“A fellow runner told me that drinking green tea will help with endurance running. Is this true, and if so, how much per day would you have to drink?”
Green tea contains a class of compounds known as catechins. Catechins have been shown to protect against heart disease and cancer. In addition, catechins have been shown to increase energy expenditure, fat oxidation, and improve endurance capacity.
Most research investigating the effects of catechins uses a green tea extract, which is a more concentrated form of catechins. A recent study using mice found an increase in fat oxidation and endurance capacity using a green tea extract containing 350 milligrams and 890 milligrams of catechins. A cup of brewed green tea provides 10-40 milligrams of catechins. The extract is comparable to 72 and 178 fluid ounces of brewed green tea per day respectively. A recent human study, using 270-1200 milligrams of catechins from green tea extract plus 200mg of caffeine per day, showed an increase in fat oxidation, which in turn could spare glycogen stores and increase endurance capacity during exercise. However, caffeine alone has been shown to increase fat oxidation.
In summary, while there are positive effects of green tea extract on fat oxidation, further investigation is needed with humans to evaluate green tea extract’s effect on exercise performance.
By Marlia Braun, PhD, RD and MealWell Sports Nutrition Advisor
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
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