With respect to the studies on green tea, the people used in the research were administered capsules of green tea extracts. A standard amount of catechins was given to them all or components of multiple substances that are properly measured so that each participahuman nt or animal got the same amount and type of tea extract at the end of the day.
Green tea vs. Green tea pills
A latest study to test the absorption of antioxidants among 30 persons was conducted in UCLA, and led by Dr. Susanne M.Henning. The test was to find out the more beneficial between taking a green tea supplement or taking just grren tea.
These volunteers were given green tea extract, black tea, green tea; of which a lot of blood tests were carried out within the interval of 8 hours. The results proved that the intake of green tea extract would make one absorb more flavonols, which in turn does lead to a significant (though small but still significant) increase in the level of antioxidants in the blood.
Just in case you aren’t one of those 30 volunteers, is it possible to obtain the antioxidants given by green tea in supplements apart from taking in tea?
The answer is that it could be possible and at same time probable. Extracts of green tea can be gotten from leading stores, grocery stores, pharmacies, and on the internet. Also, you can get them in liquid form, capsules, patches, powder and chewing gum.
The challenge is quality of the supplements
What to note is that what they contain varies and you might not really be sure of what you are getting. Some extracts of tea do have different amounts of caffeine, which largely depends on their brand, while others are decaffeinated. Also, you need to be careful about some questionable compounds put into many supplements out there that are tagged “green tea.”
In a nutshell, it is understandable that it seems easier taking a capsule that brewing a tea. However, it is not easy getting any of the supplements in the market with same value you would get from a cup of tea. It is known that some of these supplements do contain extracted flavonoids to a very high extent for each capsule you take. In addition, some other supplements only contain residual of tea obtained during processing period. These residuals are not in any way close to the amount you would get from one tea bag.
Green tea Supplements
Scientists are not yet really sure of the right combination of ingredients or the actual ingredient that make for the benefits derived from green tea. With that it is possible that a capsule containing few of the ingredients in green tea may miss out on the actual combination of phytochemical or nutrients that bring about the health benefits of green tea. Green tea was one of the ten foods that were seen to possess the ability to prevent diseases in an article on Time magazine, 2002. In the article, Joann Manson, who was then the Chief of Preventive medicine in Harvard Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was quoted as saying, “It may be the combination of phytochemical, antioxidants and fiber that blend together to provide the health benefits of green tea.” Those who manufacture supplements only engage in making up their combination formula for the different ingredients. This is why there is a wide variation for the amount of ingredients you find for different brands of supplement.
A giant discount retailer of a particular type of green tea extract that he sees to have the ingredients in standard form shows 300 milligrams of green tea with 150 milligrams of polyphenols. Another chain store for nutritional products offers a 315 milligrams bottle of green tea extracts, containing just 44 milligrams of polyphenols. Although they sell at a lesser price for each capsule, you will have to take up to 4 capsules to get same level of polyphenols.
In addition, a particular discount retailer made it clear concerning his product, thus; “that it is a Green Tea Diet supplement.” The irony of the whole thing is that even when the back of his product talks about the study done in Geneva, the facts concerning his supplement shows there are only 100 milligrams of green tea extract, without any mention about polyphenols.
Still there was a claim from another brand of having 90 milligrams of EGCG for each capsule, however, the two last brands do contain 250 milligrams of chromium- which is a trace element that you may not be in need of. It is in your best interest to keep an eagle eye on the labels to check on ingredients you want and in the amount you know are within safe limits for your body.
CAUTION: Whether it is tea or other things, it is a clear fact of life that having one thing in excess is never good. Getting high dosage of antioxidants into your body system is quite dangerous. It has been proven that heavy doses of betacarotene by male smokers only heighten the risk of lung cancer. And it was a shocking result after a study done in the University of Mississippi in 2005 showed that excessive intake of green tea extract would do more harm than good. The result of the research was published in the journal of natural products.
A molecular biologist and lead researcher by name, Yu-Dong Zhou, at the National Center for Natural Products Research in the study of green tea in the University of Mississippi, made it known that the intake of green tea is good and is backed by evidences of thousands of years. However, the idea of having up to 100 cups of tea just in one day should be carefully looked into. Their finding during the research was that instead of excessive intake of tea stopping the systems that promote the growth of certain tumors, it rather activated them. They also found that the presence of epigaliocatechin (EGC) in the tea possesses dissimilar effects based on the kind of tumor.
One Dan Nagle, who joined in the study and was an associate professor of Pharmacognosy in the University of Mississippi school of pharmacy, stated that “Almost all the results of the benefits of green tea comes from studies derived from those who consumed green tea, and not tea extract in powder form, pills or concentrates. In essence, a more detailed research needs to be carried out. However, just for the time being, it is wise to employ common sense and moderation, too.
Just in case you would want to take any green tea supplements, or any other kind of diet supplements, it is advisable you make your intentions clear to your doctor. You may as well do a comprehensive research so it doesn’t go bad with any prescribed or over-the-counter drugs you might be taking at the time.
Take for example; if you are on Coumadin, which happens to be a blood thinner, you should never in any way be involved with taking ginkgo biloba, vitamin E or aspirin, as all of them have the potential to make the blood more thin. If you do so you are going to suffer from excessive bleeding. It is worth knowing that green tea is a blood thinner due to the presence of Vitamin K in it.
