Green Tea Extract
Loaded with antioxidants, green tea extract improves metabolism which can help you burn more fat, particularly around your belly, and lose more weight.
It includes caffeine, which can boost your brain function and make you more alert, but it doesn’t give you the ‘jittery’ effect some people get with coffee.
Studies have shown that it reduces your risk of getting cancer, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease and can help prevent diabetes, heart attack, and stroke.
What is Green Tea Extract?
Green tea extract includes green tea catechins, flavonoids, and caffeine.
The flavonoids and catechins are antioxidants, which reduce free radical formation in the body, protecting molecules and cells from damage. The caffeine stimulates brain activity and metabolism.
Green tea extract has been shown to help with weight loss by improving metabolism. It lowers cholesterol by increasing ‘good’ cholesterol which reduces the plaque in your arteries, and it lowers blood pressure.
It reduces inflammation, improving joint pain in those who suffer from arthritis. It controls blood sugar levels which can combat diabetes, and it is antiviral, so it fights infections.
Green tea extract has been shown to inhibit cancer cells by blocking the cell cycle and inducing death of cancer cells. It slows down the aging process, making your body look and feel younger.
Green tea extract is made from dried tea leaves and comes in pill form. Green tea leaves can also be steeped and drunk as tea.
The amount of tea that should be consumed to enjoy its benefits makes the extract a more practical choice for most people.
Other Names for Green Tea Extract
The biological name for green tea is Camellia sinensis. It is sometimes called Veregen.
Editor’s Note
I began to use green tea extract about a year ago to lose weight. I had almost given up on losing those last 10 pounds that had settled in my belly, assuming that my age and genetics were working against me.
Green tea extract proved me wrong. I was able to lose the weight within a couple of months, and I felt great.
I also noticed that my immune system seemed to benefit from the use of green tea extract. I rarely got a cold, and when I did, it was very mild and went away quickly.
When I went to the doctor for my annual physical, she said that my blood pressure and cholesterol were down from the year before. I told her that I had started taking green tea extract and she said that was probably the reason.
I have a friend who has just started using green tea extract because her doctor told her that her blood sugar was high and that she needed to lose weight and control her sugar if she didn’t want to get diabetes.
She has lost 12 pounds in two months and has dramatically reduced her intake of added sugar. She says she doesn’t miss the sweets at all – the green tea extract has curbed her cravings for sweet foods.
I have found that I have to take the extract in the morning because the caffeine in it will keep me awake at night if I take it after noon or so.
I take two tablets with my breakfast, and I find that I am more mentally alert all day, yet I can still fall asleep easily at night.
I did give up the coffee I used to drink regularly because I didn’t want to increase my caffeine intake, but I find that I don’t miss it at all.
I don’t care for the taste of tea as a beverage, so the green tea extract tablets are a good way for me to get these benefits without having to drink cup after cup of tea.
Green Tea Extract Reviews
Internet reviews of green tea extract are almost universally positive. Users cite its benefits of weight loss and increased energy.
It is important to note that green tea extract alone will not melt off pounds, but it appears to be very effective when it is combined with a healthy diet and exercise. It helps to curb cravings.
Many users who started using green tea extract to boost their metabolism and increase fat-burning were pleasantly surprised to find that it also lowered their cholesterol and blood pressure.
Kris Gunners, BSc, on the Authority Nutrition blog, says:
“In order to feel better, lose weight and lower your risk of chronic diseases, you might want to consider making green tea a regular part of your life.”
Benefits and effects
Green tea extract burns fat and boosts metabolism, improving physical performance. This may help you to maintain a healthy weight and keep you from becoming obese.
It can also improve your sensitivity to insulin and lower your blood sugar, reducing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Green tea increases energy and improves brain function. It contains caffeine, a stimulant, which blocks adenosine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter and increases the concentration of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine. [1]
It also includes L-theanine which decreases anxiety and works synergistically with caffeine to improve brain function. So green tea extract has the energizing qualities of coffee without the jittery feeling.
The caffeine in green tea extract seems to have a better effect on mental clarity and energy than the caffeine in coffee. It does not seem to increase heartrate or anxiety, as coffee sometimes can.
The catechin compounds that are found in green tea extract appear to protect the neurons in the brain, which could lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, the two most common neurodegenerative diseases.
The antioxidants in green tea extract may reduce your risk of cancer. [2]
Since oxidative damage contributes to the development of cancer and antioxidants, help to prevent this damage, the effect of ingesting antioxidants is that your cells are better protected from cancer.
Green tea increases antioxidants in the blood, protecting the LDL cholesterol from becoming oxidized, which can lead to heart disease. The antioxidants protect against cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.
