Lemon Juice, Resistant Starch, Coffee, Blueberries, Chili, Ginseng, Ginger, Mate, Gymnema Sylvestre, Bitter Melon. Supplements to Improve & Restore Insulin Sensitivity #4

Lemon Juice, Resistant Starch, Coffee, Blueberries, Chili, Ginseng, Ginger, Mate, Gymnema Sylvestre, Bitter Melon - they are all in this fourth serving of the insulin sensitizing supplements series and they are all in this collage. Can you identify all of them?

First of all, let me thank you for flooding me with good suggestions for supplements that should be discussed in this last installment of the series. It's Friday now that I start writing this post and it is probably going to be Sunday, before I find the time to finish the last of your suggestions; and that despite the fact that I am going to try to cut the infos short when I can foresee that it is not worth going into more details, anyway.

Not worth going into details? Yep, one of the supps, where this is clearly the case was suggested by Colby who wants me to address sodium-R-lipoic acid, which is nothing else but R-ALA and in my mind a scientifically unsupported spin-off of ALA that may in fact be inferior to the regular racemic form of lipoic acid which contains both the R- as well as the purportedly pro-inflammatory S-form of ALA (more about the benefits of inflammation in the context of hormesis).

Before we start, just a brief reminder: Do not consider spending your money on any of these supplements before you've not made / begun to make the lifestyle changes described in episode one of this series. Otherwise all of these supplements are nothing but a crutch supporting you on your journey along the Royal Road to Diabesity.

Ok, enough of the finger wagging for today; let's get to "your" supplement wishes. Let's see, what have we got?

• Lemon juice (citric acid) - This is another of Colby's suggestions (also asked for by "anonymous" who just missed his chance of becoming semi-famous). Colby says, he read about lemon juice in Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Body (a fascinating book, by the way; the only problem is that people forget that it's an N=1 experiment and few things that worked for Tim will work for you or anyone else, as effectively).
  
  

  

  Not citric acid specific enough, but worth mentioning: In a study where citric acid (the purported active ingr. in lemon juice) was admin. w/ thiamine, arginine and caffeine it lead to FAT GAIN in normal weight individuals (Muroyama. 2003) - this should remind you of the smart rules of supplementation, right?

  Ferris claims that in his experiments only lemon juice, but not vinegar, which happens to work by the same mechanism, i.e. slowing down the absorption of carbs, did actually lower his postprandial blood glucose levels. Unfortunately there is no research to support this claim and thus lemon juice is at best of as limited use as vinegar (see previous post).
  
  Using lemon juice for cooking purposes, on the other hand, has been shown to reduce the formation of pro-diabetic glycation end products during cooking.
  
  Using a marinade with lemon juice for example will reduce the production of AGEs in beef by 10%  (Uribarri. 2010)
  
  Overall, lemon juice is thus another "C" as in "you C-an try it if you are looking for yet another C-rutch", but certainly nothing that is going to solve any of your problems.
• Resistant Starches - Starches that cannot be broken down in the small intestine and will thus not release any glucose are a no-brainer, as far as improvements in insulin sensitivity are concerned. Think of them as fat, because that is what the "really resistant" starches, i.e. those that make it almost unharmed to the long intesine (RS-3 for the natural ones and RS-4 for the artificial ones). Once they have arrived there they are metabolized to short chain fatty by the bacteria in your gut.
  
  

  

  WMHDP pancakes are not good for you, but maybe better than regular ones.

  Now, the one thing that renders this starches still interesting is the fact that the fatty acids the gut bacteria produce are "short chain fatty acids" (SCFA) . These are, as the name implies "short" and thus easier digested than their nasty long-chain brethren that make up the lion's share of regular keto diets. Moroever, the SCFA have direct (receptor mediated) effects on the production of the "satiety hormone" GLP-1 that has positive effects on both glucose and lipid metabolism (Yadav. 2013).
  
  It is thus the conversion to SCFA and not the resistant starches which come in the varieties RS1 (=physically inaccessible or digestible resistant starch, such as that found in seeds or legumes and unprocessed whole grains),  RS2 (=resistant starch that occurs in its natural granular form, such as uncooked potato, green banana flour and high amylose corn), RS3 (=resistant starch that is formed when starch-containing foods are cooked and cooled such as in legumes, bread, cornflakes and cooked-and-chilled potatoes, pasta salad or sushi rice) and  RS4 (= starches that have been chemically modified to resist digestion, e.g. WMHDP), due to which RS1-4 get a "B" as in "B-etter than regular starches or sugars, B-ut no quick fix for sure". They are useful only in conjunction with the previously mentioned life-style changes from episode I (no, I will never tire of repeating this ;-).

• 

  From an anti-diabetes perspecitve more coffee appears to help more; in view of its effects on the central nervous system you still better limit your intake to max. 3-4 cups per day (Matusheski. 2012)

  Coffee (caffeine & other stuff) - Is certainly too extensive to be treated in detail, so I will refer you to the numerous previous posts on coffee at the SuppVersity, as well as "Warding Off Holiday Weight Gain 2.0: The Anti-Diabesity Effect of Coffee Goes Beyond its Caffeine Content" | read more.
  
  In addition, I would like to invite you to take a look at the image to the right that shows quite clearly that the anti-diabesity effect, of which you have learned that it could mediated by the benefits of caffeine on the liver (cf. "Diabetes & the Liver - Chicken vs. Egg" | read more) are reversed when you are already obese, diabetic & hyperlipidemic.
  
  While I refuse to officially rank coffee, I can tell you that most of the negative side effects are dose-dependently brought about by its caffeine content, and that I personally have a "never consume more than 500mg caffeine or 2-3 cups per day" rule in place and regret it deeply whenever I defy my rule for more than 2-3 days in a row - not on the diabetic side of things (I am rather a low blood glucose guy), but as far as overall well-being and energy levels are concerned. 

• 

  SuppVersity suggested read: "Want to Relieve Insulin Resistance? Eat your Blueberries!" | read more

  Blueberries (real food) - Let me first tell you that I do not intend to give you an overview of the myriad of proven and purported health benefits of blueberries. If that's what you are looking for, I suggest you take a peak at the latest review by Noerberto et al. 2013 (see references).
  