REGULATIONS OF THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
A report from USA Today on the issue of green tea extract said that the supplements are within the sights of the government: “We know that the use of green tea extract as weight loss supplement is gaining more popularity. And the flyers and other literature works used in the promotion parades it as a booster for metabolism, “from Richard Cleland, who was an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission.” From the stage we are, the numbers of evidence made available thus far are not enough to show that green tea extract will command a fundamental effect on metabolism or bring about significant loss in weight.” The article also made it clear the FTC is not in any way investigating the adverts and claims for the product.
Therefore, it is no surprise since the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, made it known that it is not mandatory that the Food and Drug Administration should approve of dietary supplements before being allowed for public consumption. Before this time dietary supplements were of same regulations as other foods, however, since the DSHEA was passed, government only examines “new” dietary ingredients. What is said to be a new dietary supplement is one that is in line with the meaning of a dietary supplement but not yet in the market for public consumption before October 15, 1994. However, the concern is that there is no definitive list for ingredient commercialized before October 15, 1994. This makes the tagging of a product to be new or not the preserve of distributors and manufacturers.
Secondly, there is no supervision as to whether the “supplement facts” or ingredients on these products are actually true. it is worth noting that the labeling on these products are done by their manufacturers and producers. And these labels are supposed to be in line with what is obtainable in the bottle. The Food and Drug Administration expects that the labels on these products to have a name that describes the content; such as Green Tea Extract, and it must also state “Dietary Supplement.”
Labels on these products are suppose to carry nutritional information, known as “Supplement Facts”, list of ingredients for the supplement, as well as the overall contents of the product. The label must also carry the contact information regarding the manufacturer or distributor.
For the sake of definition, a dietary supplement is any product containing a “dietary ingredient” that is taken through the mouth for the purpose of supplementing the diet. These also include minerals, vitamins, enzymes, organ tissues, herbs, amino acid, metabolites and glandular tissues.
The distributor or manufacturer of the product is to bear responsibility regarding how safe his supplement is, and should have clear-cut evidence regarding claims about his product and should make sure none of such claims are misguided. However, there is little or no supervision on these claims made by manufacturers or distributors. It is also a known fact that the FDA has no list of distributors and manufacturers.
A statement from the Food and Drug Administration of the United States of America reads: ” “By law (DSHEA), the manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that its dietary supplement products are safe before they are marketed. Unlike drug products that must be proven safe and effective for their intended use before marketing, there are no provisions in the law for FDA to ‘approve’ dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness before they reach the consumer. Also unlike drug products, manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements are not currently required by law to record, investigate or forward to FDA any reports they receive of injuries or illnesses that may be related to the use of their products. Under DSHEA, once the product is marketed, FDA has the responsibility for showing that a dietary supplement is ‘unsafe’ before it can take action to restrict the product’s use or removal from the marketplace.”
Afer ten years of the existence of the DSHEA, the Food and Drug Administration announced their willingness to make more changes to their procedures and policies. However, the DSHEA was yet in existence at the time. With all these it is not wise to think that all the supplements found in offline and online stores which are for sale are all declared safe and efficient by the government.
How to Choose a Supplement
Knowing how to choose a supplement is as important as what you intend getting out of taking a supplement. For that reason you need to start by taking food care at the labels. Some of these labels would give details of things like the amount of EGCG present in the supplement and the level of polyphenols you will get for each capsule. Some other brands of supplement may just only tell they contain extract of green tea. You can also check these labels for further information like age. Some supplements may be said to be for those within a certain age limit.
it is in your best interest to contact the manufacturers or distributors of the supplement if unsure about its contents in relationship to what you are looking for. The following questions are worth asking when you ring the manufacturer:
1) What is the evidence that your product can perform all the claims put on it?
2) Have you carried out a test on the safety and effectiveness of your product?
3) Does your company have a quality control team aimed at making sure the content of the product is the same as what is on the label?
4) Is there any assurance that possible contaminants like pesticides are within safe limits? This question is vital for green tea supplement.
5) Have you received any reports on the side effects of your product at any time?
It is in your best interest never to go by possibly “arranged” reviews from so-called satisfied consumers. And do not be carried away by charts and graphs.
Be on the watch out about who is running the website just in case you intend to buying these products via the internet. You got to know whether it is being run by a government parastatal or a university or a medical organization or just another company trying to market their product. Remember, a company would never say any negative word about their product to the public.
Better still, you can move ahead to ascertain the aim of the website. As a marketing strategy, most of these manufacturers hide under the cloak of giving out useful information to the public. However, most times the information is nothing but propaganda. Once you play into their hands, then would they try to sell their product to you. It is very important to let you know that you shouldn’t be carried away by the fact that the website is beautifully designed with a lot of additional facts to help convince you. It is the norm with the internet. There are no Policemen stationed in the World Wide Web. Secondly, some of these sites invest well into making sure they rank well for search terms related to green tea supplements. Do not be carried away by the results of your search as you should after genuine investigations. So do well to remain focused so you fish out the real from the unreal.
In addition, try to see how updated the site is. For example, there was this hospital’s site with a lot of information concerning green tea. However, the latest information on the site was done in 1995; although they are still doing some trials on the consequences of green tea.
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