« Fruit of the Month: More pears...and a few apples | Main | The ADA responds: Beverages with Benefits? »
November 29, 2006
Weight Loss In a Bottle?
Beverage makers have created what they say are calorie-burning alternatives to sugary soft drinks that feature green tea and caffeine. Celsius and Enviga promise that this combination will boost metabolism and burn calories.
Though scientists still aren't sure just how the antioxidant found in green tea — epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG works, some suggest it triggers greater production of a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine, elevating metabolism. Caffeine also raises the metabolic rate, and early research suggests combining EGCG with caffeine is the key to a measurable increase. The concept is intriguing — but far from proven.
Caffeine, of course, plays a role in the drinks' effect on metabolism. Celsius contains 200 milligrams of caffeine and Enviga 100. A Coke or Pepsi contain approximately 35 milligrams of caffeine; a 5-ounce cup of coffee has about 100 milligrams.
Enviga, sweetened with aspartame, comes in three flavors — green tea, berry and peach — and sells for about $1.29 to $1.49 a can.
Celsius, which sells for roughly $1.99 is sweetened with sucralose, or Splenda, it too is available in a variety of flavors.
These drinks are marketed towards consumers who normally down several 150-calorie sugary sodas a day. Of course, simply exercising and replacing regular sodas with low- or no-calorie drinks could obviously help Americans shed excess pounds. But that’s too much work – everyone wants a quick fix that doesn’t involve any effort on their part.
Posted by Lisa at November 29, 2006 05:30 PM
Trackback Pings
To send a trackback, use this url. If you know anything about this subject, please post a comment.