How It Works
Green tea extract contains green tea catechins (GTC) made up of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin (EC), and epicatechin gallate (ECG). It also includes kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin, which are flavonoids.
Green tea extract naturally contains caffeine, but caffeine-free supplements are available. EGCC is the primary ingredient and is responsible for much of the extract’s antioxidants.
The extract’s antioxidants are responsible for many of the extract’s benefits. They reduce the formation in the body of free radicals, which can damage cells and lead to disease.
Free radicals are also responsible for many of the negative effects of aging on our bodies. By reducing or slowing free radical formation, our cells remain healthier and less damaged.
The benefits of green tea extract are apparent almost immediately, often being noticeable within a day or two. It is meant to be taken on a daily basis, and its effects will continue for as long as it is taken.
It does not appear to be necessary to take it only for limited periods of time since there are no ill effects when it is taken regularly for months or even years.
Dosage
The recommended dosage for antioxidant effect, fat burning, and improved brain function is 1 to 2 500mg capsules per day. Take it with or before breakfast or lunch.
Each capsule includes about 15mg of caffeine, which is the equivalent of about one-sixth of a cup of coffee. Taking it later in the day may cause insomnia, especially if you are sensitive to caffeine.
You may want to reduce your intake of caffeine from other sources while taking green tea extract, to avoid consuming too much caffeine.
Side Effects
Most of the side effects reported from green tea extract are due to the caffeine it contains.
Caffeine may increase anxiety, increase the risk of a bleeding disorder, cause irregular heartbeat, worsen diarrhea or irritable bowel syndrome, affect blood sugar control, or worsen osteoporosis.
Drinking green tea or taking green tea extract in excess may worsen anemia or cause liver damage.
When taking green tea extract, do not take additional caffeine from any source until you see how the caffeine in the supplement affects you.
If you are sensitive to caffeine, you may want to consider a caffeine-free version of green tea extract, although it will not provide the energy-producing and metabolism-boosting benefits of the regular type.
Stacking
For fat-burning, you can stack green tea extract with capsaicin, which increases the number of calories you will burn by raising the level of epinephrine in your system.
If you burn calories by working out, take the capsaicin a half hour to an hour before you work out.
Stacking green tea extract with carnitine will help the fat that you have freed up to be burned as energy. To do this, the fat needs to get into your mitochondria in your cells.
Carnitine is similar to an amino acid, and it will help to get the fat into the mitochondria where it will be burned up. Take it 2-3 times a day, before and after your workout, with meals.
Taking conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, at breakfast, lunch, and nighttime will prevent the fat from your bloodstream from being stored as body fat.
This will prevent fat cells from increasing in the first place, which is easier than trying to rid your cells of fat after it has been stored there.
Fish oil contains omega-3 fats that have been found to activate the genes that increase the burning of fat and those that decrease the storage of fat.
If you thought you didn’t have ‘good genes’ when it comes to how much fat you carry on your body, adding fish oil to your regimen may ‘improve’ those genes.
Alternatives
If you are looking for an alternative to green tea extract, consider these.
- Green tea. If you prefer, you can steep the green tea leaves to make tea and drink it. It has the same benefits as green tea extract. Some people feel it’s more natural to drink the tea instead of taking a pill, but the amount of tea you need to drink to get the benefit is significant. Each green tea extract pill contains the same amount of green tea in six cups of tea, so you would have to drink six to twelve cups of tea each day to get the benefit of one to two green tea extract pills. Some people find it inconvenient to drink that much tea each day.
- Rooibos. This is known as a tea but is actually a legume. It does not EGCG, which is the primary antioxidant in green tea extract, but it contains other antioxidant flavonoids. It treats anxiety, skin conditions, allergies, and gout. It has been found to be effective in treating the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and is believed to prevent the cell mutations that cause cancer. It also lowers cholesterol.
- Olive leaf tea. This tea has no caffeine, making it an attractive alternative to green tea extract if you are sensitive to caffeine. It is made from the leaves and bark of the olive tree, which contains the antioxidant oleuropein, flavonoids, and polyphenols. Like green tea extract, olive leaf tea lowers blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol fights the free radicals that are believed to cause cancer and boosts energy. Olive leaf tea also fights colds, allergies, and infections.
Closing Thoughts
Green tea extract increases the burning of fat in your body, improves your energy and mental clarity, and prevents many of the most prevalent diseases of our time.
It is easy to obtain and easy to take, and it has almost no negative side effects. It does not interact negatively with other supplements or prescription medications.
The benefits of green tea extract can be found in other supplements as well, but green tea extract is one of the most complete products available.
It’s no wonder that green tea extract is rapidly growing in popularity throughout the world.
If you want to have more energy, lose weight, prevent life-threatening diseases and improve your overall health, try green tea extract as part of your daily regimen.