[Review] Turbocharge Fat Loss, Burn Belly Fat, And Fortify Your Health With Green Tea Extract (GTE)

Green tea is liquid, chartreuse gold. And you NEED to be chugging it, or taking it in the form of green tea extract (GTE). Every drop — or pill-powered shot of powdered extract — that trickles through the body stimulates fat incineration and induces a barrage of potent health benefits. Perks include:

• improves insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance,1 and reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.2
• research indicates that it prevents tumor growth and various types of cancer.3456
• drops cholesterol,7 slashes the risk of developing heart disease,8 AND reduces the probability of dying from it.9
• fights inflammation and inflammatory diseases.10

The majority of the superpowers in green tea (and subsequently green tea extract) come gratis courtesy of compounds called catechins, specifically EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate). EGCG is the most prevalent form of polyphenol in green tea, and makes up about 50-75% of its overall catechin content. If you don’t know what polyphenol is or understand just yet the benefits this could have on your health, you may want to check out this article for more information.

((Jyoti Kanwar, Mujtaba Taskeen, Imthiyaz Mohammad, Congde Huo, Tak Hang Chan,2 and Qing Ping Dou. Recent advances on tea polyphenols. Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2012 January 1; 4: 111–131.))

But green tea and EGCG’s powerhouse benefits go further, into the realm of aesthetics — they significantly accelerate fat loss, specifically from the belly. Here’s how it all goes down.

How Green Tea Extract (GTE) Enhances Fat Burn & Weight Loss

Green tea extract is the only “fat burner” or weight-loss pill you should EVER spend your money on. In supplement form, GTE is an extremely convenient, SAFE way to accelerate fat loss and ultimately craft a chiseled-out physique. When it enters your system it increases fat oxidation1112 — a juicy, opportunistic window to absolutely incinerate body fat.

This is HUGE. Fat oxidation is the body’s way of breaking down large molecules of stored fat (triglycerides) into smaller molecules (free fatty acids) that it can then use for energy. Green tea extract triggers the body to proactively release more stored fat into the bloodstream, which YOU can then burn off at a higher clip during an intense workout.

Imagine a gumball machine as a collection of stored fat molecules. Elevated fat oxidation means more gumballs leave the machine at a higher rate (more gumballs per quarter) — once they’re out, they’re ready and waiting to be burned off.

Here’s the kicker: GTE packs the biggest punch only when YOU bust your ass and capitalize. It works effectively when YOU push to your absolute max — and the rewards are lucrative.

Normally, the body has to cut through stored carbs (glycogen) before it can really prioritize fat-burning — GTE shifts some of that energy expenditure away from stored carbs and displaces it with stored fat. Higher % fat burned immediately; lower % body fat in the long run.

Through that process, green tea extract effectively mobilizes the troops for fatty bloodbath; take it prior to a workout and you’ll slaughter more free-floating fat.1314

That’s workout optimization and efficiency.

And it gets better — research shows that green tea extract specifically increases abdominal fat loss.15 Not only are you accelerating weight and fat loss,16 but it’s coming predominantly from the blubber plastering your core. Cash. It. In.

Green Tea Extract — The Takeaway

Buy it. Not only does GTE pack a TON of incredible health benefits, but it also helps fight hunger and cultivates a well-oiled ecosystem that burns fat at a heightened rate.

I drink green tea AND take green tea extract religiously, especially pre-workout. Seriously, guzzle it all day long and drop a few GTE bombs before a killer sweat-romp.

Go with what’s pure, inexpensive and has a high percentage of EGCG; nothing fancy — I like and recommend Nutrigold or NOW Foods Green Tea Extract.

Take 500-1000mg before any workout, or first thing in the morning.

Amazon — Green Tea Extract, $13.95.

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Bryan DiSanto

Founder & Editor-in-Chief at Lean It UP

ELLO ELLO I'm Bryan DiSanto. I'm the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Lean It UP, a CPT/CSN/Fitness Coach, Chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu – Paris, NYU graduate, ex-fat kid, and all-around fitness junkie.

I also contribute to Men's Health Magazine.

When I'm not working on my abs (or somebody else’s), whipping up avocado roses and avocado toast, or running a Tough Mudder, I'm probably yelling at a Carolina Panthers game somewhere.

Come be friends with me on Instagram (@BRYDISANTO) & Snapchat (BRYDISANTO).

