The following is from WebMDHealth:

“…Need another healthy reason to drink green tea? Aside from fighting heart disease, cancer, and other diseases, a new study shows that drinking green tea may also fight fat.

The study showed that people who drank a bottle of tea fortified with green tea extract every day for three months lost more body fat than those who drank a bottle of regular oolong tea.

Researchers say the results indicate that substances found in green tea known as catechins may trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and decreasing body fat.

The findings appear in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Green Tea: Fat Fighter?

Black tea, oolong tea, and green tea come from the same Camellia sinensis plant. But unlike the other two varieties, green tea leaves are not fermented before steaming and drying.

Most teas contain large amounts of polyphenols, which are plant-based substances that have been shown to have antioxidant, anticancer, and antiviral properties.

However, green tea is particularly rich in a type of polyphenols called catechins. These substances have also been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties, but recent research in animals show that catechins may also affect body fat accumulation and cholesterol levels.

In this study, researchers looked at the effects of catechins on body fat reduction and weight loss in a group of 35 Japanese men. The men had similar weights based on their BMIBMI (body mass index, an indicator of body fat) and waist sizes.

The men were divided into two groups. For three months, the first group drank a bottle of oolong tea fortified with green tea extract containing 690 milligrams of catechins, and the other group drank a bottle of oolong tea with 22 milligrams of catechins.

During this time, the men ate identical breakfasts and dinners and were instructed to control their calorie and fat intake at all times so that overall total diets were similar.

After three months, the study showed that the men who drank the green tea extract lost more weight (5.3 pounds vs. 2.9 pounds) and experienced a significantly greater decrease in BMI, waist size, and total body fat.

In addition, LDL “bad” cholesterol went down in the men who drank the green tea extract.

The catechin content varies by amount of green tea used and steeping time. But general recommendations, based on previous studies on the benefits of green tea, are at least 4 cups a day. Green tea extract supplements are also available.

Researchers say the results indicate that catechins in green tea not only help burn calories and lower LDL cholesterol but may also be able to mildly reduce body fat.

“These results suggest that catechins contribute to the prevention of and improvement in various lifestyle-related diseases, particularly obesity,” write researcher Tomonori Nagao of Health Care Products Research Laboratories in Tokyo, and colleagues.”

© 2004 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE: Nagao, T. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2005; vol 81: 122-129.

Read the article in WebMDHealth here.

W.O.W. Smoothie weight loss shakes contains green tea leaf extract in the phyto nutrient blend.

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Cha’ de Burge is a small tree indigenous to Brazil and the tropical forest areas of Argentina and Paraguay. The tree produces a small fruit resembling a coffee bean, which is roasted and brewed into a tea.

It is a commonly used as a weight loss product in Brazil, and is often seen in pharmacies, stores, and even in the beach front eateries and refreshment stands along Rio de Janeiro’s beaches.

As an appetite suppressant, it doesn’t stop the appetite all together, (which can cause intense hunger when it wears off at the wrong time) but it gives a sense of being full and satiated eating a small portion. This enables eating smaller meals more often, which many practitioners believe is better for sustained weight loss and keeping the metabolism going throughout the day.

Cha’ de Burge has been found to have other benefits aside from weight loss. It is used as a heart tonic, circulatory stimulant, a diuretic, for arthritis, cough, gout, fever, kidney stones, renal insufficiency, rheumatism and energy.

One study in Japan has demonstrated that the leaf extract reduces herpes virus penetration by 99%, when they pre-treated the cells with the extract. Their research also validated the traditional use of the plant as a heart tonic when they reported cardio tonic and increased cardiovascular actions using leaf extract.

It is found as a part of the Phyto Nutrient Weight Management Blend, along with coffee berry extract and green tea leaf extract, in the WOW Smoothie.