Black tea promotes weight loss

A group of researchers from the University of California – Los Angeles have demonstrated that black tea may be helpful in promoting weight loss by altering the bacteria found in your gut. Using mice models, the researchers were able to change the ratio of intestinal bacteria so that obesity associated bacteria were replaced with lean mass associated bacteria. Previous studies have highlighted polyphenols in green tea, which get absorbed and alter energy metabolism in the liver, this study has shown that black tea polyphenols, which are too large to be absorbed also stimulate growth in the gut bacteria.

During the study the mice were split into groups and fed varying diets and green and black tea extracts, samples were then collected from their intestines and livers (to measure fat deposits). In mice that had been given the black tea extract there was an increase in a bacteria called Pseduobutyrivibrio, which may explain the differences between the effects of green and black tea. The researchers are hoping to continue this body of work and further examine how we can alter our gut microbiome.