Green Tea and Building Muscle

[quote]rsg wrote:
steinnes wrote:
As much as this is a wise-ass comment I’m making, I just have to make it.

Incidentally I was reading up on green tea today, and found at least one study which implies that moderation is indeed not the key – where the last line of the conclusion of the study was “Therefore, the more green tea patients consume, the less likely they are to have CAD.”, CAD meaning Coronary Artery Disease.

The study was; Sano J, Inami S, Seimiya K, Ohba T, Sakai S, Takano T, Mizuno K. Effects of green tea intake on the development of coronary artery disease. Circ J. 2004 Jul;68(7):665-70., PMID: 15226633

IIRC Berardi recommends at least 3 cups per day if you’re after the antioxidant effect :slight_smile: … 3 cups is the minimum I’m aiming for these days :wink:

I think you missed my point. Water is good for you and essential for ones survival, but drink too much and you’ll die.[/quote]

Exactly. The idea that you can drink as much green tea as you like and not suffer ill side effects is silly.

Green Tea contains many things that can cause health problems if consumed in “high” amounts.

I think you would need to put in a lot of effort to drink amounts that can harm your health.
But it is very possible that you could consume too much green tea that it effects your “gains”.

Green tea does have effects on muscle damage/repair and hormone levels. I personally avoid green tea on lifting days.
Read: http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=659666

[quote]cftapsel wrote:
If it accelerates ones metabolism wouldn’t it inhibit ones ability to add muscle? I’m not saying its going to prevent it, just not as much as usual.

[/quote]
no, and if it does, just eat more.

[quote]rsg wrote:
steinnes wrote:
As much as this is a wise-ass comment I’m making, I just have to make it.

Incidentally I was reading up on green tea today, and found at least one study which implies that moderation is indeed not the key – where the last line of the conclusion of the study was “Therefore, the more green tea patients consume, the less likely they are to have CAD.”, CAD meaning Coronary Artery Disease.

The study was; Sano J, Inami S, Seimiya K, Ohba T, Sakai S, Takano T, Mizuno K. Effects of green tea intake on the development of coronary artery disease. Circ J. 2004 Jul;68(7):665-70., PMID: 15226633

IIRC Berardi recommends at least 3 cups per day if you’re after the antioxidant effect :slight_smile: … 3 cups is the minimum I’m aiming for these days :wink:

I think you missed my point. Water is good for you and essential for ones survival, but drink too much and you’ll die.[/quote]

Heheh, I got the point – that’s why my post was a wise-ass post … I actually do agree with you whole heartedly :wink:

[quote]Flop Hat wrote:
hockechamp14 wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
cftapsel wrote:
No, if I was I wouldn’t have posted…dick.

I’m just trying to make sense of it. Supposedly green tea accelerates your metabolism, so I was wondering if that in turn would affect ones ability to add muscle.

Thanks for being an ass though, very helpful.

If you had to deal with newb posts like this all the time, then you’d probably be an asshole too. What is up with people coming here and posting the dumbest questions? Next thing I’m going to see a post of someone asking if eggs shrink your kidneys. Look, it is simple mathematics. If you do burn a few extra calories by drinking a bunch of green tea, then EAT EXTRA CALORIES. Do you really have to ask that though? Or do you not know how to do simple math called add and subtraction?

No one made you post a reply to this post, so you were just being a dick.

Drink your green tea it’s good for you. if it boosts your metabolism it will actually help you add muscle if you make up for the extra calories.

Don’t jump to conclusions. I’m sure that Cthulhu is a biochemist/nutritionist/famous coach who is beleaguered by constant questions from people seeking his advice.
[/quote]

What does simple math have to do with Biochemistry? Unless you mean 3rd grade was long and hard on you.

While I agree that too many antioxidants MIGHT have a negative affect post workout, it only shows what happens when you consume TOO MUCH. That doesn’t mean you can’t consume antioxidants post workout though.

[quote]tv wrote:
rsg wrote:
steinnes wrote:
As much as this is a wise-ass comment I’m making, I just have to make it.

