Nicholas Perricone’s Oprah Green Tea Diet Facts
As with so many sky-rockets to fame, the Oprah green tea diet came to the world’s attention on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Her guest was Dr. Nicholas Perricone, writer of several books, including the Perricone Prescription that described the medical research behind the impressive fat burning properties of green tea and green tea extract.
During his appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Perricone declared that replacing coffee with green tea could help a dieter lose 10 pounds in 6 weeks. How is it possible to lose weight with green tea alone? According to Dr. Perricone (and we have found numerous medical research studies back this up), green tea and green tea extract contain phytonutrients that perform at least 3 functions in the body that boost weight loss.
1. Green tea reduces appetite. Weight loss of 21% of body weight was noted in laboratory rats in a University of Chicago study. The researchers deemed that the fat loss was due to substantial loss of appetite and decreased food intake. While Dr. Perricone has not mentioned appetite suppression as a benefit of green tea, a small handful of other studies have also proclaimed this theory.
2. Green tea regulates glucose and insulin levels. Quick spikes of insulin tell the body to store fat. As Dr. Perricone puts it, “elevated insulin puts a lock on body fat.” Coffee, on the other hand, contains an ingredient that raises blood sugar and, in turn, insulin levels. Green tea moderates blood sugar itself, precluding the production of excess insulin. “If you do nothing else but substitute coffee with green tea, your insulin levels will drop and you will lose weight,” says Dr. Perricone.
3. Green tea raises our metabolism. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a medical research study in which metabolism rates were elevated by 4% in a 24 hour period. A phytochemical in green tea elicits thermogenic activity in the body (this is the the rate at which your body burns calories). This phytochemical also raises levels of oxidation of body fat (the burning of fat cells).
