New Delhi: If you’re trying to lose weight, sipping on black tea might help. Researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles recently conducted a study to determine the difference in health benefits between green and black tea.
Black tea is packed with nutrients that are slightly different from those in green and white teas but -- like green tea -- black tea is linked to weight loss. You’ll get the same benefits from caffeine in both types of tea. And unique black tea flavonoids show promises that help you drop extra pounds. But you'll get the biggest impact by using black tea to replace high-calorie beverages.
The findings showed that chemicals found in black tea — called polyphenols — alters energy metabolism in the liver by changing gut metabolites.
Previously, it was known that green tea polyphenols are more effective and offer more health benefits than black tea polyphenols since green tea chemicals are absorbed into the blood and tissue.
For the study, which was recently published in the European Journal of Nutrition, the researchers fed four groups of mice different diets for one month:
• Low-fat and high-sugar
• High-fat and high-sugar
• High-fat and high sugar with green tea extract
• High-fat and high sugar with black tea extract
The researchers tracked the mice's weight over a four-week period and found that those which had had black or green tea extract in their diets lost as much weight as the mice on the low-fat, high sugar diet.
The mice's intestines were shown to have fewer bacteria associated with obesity and more bacteria associated with lean body mass.
That’s because green and black teas are abundant in polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that has been shown to improve your heart health and play a role in weight loss. But the way these antioxidants travel through your body differs in black tea compared to green tea.
Polyphenols in green tea are easily absorbed into your blood. Past research suggests this can help you shed pounds by altering your liver’s metabolism. The polyphenols in black tea, however, work through your intestines, since they’re too big to be absorbed into your bloodstream. Here, they help bolster good-for-you bacteria in your gut, which can help keep your metabolism running efficiently.
The study found that both types of tea can positively affect gut bacteria, but only black tea led to an increase in a type of bacteria called Pseudobutyrivibrio and short-chain fatty acids in the mice, which potentially explains how it could impact your metabolism differently than green tea.
And while the study was done in mice, the researchers believe the results could apply to humans, too.
So, add black tea in your routine to lose weight and to stay fit.
References:
www.sciencedaily.com
www.fortune.com
www.livestrong.com
www.news18.com
www.indianexpress.com