Incidentally I was reading up on green tea today, and found at least one study which implies that moderation is indeed not the key – where the last line of the conclusion of the study was “Therefore, the more green tea patients consume, the less likely they are to have CAD.”, CAD meaning Coronary Artery Disease.

The study was; Sano J, Inami S, Seimiya K, Ohba T, Sakai S, Takano T, Mizuno K. Effects of green tea intake on the development of coronary artery disease. Circ J. 2004 Jul;68(7):665-70., PMID: 15226633

IIRC Berardi recommends at least 3 cups per day if you’re after the antioxidant effect :slight_smile: … 3 cups is the minimum I’m aiming for these days :wink:

I think you missed my point. Water is good for you and essential for ones survival, but drink too much and you’ll die.

Exactly. The idea that you can drink as much green tea as you like and not suffer ill side effects is silly.

Green Tea contains many things that can cause health problems if consumed in “high” amounts.

I think you would need to put in a lot of effort to drink amounts that can harm your health.
But it is very possible that you could consume too much green tea that it effects your “gains”.

Green tea does have effects on muscle damage/repair and hormone levels. I personally avoid green tea on lifting days.
Read: http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=659666

[/quote]

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
Flop Hat wrote:
hockechamp14 wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
cftapsel wrote:
No, if I was I wouldn’t have posted…dick.

I’m just trying to make sense of it. Supposedly green tea accelerates your metabolism, so I was wondering if that in turn would affect ones ability to add muscle.

Thanks for being an ass though, very helpful.

If you had to deal with newb posts like this all the time, then you’d probably be an asshole too. What is up with people coming here and posting the dumbest questions? Next thing I’m going to see a post of someone asking if eggs shrink your kidneys. Look, it is simple mathematics. If you do burn a few extra calories by drinking a bunch of green tea, then EAT EXTRA CALORIES. Do you really have to ask that though? Or do you not know how to do simple math called add and subtraction?

No one made you post a reply to this post, so you were just being a dick.

Drink your green tea it’s good for you. if it boosts your metabolism it will actually help you add muscle if you make up for the extra calories.

Don’t jump to conclusions. I’m sure that Cthulhu is a biochemist/nutritionist/famous coach who is beleaguered by constant questions from people seeking his advice.

What does simple math have to do with Biochemistry? Unless you mean 3rd grade was long and hard on you.[/quote]

What does simple math have to do with either you being a dick about an honest question or your implication that you deal with so many newbie post that you don’t have time to answer in a respectful manner, but somehow have time to be an ass? The only acceptable answer is that you are so smart/good that everyone wants your knowledge, but I somehow doubt that is the case Mr. simple math.

And kids on here who are ignorant enough to not take the time to research and read the articles on here and post the dumbest questions is being respectful? Come on kid, before you resort to your childish name calling think about it.

[quote]Flop Hat wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
Flop Hat wrote:
hockechamp14 wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
cftapsel wrote:
No, if I was I wouldn’t have posted…dick.

I’m just trying to make sense of it. Supposedly green tea accelerates your metabolism, so I was wondering if that in turn would affect ones ability to add muscle.

Thanks for being an ass though, very helpful.

If you had to deal with newb posts like this all the time, then you’d probably be an asshole too. What is up with people coming here and posting the dumbest questions? Next thing I’m going to see a post of someone asking if eggs shrink your kidneys. Look, it is simple mathematics. If you do burn a few extra calories by drinking a bunch of green tea, then EAT EXTRA CALORIES. Do you really have to ask that though? Or do you not know how to do simple math called add and subtraction?

No one made you post a reply to this post, so you were just being a dick.

Drink your green tea it’s good for you. if it boosts your metabolism it will actually help you add muscle if you make up for the extra calories.

Don’t jump to conclusions. I’m sure that Cthulhu is a biochemist/nutritionist/famous coach who is beleaguered by constant questions from people seeking his advice.

What does simple math have to do with Biochemistry? Unless you mean 3rd grade was long and hard on you.