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1. Venables MC, Hulston CJ, Cox HR, Jeukendrup AE. Green tea extract ingestion, fat oxidation, and glucose tolerance in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):778-84. [↩]
2. Rachel Huxley, DPhil; Crystal Man Ying Lee, PhD; Federica Barzi, PhD; Leif Timmermeister; Sebastien Czernichow, MD, PhD; Vlado Perkovic, MD, PhD; Diederick E. Grobbee, MD, PhD; David Batty, PhD; Mark Woodward, PhD. Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee, and Tea Consumption in Relation to Incident Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(22):2053-2063. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2009.439. [↩]
3. H. Yang, K. Landis-Piwowar, T.H. Chan, Q.P. Dou. Green Tea Polyphenols as Proteasome Inhibitors: Implication in Chemoprevention. Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2011 March; 11(3): 296–306. [↩]
4. Jung YD, Ellis LM. Inhibition of tumour invasion and angiogenesis by epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a major component of green tea. Int J Exp Pathol. 2001 Dec;82(6):309-16. [↩]
5. Jyoti Kanwar, Mujtaba Taskeen, Imthiyaz Mohammad, Congde Huo, Tak Hang Chan,2 and Qing Ping Dou. Recent advances on tea polyphenols. Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2012 January 1; 4: 111–131. [↩]
6. Ahmad N, Feyes DK, Nieminen AL, Agarwal R, Mukhtar H. Green tea constituent epigallocatechin-3-gallate and induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in human carcinoma cells. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1997 Dec 17;89(24):1881-6. [↩]
7. Xin-Xin Zheng, Yan-Lu Xu, Shao-Hua Li, Xu-Xia Liu, Rutai Hui, Xiao-Hong Huang. Green tea intake lowers fasting serum total and LDL cholesterol in adults: a meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr August 2011 vol. 94 no. 2 601-610 [↩]
8. Ze-Mu Wang, Bo Zhou, Yong-Sheng Wang, Qing-Yue Gong,Qi-Ming Wang, Jian-Jun Yan, Wei Gao, Lian-Sheng Wang. Black and green tea consumption and the risk of coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr March 2011 vol. 93 no. 3 506-515 [↩]
9. Shinichi Kuriyama, MD, PhD; Taichi Shimazu, MD; Kaori Ohmori, MD, PhD; Nobutaka Kikuchi, MD; Naoki Nakaya, PhD; Yoshikazu Nishino, MD, PhD; Yoshitaka Tsubono, MD, PhD; Ichiro Tsuji, MD, PhD. Green Tea Consumption and Mortality Due to Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, and All Causes in Japan. JAMA. 2006;296(10):1255-1265. doi:10.1001/jama.296.10.1255. [↩]
10. Tea Polyphenols Regulate Key Mediators on Inflammatory Cardiovascular Diseases [↩]
11. Venables MC, Hulston CJ, Cox HR, Jeukendrup AE. Green tea extract ingestion, fat oxidation, and glucose tolerance in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):778-84. [↩]
12. Shimotoyodome A, Haramizu S, Inaba M, Murase T, Tokimitsu I. Exercise and green tea extract stimulate fat oxidation and prevent obesity in mice. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2005 Nov;37(11):1884-92. [↩]
13. Venables MC, Hulston CJ, Cox HR, Jeukendrup AE. Green tea extract ingestion, fat oxidation, and glucose tolerance in healthy humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):778-84. [↩]
14. Shimotoyodome A, Haramizu S, Inaba M, Murase T, Tokimitsu I. Exercise and green tea extract stimulate fat oxidation and prevent obesity in mice. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2005 Nov;37(11):1884-92. [↩]
15. Maki KC, Reeves MS, Farmer M, Yasunaga K, Matsuo N, Katsuragi Y, Komikado M, Tokimitsu I, Wilder D, Jones F, Blumberg JB, Cartwright Y. Green tea catechin consumption enhances exercise-induced abdominal fat loss in overweight and obese adults. J Nutr. 2009 Feb;139(2):264-70. [↩]
16. Brown AL, Lane J, Holyoak C, Nicol B, Mayes AE, Dadd T. Health effects of green tea catechins in overweight and obese men: a randomised controlled cross-over trial. Br J Nutr. 2011 Dec;106(12):1880-9. [↩]