regulated CCK [1], decreased dietary fat absorption (via inhibition of pancreatic lipase) [2]; COMT-inhibition [3] (which results in increased thermogenesis).

Moving on, you claim that there is a better antioxidant out there--and that's all good and well if you "think" that--but EGCG is a powerhouse when it comes to overall well-being and health, and as stated above, body composition. That said, saying that you need to take "huge amounts of the extract" to get its beneficial effects is largely wrong and inherently incorrect. Green tea shows benefits in the literature at around 500mg EGCG/day and this can be obtained with 2 caps of a good 50-60% standardized extract. It should also be noted that a green tea extract it just as bioavailable as actual green tea and it actually enhanced flavanol absorption [4].

Take the above to heart. Green tea is one of the most worthwhile supplements on the market--don't let anyone tell you otherwise. For those interested in better health or better body composition, it is a "go-to" supplement and should be included in the vein of things like fish oil and a multivitamin. When choosing your green tea supplement however, look for a product with at least 50-60% EGCG as I noted above.


References cited:

1. Kao YH, Hiipakka RA, Liao S. Endocrinology. 2000 Mar;141(3):980-7. Modulation of endocrine systems and food intake by green tea epigallocatechin gallate. [PDF]
   
2. Koo SI, Noh SK. J Nutr Biochem. 2007 Mar;18(3):179-83. Green tea as inhibitor of the intestinal absorption of lipids: potential mechanism for its lipid-lowering effect.
   
3. Shixian Q, VanCrey B, Shi J, Kakuda Y, Jiang Y. J Med Food. 2006 Winter;9(4):451-8. Green tea extract thermogenesis-induced weight loss by epigallocatechin gallate inhibition of catechol-O-methyltransferase.
   
4. Henning SM, Niu Y, Lee NH, Thames GD, Minutti RR, Wang H, Go VL, Heber D. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6):1558-64. Bioavailability and antioxidant activity of tea flavanols after consumption of green tea, black tea, or a green tea extract supplement.

Awesome, sounds a lot more informed so I may end up adding a green tea extract to my stack, i'm just stayin basic though right now with a multivitamin and green tea extract now.

[acecombact1]

GTE works great for me.

1 g/day of GTE( 50% EGCG or highier) with ephidrine works like magic

[cakedonkey]

Originally Posted by noimpossibility

Awesome, sounds a lot more informed so I may end up adding a green tea extract to my stack, i'm just stayin basic though right now with a multivitamin and green tea extract now.

Not a problem. There is a lot of misinformation out there but so long as it is debunked and dis-proven, all is well. Take a look at Ultra Pure Green Tea: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/sm/green.html which yields 60% EGCG (300mg/serv.).

[cakedonkey]

Originally Posted by abuwat

Over rated. Not worth it IMHO. You may use it as an antioxidant though. But even as an antioxidant, there are better options out there. Also, with most of the extracts out there, you would need to take huge amounts to get the antioxidant effects (or drink a gallon a day or something). I would pass on this one.

You know, maybe I'm just a really sick bastard, but I'd be genuinely interested for your rebuttal of my post above. I'll say this... good luck. And read the cited literature.

Direct link: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...21&postcount=4.