Black tea boosts weight loss by making gut bacteria healthy, according to the latest research from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Black tea can be all the way to ancient China during the Ming Dynasty. Lapsang Souchong—the first black tea—was produced in the area around Wuyi Mountain in Fujian province.
It has become one of the most popular types of tea in the world, including the United States.
Most studies have focused on green tea’s weight reduction benefits, but the new study shows that black tea should not be ignored either.
It is well known that green tea and black tea both contain polyphenols, which are plant substances that help prevent free radical damage.
Studies have also shown that these polyphenols may change metabolism to aid weight loss.
Lead study author Susanne Henning explains, “Our new findings suggest that black tea, through a specific mechanism through the gut microbiome, may also contribute to good health and weight loss in humans.”
The researchers took gut bacteria samples of the different participants groups in the study. Some groups with a high-fat, high-sugar diet; a high-fat, high-sugar diet supplemented with green tea extract; a high-fat, high-sugar diet supplemented with black tea extract; and a low-fat, high-sugar diet.
The resesarchers found that the green tea and black tea groups both lost weight, and their weights became comparable to the low-fat and low-sugar diets.
The team also found that black tea and green tea had prebiotic effects.
“The results suggest that both green and black teas are prebiotics, substances that induce the growth of good microorganisms that contribute to a person’s well-being,” Henning said.
“[…] For black tea lovers, there may be a new reason to keep drinking it,” adds senior study author Dr. Zhaoping Li, director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and chief of the UCLA Division of Clinical Nutrition.
The study showing that black tea boosts weight loss by making gut bacteria healthy was published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.
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1. “Black Tea Boosts Weight Loss by Altering Gut Bacteria.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 4 Oct. 2017, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319646.php.
2. “Voluntary Exercise and Green Tea Enhance the Expression of Genes Related to Energy Utilization and Attenuate Metabolic Syndrome in High Fat Fed Mice.” Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, Wiley Online Library, 27 Dec. 2013, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.201300621/full.
3. “The History of Black Tea.” Teavivre, Teavivre, http://www.teavivre.com/info/black-tea-history/.