What does simple math have to do with either you being a dick about an honest question or your implication that you deal with so many newbie post that you don’t have time to answer in a respectful manner, but somehow have time to be an ass? The only acceptable answer is that you are so smart/good that everyone wants your knowledge, but I somehow doubt that is the case Mr. simple math.
[/quote]

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
And kids on here who are ignorant enough to not take the time to research and read the articles on here and post the dumbest questions is being respectful? Come on kid, before you resort to your childish name calling think about it.

Flop Hat wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
Flop Hat wrote:
hockechamp14 wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
cftapsel wrote:
No, if I was I wouldn’t have posted…dick.

I’m just trying to make sense of it. Supposedly green tea accelerates your metabolism, so I was wondering if that in turn would affect ones ability to add muscle.

Thanks for being an ass though, very helpful.

If you had to deal with newb posts like this all the time, then you’d probably be an asshole too. What is up with people coming here and posting the dumbest questions? Next thing I’m going to see a post of someone asking if eggs shrink your kidneys. Look, it is simple mathematics. If you do burn a few extra calories by drinking a bunch of green tea, then EAT EXTRA CALORIES. Do you really have to ask that though? Or do you not know how to do simple math called add and subtraction?

No one made you post a reply to this post, so you were just being a dick.

Drink your green tea it’s good for you. if it boosts your metabolism it will actually help you add muscle if you make up for the extra calories.

Don’t jump to conclusions. I’m sure that Cthulhu is a biochemist/nutritionist/famous coach who is beleaguered by constant questions from people seeking his advice.

What does simple math have to do with Biochemistry? Unless you mean 3rd grade was long and hard on you.

What does simple math have to do with either you being a dick about an honest question or your implication that you deal with so many newbie post that you don’t have time to answer in a respectful manner, but somehow have time to be an ass? The only acceptable answer is that you are so smart/good that everyone wants your knowledge, but I somehow doubt that is the case Mr. simple math.

[/quote]

If you didn’t like the question then you didn’t have to give any answer to it. If you really feel the need to type something without adding anything informative you could have told him about the search function. But don’t make an asshole comment, then come back later and say you are too busy to answer newbie questions politely even though you had enough time to come back and post some more bullshit on this same thread. You could have been cool the first time, but you chose to be a dick and now you are mad because people are calling you out on it. Don’t get mad at me because you are a self-important dick.

Guys chillout.

Cthulu wasn’t actually being such a big dick with his first post.

He was just asking a relatively legitimate question.

I think the OP was a bit too offended by the original question.

Sure, it’s common here, like on many forums, that some questions from beginners get answers with attitude, but what the hell – that’s life!

Cthulu is IMO one of the more helpful posters here on this forum, and has given me personally some sound advice, and definitely isn’t out to be a dick all the time.

I think it’s unnecessary to whine about a single “Are you joking?” post – this is T-Nation, if we want to whine about offensiveness we can find much much richer material!

When did I say I didn’t have time to read his post? I am simply making a point. The point being if green tea burns calories, then just eat more. But how would you need to post about that? Who is calling me out on it? You and the other kid who posted on here? Anyone with any kind of basic knowledge would already know to eat more calories if they are burning extra calories. Don’t get mad because you’re both coming across like newbs.

Now, if he had of started the thread off with an educated question, like antioxidants being used post workout, like the other guy posted, then he would of gotten educated answers. But, unfortunately, you both are kids who resort to childish name calling and cannot give educated, smart questions, or read around before making stupid posts such as this.

If you make stupid posts you’re going to get stupid answers. But I guess even basic knowledge is quite elusive these days.

[quote]Flop Hat wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
And kids on here who are ignorant enough to not take the time to research and read the articles on here and post the dumbest questions is being respectful? Come on kid, before you resort to your childish name calling think about it.

Flop Hat wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
Flop Hat wrote:
hockechamp14 wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
cftapsel wrote:
No, if I was I wouldn’t have posted…dick.

I’m just trying to make sense of it. Supposedly green tea accelerates your metabolism, so I was wondering if that in turn would affect ones ability to add muscle.

Thanks for being an ass though, very helpful.