  What I want to give you instead is a real world example: A 2010 study by Stull et al. who found that the provision of isocaloric smoothies with and without 22.5 g blueberry bioactives to 32 obese, nondiabetic, and insulin-resistant subjects for 6 weeks led to a significant improvement of insulin sensitivity in the absence of changes in adiposity.
  
  According to the scientists the same effects could be achieved with 2 cups of fresh blueberries (or 45g of the powder they used to prepare the study) that makes blueberries an "A" as in "A must, but A bit expensive to have them every day". That does not change that consuming blueberries on a regular basis is going to help you improve or maintain you insulin sensitivity.
  
  Thanks for reminding me of including such a reasonable whole food in the series, Erik - ah and Ian, if you want pterostilbene, just eat your blueberries.

• 

  MCT + Chili a fat loss duo that will reduce your insulin sensitivity. That does not matter while you are dieting or low-to-no-carbing, but is a no go when you are doing neither of that.

  Chili (capsaicin) - Capsaicin is another suggestion from Erik, of which I am not quite sure, where he picked it up. Being mislabeled as "fat burner" capsaicin is just like caffeine a substance that increases the efflux of fat from the fat cells and will thus increase the serum level of free fatty acids. This will promote, not inhibit, insulin resistance. Against that background it is not surprising that Islam et al. report that capsaicin had no hypoglycemic, but insulinotropic (more insulin, but same amount of glucose in the blood = decreases insulin sensitivity) effects in a rodent model of type II diabetes (Islam. 2008).
  Note: If you are wondering why I am so bold to state that MCTs reduce your insulin sensitivity (see caption of the image), here is the study (Marcal. 2013) and this is the explanation: Fast fats = increase in FFA in the blood = insulin resistance. At least in an "average" = non-low carb + non-calorically restricted scenario it's as easy as that. When you replace the "Atkins fats" (= long chain fatty acids) with MCTs, on the other hand, you will obviously see benefits from medium chain triglycerides (cf. De Vogel-van den Bosch. 2011).
  In other words, if it's not used to cut body fat (in conjunction with diet and exercise) it's unlikely that capsaicin will help with insulin sensitivity, which is why it gets a "D" as in "D-on't use". And that would be the case even if capsaicin did not have some dubious effects on the Langerhans cells in the pancreas Gram. 2007). It's weight loss effects are totally overblown (see today's Facebook news) and it has been shown to blunt the beneficial effects of the "satiety hormone" cholecystokinin two decades ago (Ritter. 1985). If you want a "hot" alternative, you should thus go for plain onions (Babu. 1997).
• Ginseng (purported active ingredient ginsenoside Rh2): While there are plenty of rodent studies available, Cho et al. were the first to investigate the effect of Korean red ginseng in human beings and the results of their study which has been published in March this year are not exactly impressive.
  
  

  

  It's easy to see: Ginseng doesn't help healthy people. While the reduction in insulin sensitivity in response to 6g ginseng was not significant, it's obvious that healthy individuals won't benefit (Cho. 2013)

  The Korean researchers administered 6 g of  Korean red ginseng rootlets (n=34) or a placebo to a group of 68 participants (average BMI 26kg/m², average body fat 30.7%) for 12 week period and observed that
  

  "Korean red ginseng had no significant effect on improving the insulin sensitivity over time." (Cho. 2013)

  This is significant, because you can safely assume that its effects on individuals with lower body fat percentages (like you?) are probably bordering zero.
  
  Other studies report a physiologically irrelevant improvement in postprandial glycemia, when ginseng (in this case American) was administered exactly 40min before an oral glucose challenge (Vuskan. 2001). And the (non-significant) reduction in insulin sensitivity in the healthy but chubby subjects of the Cho study (see figure on the top right of this paragraph) is a perfect example of the previously cited imperative of applying the selectivity and specificity principles, when you select and buy your dietary supplements (learn more).
  
  In view of the fact that there is some allegedly inconclusive and "not convincing" (Kim. 2011) scientific support for the usefulness of ginseng in sick people, it still qualify for a "C-" as in "C-ould be useful for those who are already suffering from what we call the "metabolic syndrome". Of these, especially those who suffer from high blood lipids (e.g. Mucalo. 2012) could benefit and in these individuals you will probably also observe downstream improvements in glucose metabolism. These are however secondary to the reduction in blood lipis and will not occur in people like yourself, people who work out regular and lead the lives of someone who has found his / her way to physical culture.

• 

  Suggested read: "Beyond Warding Off Holiday Weight Gain: 250-1000mg of Freeze-Dried Ginger Reduce Visceral Fat In Rodents on High Fat Diet" | read more
  

  Ginger - SuppVersity readers will remember ginger from the list of "20+ Anti-Obesity Agents That Have the Potential to Inhibit Fat Gain Right at the Cellular Level" (read full article). If you do remember this article, you may also remember that the anti-obesity effect is brought about by ginger's ability to inhibit the pro-adipogenic peroxisome proliferator-activated gamma receptors (PPAR-gamma).
  
  Ginger has also been shown to exhibit appetite suppressant effects (Mansou. 2012), to improve the thermic effect of food (ibid.), to hold potential as an anti-NAFLD (non-fatty liver disease) "drug" (Sahebkar. 2011), to ameliorate the negative side effects of diabetes (Li. 2012), and to improve glucose level, HbA1c and insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetic patients (Mahluji. 2013)
  
  For whole ginger (i.e. not ginger extracts) the dosages are usually in the 2-4g range. And while this is probably not going to hurt anyone, there is simply too little evidence that the beneficial effects of ginger are not "solely" mediated by its potent anti-inflammatory action to award an "A"-level recommendation with respect to its insulin sensitizing effects.
  
  So, assuming that its usefulness is more or less limited to individuals with underlying inflammatory problems ginger gets a "B" as in "there are few B-etter general health foods out there, B-ut its benefits in lean individuals are probably not glucose specific". If you are looking for general anti-obesity effects, on the other hand, I'd suggest you go and grab a couple of ginger roots right now ;-)
• Mate tea (Ilex paraguariensis): The evidence from human studies for or against the usefulness of the last supplement on Erik's wishlist is not exactly what I would call extensive. A study by Klein et al. from 2011 is probably as good as it gets and, as it was to be expected, the results suggest that we are once more dealing with an anti-inflammatory agent that will have the greatest impact on people who already suffer from diabetes / the metabolic syndrome.
  
