Originally published May 7 2009
White Tea May Promote Weight Loss, Reduces Fat Cells
by Sherry Baker, Health Sciences Editor
(NaturalNews) Researchers from Beiersdorf AG, Germany, have just published a new study that concludes white tea could be a natural way to boost weight loss, especially from fat. This is important news -- and not just for those wanting to look slim and trim in their bathing suits this summer. Obesity is a huge world-wide health problem that contributes to morbidity and mortality from a host of ills.
"In the industrialized countries, the rising incidence of obesity-associated disorders including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes constitutes a growing problem. We've shown that white tea may be an ideal natural source of slimming substances," lead researcher Marc Winnefeld said in a statement to the media.
The scientists studied the biological effects of an extract of white tea, which is the least processed version of the tea plant Camellia sinensis. The results of the study, just published in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism show this herbal extract effectively inhibits the generation of new human fat cells (adipocytes). What's more, the researchers found that it stimulates fat mobilization from mature fat cells. In other words, white tea appears to zap excess fat, an ability which the scientists call its "anti-obesity effects".
The scientists looked at lab-cultured human cells known as pre-adipocytes. They found that as the cells developed fully into fat cells, the incorporation of fat into these cells was greatly reduced when adipocytes were treated with white tea extract. "The extract solution induced a decrease in the expression of genes associated with the growth of new fat cells, while also prompting existing adipocytes to break down the fat they contain," Winnefeld stated.
Remarkably, the scientists concluded white tea extract is a natural substance that not only effectively inhibits adipogenesis (the accumulation of fat in cells) but also, at the same time, stimulates lipolysis (fat burning) activity. Bottom line: white tea can be utilized to modulate different levels of the life cycle of human fat cells.
White tea is produced from the buds and first leaves of the same plant used to make the green tea and the black tea most often consumed in Western countries. Because white tea is processed so much less than the other teas, it has been found to possess an abundance of natural compounds that the German investigators believe actively impact human fat cells. These phytochemicals, including methylxanthines (like caffeine) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (known as EGCG), most likely are responsible for many of the anti-fat effects demonstrated in the new study, according to the scientists.
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About the author
Sherry Baker is a widely published writer whose work has appeared in Newsweek, Health, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Yoga Journal, Optometry, Atlanta, Arthritis Today, Natural Healing Newsletter, OMNI, UCLA's "Healthy Years" newsletter, Mount Sinai School of Medicine's "Focus on Health Aging" newsletter, the Cleveland Clinic's "Men's Health Advisor" newsletter and many others.
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