If you had to deal with newb posts like this all the time, then you’d probably be an asshole too. What is up with people coming here and posting the dumbest questions? Next thing I’m going to see a post of someone asking if eggs shrink your kidneys. Look, it is simple mathematics. If you do burn a few extra calories by drinking a bunch of green tea, then EAT EXTRA CALORIES. Do you really have to ask that though? Or do you not know how to do simple math called add and subtraction?

No one made you post a reply to this post, so you were just being a dick.

Drink your green tea it’s good for you. if it boosts your metabolism it will actually help you add muscle if you make up for the extra calories.

Don’t jump to conclusions. I’m sure that Cthulhu is a biochemist/nutritionist/famous coach who is beleaguered by constant questions from people seeking his advice.

What does simple math have to do with Biochemistry? Unless you mean 3rd grade was long and hard on you.

What does simple math have to do with either you being a dick about an honest question or your implication that you deal with so many newbie post that you don’t have time to answer in a respectful manner, but somehow have time to be an ass? The only acceptable answer is that you are so smart/good that everyone wants your knowledge, but I somehow doubt that is the case Mr. simple math.

If you didn’t like the question then you didn’t have to give any answer to it. If you really feel the need to type something without adding anything informative you could have told him about the search function. But don’t make an asshole comment, then come back later and say you are too busy to answer newbie questions politely even though you had enough time to come back and post some more bullshit on this same thread. You could have been cool the first time, but you chose to be a dick and now you are mad because people are calling you out on it. Don’t get mad at me because you are a self-important dick. [/quote]

[quote]cftapsel wrote:
I’m wondering if drinking green tea (2-4 cups per day) has any negative effects on building muscle.I’ve been looking around for any information on this but I can’t seem to find anything. [/quote]

I take two capsules of NOW EGCG green tea extract almost every day.(the copy on the bottle is vague, but that is equal to somewhere between 4-6 cups of tea a day) I have noticed no difference except that my skin is better(less dry, smoother) It also seems to give a bit of a boost to energy.

There was anecdotal evidence that it downregulated testosterone production, which scared me a bit at first, but I seem to be all right in that area as well. I haven’t tested my T-levels, but I believe you would need several times more than I am taking to cause the reduction in gonad size recorded in the lab rats.

If you find yourself hungrier when drinking/ taking tea, just eat a little more. Also, dairy products supposedly negate green tea’s antioxidants. I’m don’t believe that, though.

I completely agree with Cthulthu. I spend a good portion of my time responding to posts (probably like, 5 hours a day while I’m at work). Plus, I have a full time job (40 hours/week). I also sleep, so that takes at least 8 hours out of my day.

So the least these noobs can do is respect my time, which is in high demand by the way, and not ask me dumb questions about tea. I mean, for chrissakes! Tea! I’ll explain tea for you: it is just a matter of simple addition and subtraction. What next, eggs shrinking your kidneys, or something?! Gosh!

Basically, my knowledge is what makes this message board the high quality info portal that it is. It’s simple math. Me+computer at work=internet workout guru. Understand?

Anybody who asks if green tea will hinder their gains is just plain inexperienced and setting themselves up for a truly neurotic trip down the weight training road. There are hundreds of little piddling questions like this that can drive you nuts.

Lift weights, eat a buncha good food and sleep. After a couple years of this some legitimate fine tuning might make sense.

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Lift weights, eat a buncha good food and sleep. After a couple years of this some legitimate fine tuning might make sense.[/quote]

best answer I think, simple but the truth.

If your not gaining, eat more, don’t reduce your green tea consumption. The only thing I can add is it makes me feel hungry more often. I thing you’ll eventually find agonizing about little details won’t get you much further. Certainly not ahead enough to be worth the time.

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Anybody who asks if green tea will hinder their gains is just plain inexperienced and setting themselves up for a truly neurotic trip down the weight training road. There are hundreds of little piddling questions like this that can drive you nuts.

Lift weights, eat a buncha good food and sleep. After a couple years of this some legitimate fine tuning might make sense.[/quote]

Well said. I don’t know why some kids who are new to bodybuilding think it’s an all out attack on them when you correct them for posting threads about the dumbest things.