  

  

  SuppVersity suggested Read: "The Leptin-Ilex!? Does Yerba Mate (Ilex Paraguariensis) Restore Leptin Sensitivity or Does it Just Help You Lose Body Fat by Curbing Your Appetite?" | read more, but don't forget that fat loss and glucose sensitivity are not one and the same. While The former usually entails the latter, it does not always work the other way around.

  Contrary to the diabetic patients in the Klein study, the pre-diabetic mate-tea consumers (3x330ml of tea made from roasted mate tea) in his study, did not register any benefits in glucose metabolism and the improvements in lipid parameters may well be a mere consequence of the concomitant dietary changes Klein et al. observed (Klein. 2011).
  
  Just like many other purported "insulin sensitizers", Mate is thus another food / supplement that has only secondary effects on blood glucose. It's another "C" supplement with "C as in C-an be used by the obese diabetic". Drinking liters of mate, even if you don't like it, just to increase your glucose sensitivity does however seem to be pretty useless for anyone who ain't suffering from abnormal lipid levels and increased whole body inflammation.
• Gymnema Sylvestre - While there are a couple of human studies on gymnema their significance suffers from heavy sponsoring and / or the co-administration of other supplements. If you plod through the research that's out there you will however find some evidence for its usefulness in full-blown type II diabetics (500mg/day; Kumar. 2010) and some interesting effects on the sweet taste receptors (Sigoillot. 2012). The latter are blocked by gymnemic acid and could, at least when we are talking about the glucose receptors in the gut, modify both the absorption kinetics and hormonal response of / to glucose.
  
  In the end, the said effects on the sweet taste receptors may also be involved in the effects Shanmugasundaram et al. describe in a 1990 paper. In their study, the administration of 400mg of an GS extract lead to significant improvements in glucose management in 27 patients with insulin-dependent (=severe) diabetes. Since we do not really know that, and in view of the occasional reports of adverse reactions to gymnema supplements (e.g. a case-report by Shiyovich et al. (2010) that links the consumption of gymnema supplements to toxic hepatitis), I will still rank it as "D" as in "D-o wait until there is more and better research available".
  
  I personally consider the risk of consuming corresponding supplements very low, but the same goes for any potential benefits ... and one thing is certain, it's not "a potential panacea for the management of diabetes" which is what MJ Leach writes to attract attention to his 2007 review of the literature in the Journal of Alternative Complementary Medicine (Leach. 2007)

• 

  Suggested Read: "Purported Health Supplement Bitter Melon Induces Oxidative Damage in Rat Testes and Reduces Testosterone Levels by >50%" | read more

  Bitter melon (Momordica charantia): While the hype has already abated, the marketing guys did a pretty damn good job in pimping bitter melon as the goto panaceum for whatever health problem may have befallen you. With respect to it's insulin sensitizing effects Basch et al. wrote about a decade ago:
  

  "Bitter melon may have hypoglycemic effects, but data are not sufficient to recommend its use in the absence of careful supervision and monitoring." (Basch. 2003)

  Did that change over the course of the past 10 years? Of course not.
  
  So unless Google and sensationalist advertisements that are supposed to look like real journal articles are your main sources of "information" about dietary supplements you will probably have to concede that
  

  "[...] clinical trial data with human subjects are limited and flawed by poor study design and low statistical power [and] the clinical data regarding the anti-diabetic potentials of M. charantia and calls for better-designed clinical trials to further elucidate its possible therapeutic effects" (Leung. 2009)

  and conclude that
  

  "[t]here is insufficient evidence on the effects of momordica charantia for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Further studies are therefore required to address the issues of standardization and the quality control of preparations. For medical nutritional therapy, further observational trials evaluating the effects of momordica charantia are needed before RCTs are established to guide any recommendations in clinical practice." (Ooi. 2013)

  That does not necessarily mean that it does not work, at all, but as a direct comparison with metformin shows, it's not a real alternative for type II diabetics (Fuangchan. 2011), whose HbA1c levels declined by meager 0.24% after being treated with a bitter melon supplement three times a day for three months (undisclosed amount of active ingredients in the caps; cf. Dans. 2007). I hope I do not have to point out that it is unrealistic to expect that you would see better effects in non-diabetics.
  
  I guess, it's probably not necessary to say that, but bitter melon is a bitter pill that gets a "D" as in "D-on't fall for the hype".
  

No block buster supps in this serving: Ok, I have to admit this last installment of the series had a couple of supplemental non-starters in it. Honestly, Ginger is the only one of the items listed above that stands a chance to make it into the insulin sensitizing protocol that's about to conclude this series next Sunday.

Until then, I hope all of you enjoy the rest of this weekend and come back for your daily dose of SuppVersity news tomorrow (all muscle heads listen up, you will like tomorrows news ;-)!

References:

