Q: I keep seeing TikToks calling green tea “nature’s Ozempic.” Is there any truth to that?

问：我经常看到TikTok上说绿茶是“天然的奥泽匹克(Ozempic)”。这有什么依据吗？

Green tea has been bandied about as a diet hack for centuries: In ancient China 2,000 years ago, people touted the beverage as a weight loss tool. In modern times, the drink has been a staple of diet books and meal plans.

几个世纪以来，绿茶一直被当作一种减肥妙招：在2000年前的古代中国，人们将这种饮品奉为减肥工具。在现代，绿茶也一直是减肥书籍和膳食计划中的常见饮品。

Now, green tea has followed the inevitable trajectory of any weight loss trick: It’s getting big on TikTok. Viral videos claim the drink aids with shedding pounds, going so far as to call it “nature’s Ozempic.” Some posts suggest drinking as many as five cups a day.

如今，绿茶也走上了所有减肥窍门都不可避免的道路：在TikTok上大火。疯转视频声称这种饮品有助于减肥，甚至称其为“天然的奥泽匹克”。有些视频建议每天喝多达五杯绿茶。

While there is some research into green tea and weight, the evidence on whether a mug (or several) can melt away pounds is unclear, said Dr. Jyotsna Ghosh, an obesity medicine doctor at Johns Hopkins University.

约翰·霍普金斯大学的肥胖症专科医生乔茨娜·戈什博士表示，虽然有一些关于绿茶与体重的研究，一杯（或几杯）绿茶是否能减轻体重，仍有待证实。

The link between green tea and hunger hormones

绿茶与饥饿激素之间的联系

Many of the TikTok videos claim that green tea boosts the production of GLP-1, a gut hormone that prompts the pancreas to release insulin after a meal. That insulin, in turn, lowers blood sugar. GLP-1 also slows down the rate at which food leaves the stomach, and it affects areas of the brain that regulate hunger.

许多TikTok视频声称，绿茶能促进胰高血糖素样肽-1(GLP-1)的分泌，这是一种肠道激素，会促使胰腺在进食后释放胰岛素。而胰岛素反过来又会降低血糖。GLP-1还会减缓食物从胃部排空的速度，影响大脑中调节饥饿感的区域。

Ozempic and drugs like it deliver a compound that mimics GLP-1, making people feel fuller faster. Many stop experiencing strong cravings for food.

奥泽匹克及类似药物能提供一种模拟GLP-1的化合物，让人更快产生饱腹感。许多人因此不再对食物产生强烈的渴望。

Some researchers have theorized that green tea might stimulate GLP-1, in part because studies have found green tea extract can lower blood sugar in diabetic mice. But there have been only a few small studies in humans, and the results are inconclusive. One of the few clinical trials on the subject, which looked at 92 people with Type 2 diabetes, suggested there was not a notable difference in GLP-1 production between people who took green tea extract and those who took a placebo pill.

一些研究人员推测，绿茶可能会刺激GLP-1的分泌，部分原因是研究发现绿茶提取物能降低糖尿病小鼠的血糖。但针对人类的研究很少，而且结果也不确定。该课题为数不多的临床试验之一是对92名2型糖尿病患者的观察，结果表明服用绿茶提取物的人和服用安慰剂药丸的人在GLP-1分泌方面没有显著差异。

Any effect green tea might have on GLP-1 is likely to be small, experts said. Any food or drink can increase GLP-1 levels slightly, Dr. Ghosh said. But GLP-1 levels in the bloodstream dip minutes after you eat or drink something; that’s one of the reasons we get hungry again, and why temporarily boosting the hormone does not guarantee weight loss.

专家表示，绿茶就算对GLP-1能产生什么影响，可能也微乎其微。戈什说，任何食物或饮品都能轻微提高GLP-1水平。但在进食或饮用几分钟后，血液中的GLP-1水平就会下降；这就是我们会再次感到饥饿的原因之一，也是暂时提高这种激素水平并不能保证减肥的原因。

Ozempic and similar drugs, by contrast, linger in the body for days, and are far more potent than the natural hormone, which makes them uniquely good at suppressing appetite.

相比之下，奥泽匹克及类似药物会在体内停留数天，而且效力远远超过天然产生的激素，这使得它们在抑制食欲方面有着独特的优势。

Does green tea help with weight loss?

绿茶有助于减肥吗？

Many of the claims about green tea and weight loss mention two components of the drink: caffeine and antioxidants.

许多关于绿茶和减肥的说法都提到了这种饮品中的两种成分：咖啡因和抗氧化剂。

Caffeine might, in theory, slightly speed up someone’s metabolism. But it is unlikely that effect would translate directly into substantial weight loss, Dr. Ghosh said.

从理论上讲，咖啡因可能会稍微加快人的新陈代谢。但戈什说，这种效果不太可能直接转化为显著的体重减轻。

Green tea also contains compounds called polyphenols, antioxidants that can help protect cells from damage and reduce inflammation. Studies in animals and in human cells have suggested these compounds could improve metabolism and reduce fat absorption from the gut. But trials in humans have had mixed results.

绿茶还含有一种叫做多酚的化合物，这是一种抗氧化剂，有助于保护细胞免受损伤并减轻炎症。对动物和人体细胞的研究表明，这些化合物可以改善新陈代谢，并减少肠道对脂肪的吸收。但在人体上进行的试验结果却好坏参半。

There have also been several small studies looking directly at whether green tea is linked to weight loss. One review paper, which looked at over a dozen such randomized controlled trials, found that people taking green tea extract often lost a tiny amount of weight that “is not likely to be clinically important.” Other studies have also found that people who consumed green tea tended to lose a small amount of weight, typically under four pounds.

也有几项小型研究直接探究了绿茶与减肥的关联。一篇综述论文对十几项此类随机对照试验进行了研究，发现服用绿茶提取物的人往往只会减轻一点点体重，“不太可能具有临床意义。”其他研究也发现，饮用绿茶的人往往会减轻少量体重，通常不到两公斤。

People turning to green tea to lose weight “can’t expect a big effect, and certainly nothing close to medications like Ozempic,” said Rob van Dam, a professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.

乔治·华盛顿大学米尔肯公共卫生学院运动与营养科学教授罗布·范达姆说，想通过喝绿茶来减肥的人“不要指望得到多明显的效果，当然也跟奥泽匹克这样的药物没法比”。

Julia Zumpano, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, added that focusing on a single food or drink ignored the many other factors that played a role in weight loss. Those include a person’s broader diet, exercise habits, genetics, stress, metabolic health and even the quality of sleep an individual gets.

俄亥俄州克利夫兰诊所的注册营养师朱莉娅·祖恩帕诺补充说，只关注某一种食物或饮品，就忽略了在减肥过程中起作用的多种其他因素。这些因素包括一个人整体的饮食习惯、运动习惯、基因、精神压力、代谢健康，甚至是个人的睡眠质量。

“Look at how you can improve lifestyle, if weight loss is your goal,” she said. “Not just specifically one food, drug, supplement, whatever it might be.”

“如果你的目标是减肥，那就考虑如何改善生活方式，”她说。“而不只是专注于某一种食物、药物、补充剂之类的东西。”