"White Tea: Solution to Obesity Epidemic?"

Lately I've been enjoying a tall glass of iced tea in the afternoons -- a blend of an inexpensive white chai tea and Tazo's delish Passion tea, with a little fresh mint from my herb garden as a garnish. So when I saw the title of this article on Science Daily's Web page, it caught my eye:

White Tea: Solution To Obesity Epidemic?

ScienceDaily (2009-05-07) -- Possible anti-obesity effects of white tea have been demonstrated in a series of experiments on human fat cells (adipocytes). Researchers have shown that an extract of the herbal brew effectively inhibits the generation of new adipocytes and stimulates fat mobilization from mature fat cells. ... > read full article

Now isn't that a compelling title? White tea as a possible solution to obesity? Wow, those people who have had gastric bypasses are gonna be furious! I mean, how tough is it to enjoy a cuppa every day, especially for the sake of weight loss? And given my recent enthusiasm for white tea lately, the pounds should just start melting off, right?

Well, maybe not. As it turns out, the researchers looked at human fat cells (adipocytes) all right, but not while the those fat cells were still in someone's body. In addition, the researchers were looking at the effect of an extract of white tea, not a cup of tea with a little cream and sugar. Injecting white tea extract into fat cells did have an effect. If you've got some white tea extract and a hypodermic handy, you might see a similar effect if you inject the extract into your fat cells. However, drinking white tea might -- or might not -- have the same effect. The jury's still out on that one.

So, if you enjoy relaxing with a cup of white tea, it just might help you with weight management. After all, taking time out to relax and unwind will help you manage stress more effectively, which does indeed affect weight management...assuming, of course, you're balancing stress management with a healthy diet, appropriate exercise, and adequate rest and hydration.