• Babu PS, Srinivasan K. Influence of dietary capsaicin and onion on the metabolic abnormalities associated with streptozotocin induced diabetes mellitus. Mol Cell Biochem. 1997 Oct;175(1-2):49-57. 
• Fuangchan A, Sonthisombat P, Seubnukarn T, Chanouan R, Chotchaisuwat P, Sirigulsatien V, Ingkaninan K, Plianbangchang P, Haines ST. Hypoglycemic effect of bitter melon compared with metformin in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients. J Ethnopharmacol. 2011 Mar 24;134(2):422-8.
• Islam MS, Choi H. Dietary red chilli (Capsicum frutescens L.) is insulinotropic rather than hypoglycemic in type 2 diabetes model of rats. Phytother Res. 2008 Aug;22(8):1025-9.
• Kim S, Shin BC, Lee MS, Lee H, Ernst E. Red ginseng for type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Chin J Integr Med. 2011 Dec;17(12):937-44. 
• Kumar SN, Mani UV, Mani I. An open label study on the supplementation of Gymnema sylvestre in type 2 diabetics. J Diet Suppl. 2010 Sep;7(3):273-82.
• Leach MJ. Gymnema sylvestre for diabetes mellitus: a systematic review. J Altern Complement Med. 2007 Nov;13(9):977-83. Review.
• Leung L, Birtwhistle R, Kotecha J, Hannah S, Cuthbertson S. Anti-diabetic and hypoglycaemic effects of Momordica charantia (bitter melon): a mini review. Br J Nutr. 2009 Dec;102(12):1703-8. doi: 10.1017/S0007114509992054. Epub . Review.
• Li Y, Tran VH, Duke CC, Roufogalis BD. Preventive and Protective Properties of Zingiber officinale (Ginger) in Diabetes Mellitus, Diabetic Complications, and Associated Lipid and Other Metabolic Disorders: A Brief Review. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:516870.
• Mansour MS, Ni YM, Roberts AL, Kelleman M, Roychoudhury A, St-Onge MP. Ginger consumption enhances the thermic effect of food and promotes feelings of satiety without affecting metabolic and hormonal parameters in overweight men: a pilot study. Metabolism. 2012 Oct;61(10):1347-52.
• Marçal AC, Camporez JP, Lima-Salgado TM, Cintra DE, Akamine EH, Ribeiro LM, Almeida FN, Zanuto RP, Curi R, Boldrini SC, Liberti EA, Fiamoncini J, Hirabara SM, Deschamps FC, Carpinelli AR, Carvalho CR. Changes in food intake, metabolic parameters and insulin resistance are induced by an isoenergetic, medium-chain fatty acid diet and are associated with modifications in insulin signalling in isolated rat pancreatic islets. Br J Nutr. 2013 Jun 28;109(12):2154-65. doi: 10.1017/S0007114512004576.
• Matusheski et al. Coffee and Type 2 Diabetes Risk. In "Coffee: Emerging Health Effects and Disease Prevention" edited by Yi-Fang Chu.John Wiley & Sons, Mar 27, 2012.
• Mucalo I, Rahelić D, Jovanovski E, Bozikov V, Romić Z, Vuksan V. Effect of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes. Coll Antropol. 2012 Dec;36(4):1435-40. Review.
• Muroyama K, Murosaki S, Yamamoto Y, Ishijima A, Toh Y. Effects of intake of a mixture of thiamin, arginine, caffeine, and citric acid on adiposity in healthy subjects with high percent body fat. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2003 Nov;67(11):2325-3.
• Norberto S, Silva S, Meireles M, Faria A, Pintado M, Calhau C. Blueberry anthocyanins in health promotion: A metabolic overview. Journal of Functional. Foods, Available online 21 September 2013.
• Ritter RC, Ladenheim EE. Capsaicin pretreatment attenuates suppression of food intake by cholecystokinin. Am J Physiol. 1985 Apr;248(4 Pt 2):R501-4. 
• Sahebkar A. Potential efficacy of ginger as a natural supplement for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. World J Gastroenterol. 2011 Jan 14;17(2):271-2. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i2.271. 
• Shanmugasundaram ER, Rajeswari G, Baskaran K, Rajesh Kumar BR, Radha Shanmugasundaram K, Kizar Ahmath B. Use of Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract in the control of blood glucose in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. J Ethnopharmacol. 1990 Oct;30(3):281-94.
• Shiyovich A, Sztarkier I, Nesher L. Toxic hepatitis induced by Gymnema sylvestre, a natural remedy for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Am J Med Sci. 2010 Dec;340(6):514-7.
• Stull AJ, Cash KC, Johnson WD, Champagne CM, Cefalu WT. Bioactives in blueberries improve insulin sensitivity in obese, insulin-resistant men and women. J Nutr. 2010 Oct;140(10):1764-8. doi: 10.3945/jn.110.125336.
• Uribarri J, Woodruff S, Goodman S, Cai W, Chen X, Pyzik R, Yong A, Striker GE, Vlassara H. Advanced glycation end products in foods and a practical guide to their reduction in the diet. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Jun;110(6):911-16.e12.
• Yadav H, Lee JH, Lloyd J, Walter P, Rane SG. Beneficial Metabolic Effects of a Probiotic via Butyrate-induced GLP-1 Hormone Secretion. J Biol Chem. 2013 Aug 30;288(35):25088-97.

Maté Promots Fat Oxidation During Cardio: What's the Intra-Workout Effect From 1 Gram of Ilex Paraguariensis Worth?

Do you want to burn some extra fat during your workouts? Ilex can help. But will it also help you lose body fat?

After the nicotine article a week ago, it's about time to take a look at less "toxic" fat burners. As the case may be, researchers from the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing at the Sheffield Hallam University have just published a paper about the ability of Yerba Maté (Illex Paraguariensis | YM) to augments fat oxidation and energy expenditure during exercise at various submaximal intensities (Alkhatib. 2014).

Now, as a SuppVersity Reader you're well aware that an "augmentation of fatty acid oxidation during exercise", alone, is not worth your heard earned money. The question to keep in mind, when we're going through the results, is thus: Is Ilex Paraguariensis worth using, or is it just worth writing about in a science magazine?

Is Maté better than coffee? Find out what coffee can do for you!

Remember: With Coffee More Won't Help More

Coffee - The Good, Bad & Interesting

Three Cups of Coffee Keep Insulin At Bay

Caffeine's Effect on Testosterone, Estrogen & SHBG

The Coffee³ Ad- vantage: Fat loss, Appetite & Mood

Caffeine Resis- tance - Does It Even Exist?

Alright, now that we've set the scene it's about time to take a look at the study design. The study followed a double-blind crossover repeated measures experimental design.

The participants were fourteen healthy adults, seven males and seven females [Mean ± SD: age = 20.8 ± 3.4 yr, height = 171.8 ± 10.0 cm, body mass = 70.4 ± 11.3 kg, body mass index (BMI; in kg/m²) = 23.8 + 0.11]. Participants were assigned randomly to each experimental condition within a period of two weeks.

The Coffee³ Advantage Equation: 3 x 250mL Coffee / Day + 2x4 Weeks ➫ -1kg Body Fat | learn more

Female participants were studied in days 1 to 7 of their menstrual cycle to minimise the influence of cyclical changes in female hormones. All participants were screened prior to the start of the testing in order to determine that they are free from illness and any type of orthopaedic limitation or injury, or chronic disease.

Moreover, none of the subjects consumed ergogenic aids or tons of caffeine regularly (<200 mg/day) - that doesn't mean they never drank more coffee, but they had to abstain from more than 1.5 cups of coffee, tons of energy drinks caffeine containing soft drinks or medications.

A very reasonable request, if you want to measure significant effects from Ilex Paraguariensis which contains 1.5% (according to Alkhatib. 2014) caffeine and roughly 0.12% theobromine (according to Reginatto. 1999).

