(Ivanhoe Newswire) Could a simple cup of tea hold the key to losing
weight?
Maybe, report German researchers but only if people consume the more pristine
form of the drink made from the buds and early leaves of the tea plant.
Their study shows this type of tea known as white tea has potent effects on
human fat cells.
The investigators tested the ability of white tea to influence fat cells in a
laboratory study. When human cells were exposed to an extract of white tea,
generation of new fat calls called adipocytes was curtailed and existing
cells were more likely to break down the fat they already contained.
The researchers believe white tea works best because it contains more of the
ingredients thought to impact human health than either green or black tea,
including methylxanthines and epigallocatechin-3-gallate.
In the industrialized countries, the rising incidence of obesity-associated
disorders including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes constitutes a growing
problem, study author Marc Winnefeld was quoted as saying. Weve shown that
white tea may be an ideal natural source of slimming substances.
SOURCE: Nutrition and Metabolism, published online April 30, 2009