The tests & supplements

All participants reported to the Physiology Laboratory on two separate occasions following 10 hrs overnight fast, and each testing session (between 07:00am and 10:00am) was separated by at least three days within two weeks period.

During each visit participants ingested either 1000 mg (2× 500 mg capsule) YM or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose placebo empty capsules (PLC). Two capsules with similar coatings of either YM and PLC capsules were placed within an empty water cup and taken in the same way with a 100 ml of water. The YM capsules contained a standardized ground YM leaves (batch number 0422009/2012) with a natural content of approximately 1.5% caffeine (Rio Trading Company, Brighton, United Kingdom).

Ilex ain't ilex, so beware! It's by no means sure that your YM supplement will contain the same amount of caffeine (and any theobromine), if you look at the data from other studies, the caffeine content of the supplement appears to be pretty high - high as in twice as high as in a study by Retinatto et al. from 1999, for example. According to Heck et al. the amount of caffeine in 150 ml of yerba maté tea is approximately 78 mg and thus similar to the amount found in a 250 ml cup of coffee.

Immediately following the ingestion of supplement or placebo, participants rested for 60 minutes in a semi-recumbent position in quiet laboratory condition. For the estimation of FAO and CHO at rest and during exercise, breath by breath cardiorespiratory measurements included oxygen uptake ( ) 2 VO , carbon dioxide production, and respiratory exchange ratio (RER), using an online gas analyzer (Metalyzer Cortex 3B, Leipzig, Germany).

The exercise protocol & its consequences

All participants followed the same incremental exercise assessment using an electromagnetically braked cycling ergometer (Schoberer Rad Messtechnik, SRM, Ergo, Julich, Germany). The ergometer was calibrated before use and similar cycling positions were applied in both tests for each participant, which included adjusting the handlebar and saddle height and distance, crank length and toe clip positions during the first visit and re-apply the same position in the following visit.

The cycling protocol consisted of three-minute incremental stages that were initiated at and increased by 0.5 W/kg body mass. Participants cycled at 60–70 rpm throughout the whole test until volitional exhaustion defined as meeting the at least two of 2 peak VO2 termination criteria: RER value > 1.1, heart rate within 10 beats/min of age predicted maximum heart-rate, or achieving levelling-off of VO2 Peak power (P_peak). Similar verbal encouragement was provided to all participants throughout the exercise tests. All tests were followed by a sufficient cool down for at least 20 min, in which participants consumed at least 200 ml of water, and instructed to stay hydrated and consume at least 2 litres of water during the day of the test.

Let's not forget... that there is another advantage of increased fatty oxidation during cardio workouts: A reduced reliance on muscle and liver glycogen and thus potential increases in aerobic endurance capacity. So, if you're an endurance athlete, you may want to "abuse" this fat burner as an ergogenic. Specific evidence for performance increases does yet not exist (Godfrey. 2013)

Interestingly, following the 60 min rest after YM ingestion, no significant difference was found for either resting blood lactate contentration (1.4 ± 0.32 vs. 1.5 ± 0.30 mmol/l) or resting respiratory exchange ratio (0.82 ± 0.08 vs. 0.81 ± 0.05) for PLC vs. YM respectively.

In other words: After the workout there were no measurable difference between the active and placebo treatment. The latter cannot be said of the RER during workouts, though.

Figure 1: Significant decreased RER and higher fatty oxidation rates - two sides of the same fat burning coin and evidence that the ingestion of the YM supplement lead to significant increases in fatty oxidation (Alkhatib. 2014)

As you can see in Figure 1 the effects of the Ilex supplements were significant - statistical significant, but also practically relevant? Probably not. The increase in fatty oxidation was after all paid for with an increase in glucose oxidation (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: The glucose usage during workouts decreases, obviously this leads to greater increases in lactate levels, whether it's pro-weight loss is questionable, though. If anything it could increase the time to fatigue (Alkhatib. 2014)

The net energy expenditure, the one thing that really counts, was thus identical. For someone who has to get rid of tons of fat in his blood. The increase in RER may be relevant. For someone who is fit and well-trained, it's not really important if he or she burns fat or glucose during the workout - why else would HIIT work so well for losing fat - specifically in lean athletic individuals? Well, the answer is easy: It burns glucose and will thus increase GLUT-4 expression insulin sensitivity and, in the end, also fatty oxidation - to replete the depleted energy stores.

Bottom line: It's nice to see another fatty acid oxidation booster, but the short increase in fatty acid oxidation during the workout, is probably without consequences for your body composition.

Figure 3: AMPK and ACC expression in rodents on regular (ND) and high fat diet with (IPD) and without (HFD) Ilex supplementation (Pang. 2008).

So why am I posting this then? Well previous research from rodent studies shows effects that are much more interesting than the more or less irrelevant increase in fatty oxidation during the workout. Pang et al. for example found that Ilex paraguariensis extracts ameliorate obesity induced by high-fat diet - potentially by increasing the expression of AMPK in the visceral adipose tissue (2008). The actual data from the study does yet suggest that the effect depends on high fat dieting - a diet of which you as SuppVersity Reader know that it mimics a junk food diet, no one of you is eating (hopfully).

Compared to the control animals on a normal diet, on the other hand, there was no increase in AMPK (statistically speaking) and the Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) expression was which regulates the irreversible carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to produce malonyl-CoA and is thus an important player in the terminal oxidation of fatty acids is even more pronounced in the control group. A direct beneficial effect from Ilex supplementation on body composition is thus something I would not necessarily expect from this supplement.

References:

• Godfrey, R. J., et al. "A–Z of nutritional supplements: dietary supplements, sports nutrition foods and ergogenic aids for health and performance: Part 45." British journal of sports medicine 47.10 (2013): 659-660.
• Pang, Jisook, Youngshim Choi, and Taesun Park. "Ilex paraguariensis extract ameliorates obesity induced by high-fat diet: Potential role of AMPK in the visceral adipose tissue." Archives of biochemistry and biophysics 476.2 (2008): 178-185.
• Reginatto, Flavio Henrique, et al. "Methylxanthines accumulation in Ilex species-caffeine and theobromine in erva-mate (Ilex paraguariensis) and other Ilex species." Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society 10.6 (1999): 443-446.

Yerba Mate, Yohimbine & Yucca - Potent Fat or Unhealthy Money Burners? Tea Catechins Were Yesterday, Saponins Are the Future! GMO Rice "Safe for Human Consumption"?

Are you living in one of the hotspots of diabesity and laziness? Check out the map in the bottom right of my little collage and find out what the CDC data from 2008 can tell you about the regional differences in the US. Which are the top (=healthy & active; violet) and which the flop (=diabetic and sedentary; blue) counties in the US?

58%, that's not just the SuppVersity Figure of the Week it is also statistical testimony to the superiority of lifestyle interventions over drugs. Why? Well it is the rate by which even the CDC admits the diabetes risk of the average US citizen would drop, if he or she lost 5-7% of body weight (I know, I would likewise prefer a body fat number) and increased their "exercise" level to 150min of brisk walking (or more intense exercise) per week.

I know this is nothing new to you, but we all know one of these people who are subservient to "authorities" and like to get their (often oversimplyfied) advice right from the feds. So I suggest you just email the introduction to this article along with the picture on the right to this person... in 99% of the cases it won't help, but who knows, maybe he or she asks you if you can help!?

I am pretty sure that a diligent student of the SuppVersity as you are will have no problem whatsoever with getting him / her set up for a healthier and consequently longer life - right?

The SuppVersity short news for calender week 24 | read all previous installments

A-Z Supplement Review - "Y" as in Yerba Mate, Yohimbine & Yucca (Godfrey. 2013) -- If you have been following the SuppVersity Facebook News for more than just the past 3 weeks, you will have heard about the "A-Z Supplement Review" series, the British Journal of Sports Medicine has been running for years, now. Meanwhile they have arrived at "Y" (for thematic reasons they did not stick to the A-Z sequence with every article in the past, though); and in this issue S.J. Stear, RJ Godfrey and MW Laupheimer have compiled mini-reviews on the usefulness of yerba mate, yohimbine and yucca, respectively.

"In sport, yohimbine is perceived to reduce body fat and mobilise lipid, as well as to enhance endurance. Accordingly, it is often used in bodybuilding and other aesthetic sports, and in sports where there is a significant aerobic component. However, despite these claims, research findings actually refute any ergogenic benefit for sport (Ostojic. 2006; Herda. 2008) In addition, [...] adverse effects have been established."

I know, I know the highly questionable fat loss in the Ostjic study would speak a different language, but it has never been replicated in another trial. In fact, a previous study in 43 men using dosages of 41(!) mg/day did not observe any effects on body composition (Sax. 1991). And a more recent review by Climolai et al. states "There is no conclusive evidence for this drug to be of benefit in bodybuilding, exercise tolerance, physical performance, or desirable alterations of body mass." (Climolai. 2011)

Did you know that mate has about the same amount of caffeine than coffee? 150ml = 75mg; according to Stear for coffee that's what you get from ~250ml with most roasts... I have my doubts about that, and would rather believe that the content is about identical (usually the caffeine content of coffee is said to be 55-85mg/100ml). Still, being rich in chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid mate could probably serve as a replacement for regular coffee, for those who don't like the taste of coffee.

Don't despair, we do still have two other supplements in the review, so let's see... what about yerba maté? Being made of dried leaves of the Ilex paraguariensis tree this tea has been widely consumed in South America for centuries. Maté tee contains numerous active phytochemicals of which chlorogenic acid and the xantines caffeine and obromine are the most abundant ones. It does yet also contain alkaloids (caffeic acid, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid), flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol and rutin), amino acids, minerals (phosphorus, iron and calcium) and vitamins (C, B₁ and B₂).

That certainly sounds promising, unfortunately the evidence on its ergogenic effects is not conclusive and while it has been shown to be hypocholesterolaemic, hepatoprotective, a central nervous system stimulant, diuretic, antioxidant, of benefit to the cardiovascular system, and associated with both the prevention and increased risk of some types of cancers (Heck. 2007), Stear is right that the high amount of active ingredients will also increase the risk of unwanted side effects - or as my friend Carl likes to say: "The good thins is that yerba maté works, the bad thing, on the other hand, is that it works [and thus has effects and side effects]" ;-)

A major problem about yucca, the last item on the list is probably that there is no such thing as a specific yucca plant. The term "yucca" refers to a whole series of 40–50 medicinally potent plant species that generally thrive in arid parts of southwestern USA and Mexico. As Laupheimer points out:

While yucca is actually one of the few supplements I have not yet covered on the SuppVersity, you may want to read up on the leptin sensitizing effects of yerba maté in a previous article (read more)

"The yucca extract is widely used as an animal feed additive to increase growth rate, improve feed conversion efficiency and to ease joint pains in horses and dogs. Yucca has also been shown to have antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial and hypocholesterolaemic properties. [...] Yucca saponins are precursors to cortisone. Yuccaols and resveratrol, which are mainly found in the yucca bark, are known to have a variety of actions, including inhibitors of the nuclear transcription factor κB (NFκB) and thus anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and free radical scavengers In addition, resveratrol has been shown to have an influence on muscle fibres, strength and possible ergogenic effects."

As usual there is yet insufficient evidence to formulate scientifically warranted dose recommendations and  evidence of ergogenic benefit in sports performance is missing.

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Bottom line: From the three "Y"s in the latest installment of the Supplement Review, maté is probably the one with the best scientific support for it's ergogenic effects. If nothing else, the high caffeine content alone would classify the South American tea as a performance booster. The most promising agent may in fact be the yucca extracts, but it is certainly premature to recommend taking respective supplements.

And what about yohimbine? It's if anything useful during a fast on a very hard diet + exercise regimen to further the release of fatty acids from the "stubborn fat areas", where alpha- instead of beta receptors are the main mediators of FFA release. If you want still want to try it, make sure you use the clean HCL version - with the extracts you have no idea what it is you are actually getting.

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Catechins are so yesterday, tea saponins are the future (Yu. 2013) - You will be aware that we have long ascribed the beneficial health effects of green, black, white and other teas to the catechins (e.g. EGCG, ECG, etc.) they contain. A recent study from the University of Wollongong in China does now suggest that we may have been missing an important part of the natural (not proprietary ;-) anti-obesity blend in the Camellia sinensis (that's the scientific name of the "tea plant") brews we have been making for centuries.

Figure 1: The restored leptin sensitivity is probably the reason why the rodents did not overeat and thus returned to and maintained a relatively normal body weight (Yu. 2013)

Tea saponins! This is a term by which the researchers refer to a whole class of triterpenes that are present in different concentrations in various types of tea. These molecules are natural antagonist of the NF-kB signaling and have anti-inflammatory potential.

No wonder Yu et al. suspected that they could be used to treat diet induced obesity. To validate this hypothesis they fed a group of mice a high fat diet for 40days. At the end of that period all rats were obese, inflamed, insulin and leptin resistant. Another 21 days and thus 21x 10mg servings of 96% pure tea saponins from Aladdin Chemistry Co. Ltd, China, later 50% of the mice were not exactly lean, but had achieved a new, lower maintenance weight (see figure 1).

Based on the data they have, the scientists concluded that these benefits were brought about by the rostoatin of brain leptin sensitivity that went hand in hand in with increases in insulin sensitivity... hold on insulin sensitivity? Yeah that's right and you are not mistaken, both, leptin and insulin were in the news today, before. In the face book news, to be precise: "There is no such thing as 'leptin resistance'" (read more)

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Wrong! Fat does not ameliorate, but potentiate the insulin response to carbs (learn more)

Bottom line: If we take the decreased inflammation, the ameliorated weight gain, the increased expression of POMC neurons low levels of which which have previously implicated in human weight gain (learn more), and the other beneficial effects Yan et al. observed in the study hand  and combine that with the previously mentioned hypothesis by Nazarians-Armavil, Menchella and Belsha.

The message is thus quite clear: Tea saponins are a potent insulin resensitizer. Once they have done their job, and your body is able to "hear" the most important signal in the metabolic concert again, the rest will fall into place.

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GMO rice safe for rat consumption Chinese scientists say (Yuan. 2013) - While I am not sure whether there are any hidden ties of the Genetically Modified Organisms Breeding Major Projects of P.R. China grant to the usually suspects from the West, it appears unlikely that Monsanto & Co were involved in the latest study from the Laboratory of Food Safety at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of the China Agricultural University in Beijing.

Figure 2: The short-term safety is accompanied by an unexpected weight gain in the male rodents that starts at weight 6, and does (lucky for the sponsors) not reach significance before the study was terminated (Yuan. 2013)

Now, it still goes without saying that the Chinese government will have a vested interest in developing a GMO variant of their bread-and-butter food item that produces the gram-positive spore-Bt toxin they would otherwise have to apply to the crop to protect it on it's own. It is therefore good news (for the Chinese) that none of the dozen parameters the scientists monitored (microflora composition, intestinal permeability, epithelial structure, fecal enzymes, bacterial activity, intestinal immunity + all the standard measures you can think of) did not show any effect of the chronic ingestion of the BT/GMO rice.

What is yet hidden in the supplemental material that came with the study is the weight development of the rodents. In the course of the hilariously short study (I suspect the researchers wanted to make sure they would not observe anything similar to the tumors that brought their French colleagues right into the headlines of the mainstream media outlets; cf. gofl-ball sized tumors due to GMO corn), there was an unexpected and though not yet statistically significant difference in the weight development of the male rodents in the GMO rice group, who began gaining weight at an increased rate 12 weeks into the study.

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Bottom line: If you conduct a rodents study and don't chose a study duration that would allow for long-term effects to surface (it should be obvious that this does not apply to a 90-day study period), you can hardly argue that the product you are testing is "safe" for human consumption - well unless we are talking about short-term consumption.

Aside from being able to assess the effects the GMO rice has on cancer rates (remember cancer takes time to grow) and all-cause mortality, even the sudden disconnect in body weight development in the male animals after 6 weeks would - at least in my humble opinion - warrant further studies, before you can unleash the genetically modified beast on your people, but I guess the Chinese official think "wtf. we have enough workers for our economy to flourish and if they die early, we don't have to pay their pensions"...

That's it for this week,...

... and the one thing that's still left to do is to wish all of you an active and happy weekend. Ah..., right. For those of you who still have some time to kill before whatever activity will start, here are a couple of SuppVersity Facebook News, you may want to read before finally starting into the "active part" of the weekend:

• 

  Many of the underlying causes of "self-inflicted hypthyrodism" will also hamper your performance in the gym and elsewhere. Now, what's particularly nasty, is the fact that for many gymrats performance or "looking" good naked, respectively the strive for any or both of the two are the (over-)motivational roots of the misery (read more)

  A new whey (all puns intended) to treat cystic fibrosis (CF) - Researchers from the Macdonald Campus of McGill University in Canada have found that pressurized whey protein hydrolysate could be a cheap and effective way to ameliorate cystic fibrosis | read more
• Are only phospholipid pound "omega 3s" good omega 3s? Paper puts another emphasis on the superiority of phospholipid bound DHA & EPA (as in food) over triglyceride bound DHA & EPA (as in fish oil caps), when it comes to the touted health benefits of high(er) omega 3 intakes | read more
• "No extra-shoes necessary" that's the message a recent study that investigated whether people who overpronate would need special (expensive) running equipment | read more
• Oldie but goldie: If reverse T3 is protein sparing at all, it has no direct effect and works only by blocking the receptor | read more

Alright, now you are good to go. So log out and come back in ~12h for more Facebook news and ~24h for the Sunday's SuppVersity article, of which I believe it will revolve around fasting - alternate day fasting and macronutrient composition... hah, now I got you hooked, right?

References:

• Cimolai N, Cimolai T. Yohimbine use for physical enhancement and its potential toxicity. J Diet Suppl. 2011 Dec;8(4):346-54.
• Godfrey RJ, Laupheimer MW, Stear SJ, Burke LM, Castell LM. A-Z of nutritional supplements: dietary supplements, sports nutrition foods and ergogenic aids for health and performance: Part 45. Br J Sports Med. 2013 Jul;47(10):659-60.
• Heck CI, de Mejia EG. Yerba Mate Tea (Ilex paraguariensis): a comprehensive review on chemistry, health implications, and technological considerations. J Food Sci. 2007 Nov;72(9):R138-51. Review. 
• Herda TJ, Ryan ED, Stout JR, Cramer JT. Effects of a supplement designed to increase ATP levels on muscle strength, power output, and endurance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2008 Jan 29;5:3.
• Ostojic SM. Yohimbine: the effects on body composition and exercise performance in soccer players. Res Sports Med 2006;14:289–99.
• Nazarians-Armavil A, Menchella JA, Belsham DD. Cellular insulin resistance disrupts leptin-mediated control of neuronal signaling and transcription. Mol Endocrinol. 2013 Jun;27(6):990-1003. 
• Sax L. Yohimbine does not affect fat distribution in men. Int J Obes. 1991 Sep;15(9):561-5.
• Yu Y, Wu Y, Szabo A, Wu Z, Wang H, Li D, Huang XF. Teasaponin reduces inflammation and central leptin resistance in diet-induced obese male mice. Endocrinology. 2013 Jun 10. [Epub ahead of print]
• Yuan Y, Xu W, He X, Liu H, Cao S, Qi X, Huang K, Luo Y. Effects of genetically modified T2A-1 rice on the GI health of rats after 90-day supplement. Sci Rep. 2013 Jun 11;3:1962.
   

The Leptin-Ilex!? Does Yerba Mate (Ilex Paraguariensis) Restore Leptin Sensitivity or Does it "Just" Help You Lose Body Fat by Curbing Your Appetite?

Image 1: Mate tea, which is made of the dried leaves and twigs of Ilex paraguariensis, a shrub or small tree native to subtropical South America, has long been touted as a useful weight loss tool (img Ilosuna, Wikipedia)

Isn't it funny, how complicated losing weight has become? I mean, only 20 years ago the one thing you had to do, to lose weight was eat less and (optionally) exercise more. These days, a calorie is not a calorie anymore, the bad fats are good, the good carbs are bad and still neither of those are created equal. And as if watching your blood lipids and glucose levels was not enough, you also have to keep an eye on your leptin levels, these days. In this utter confusion the main message of a study Young-Rye Kang and his colleagues recently published in the Journal of Laboratory Animal Science appears far too simple to be true (Kang. 2012): Fat rodents who reduce their calorie intake back to normal lose all their superfluous body fat within 4 weeks. That this happened as a result of yerba mate supplementation and despite ad-libitum access to the same high fat diet (60% fat) on which they had gained all the body fat, is yet startling.

Yerba Mate yet another super tea!?

If you take a closer look at the literature the purported (and mostly experimentally verified) health effect of Ilex paraguariensis are about as numerous as the purported (and mostly unverified) "weight loss secrets" you read about all over the web, these day:

Figure 1: Main organic components of Ilex paraguariensis extract (Bracesco. 2011)

• mild CNS stimulant
• potent antioxidant activity
• anti-inflammatory effects
• inhibition of atherosclerosis
• management of obesity
• vasodilation
• lipid reduction
• anti-mutagenic effects
• anti-glycation effects
• increases AMPK activity*
  *click here to read all about AMPK

As the data in figure 1 goes to show there are a whole host of bioactive components in Yerba Mate, of which caffeine and the other methylxanthines account for the immediate, stimulating effects, while the polyphenols, which are more abundant in Mate than in green tea (Bracesco. 2011), are at the heart of its anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity and anti-hyperlipidemic effects.

Fat, appetite or leptin reduction - which comes first?

In view of this extensive list of health benefits, it should not surprise you that the recently published study by Kang et al. is not the first to report potential weight loss effects of mate tea or respective extracts. In fact, people have been guzzling mate for quite some time now, and I have read numerous reports of how a few cups of mate tea per day helped people stick to their diet.

Figure 2: Food intake (in kcal, left) and body weight (relative to control, right) of obese (HFD) and normal weight (normal) mice after 4 weeks on normal or 60% fat diet (data adapted from Kang. 2012)

Now, you could certainly argue that it was just the increased fluid intake that filled those people up, so that they ate less and thusly lost weight. And in fact, a cursory glance at the data in figure 2 would support this hypothesis, if the obese C57BL/6J mice, who received 0.5g/kg, 1.0g/kg and 2.0g/kg of 5/1 mate extract via intragastric gavage (for a human being this would equal ~2g, 5g or 10g of capped mate extract per day), had not consumed slightly less fluid than their peers in the HFD or normal control group.

Figure 3: Organ and fat weight (relative to non-obese mice in control group) after 4 weeks of HFD + 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0g/kg mate extract (data calculated based on Kang. 2012)

Against that background and in view of the restorative (not destructive) effect the addition of the Ilex paraguariensis extract had on the organ weights of the animals (cf. figure 3, left), it appears unlikely that the profound reduction in calorie intake in the middle and high dose groups was a response to either the satiating effect of increased fluid intake, or potential toxic effects and subsequent anorexia.

Figure 4: Adipocyte size, leptin and blood glucose levels (relative to normal-weight control on std. diet) after 4 weeks of HFD + 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0g/kg mate extract (data calculated based on Kang. 2012)

Rather than that, the reduction in circulating leptin levels, which went hand in hand with reduced adipocyte sizes and plasma glucose levels in the treatment groups receiving 1.0g/kg and 2.0g/kg Ilex paraguariensis, would suggest that the weight loss effect of the mate extract was (at least partially) mediated via its restorative effects on the regulatory mechanisms by which mammals, which are profoundly disturbed by the hyperphagia-inducing effects of the "high fat" rodent diets (a better term, than "high fat" would actually be hyper-energetic - and who knows, maybe even "hyper-palatable").

Calories count, but counting does not work 

Image 2: Yerba mate won't allow you to binge all day, but it may help you to reduce the desire to do just that.

It is certainly debatable, whether or not the leptin sensitizing effect was the chicken or the egg, or in other words, whether the reduction in food intake and the subsequent loss of body fat facilitated the purported restoration of leptin sensitivity, or vice versa. From a practical point of view, this is yet about as insignificant as the "main working ingredient" in the plain water extract (200g from 1kg raw material), the scientists used. A potential candidate certainly is chlorogenic acid, of which you have read in previous posts here at the SuppVersity that is is one of the components scientists believe is responsible for the weight loss effects of coffee and coffee bean extracts. The catechins, as well as the gallic acid content probably don't hurt either.

Eventually, it does yet not really matter, because if - as I believe - the restoration of leptin to normal levels is a secondary effect of weight loss, the most important message of this study is not that drinking liters of mate tea will help you lose weight, but rather that losing weight will restore your leptin sensitivity and if that is the case, you do not even need a pill (RX or not ;-) to get back in shape.... apropos "in shape", if this is your current goal make sure to come back over the Easter holidays for the fat loss installment of the "Step By Step Guide to Your Own Workout Routine"!