BOONE, N.C. — Does ingesting a combination of caffeine and flavonoids boost a woman’s resting metabolic rate? A $89,214 grant to Appalachian State University’s Dr. David Nieman may find out.
Nieman, a professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science, along with Drs. Jennifer McBride and Jomari Torres, will conduct a clinical trial to evaluate the effects of ingesting a caffeine-flavonoid mixture on energy expenditure and fat oxidation in healthy adult women. This research is funded by Reoxcyn Discoveries Group Inc., which awarded Nieman with the grant.
McBride is a research scientist at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis who collaborates with the Beaver College of Health Sciences’ Department of Health and Exercise Science, and Torres is the human research core medical director at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute.
Nieman said the purpose of the team’s research is to “measure the effect of ingesting four capsules containing 214 milligrams of caffeine and a variety of flavonoids (658 mg total), including green tea catechins and quercetin and bilberry anthocyanins, on an individual’s RMR and level of fat burning.”
Nieman explained the study will be accomplished by having participants stay in a specially equipped, small hotel-like room (called a metabolic chamber) for two separate days — one day consuming the caffeine-flavonoid capsules, and a second day consuming placebo capsules.
“Resting metabolic rate (RMR) or metabolism is defined as the calories an individual burns each day to keep alive during sleep and seated rest. If a person consumes 100 milligrams of caffeine or what is found in one cup of coffee, their RMR will increase about 11 calories per day,” according to Nieman.
He added, “Other molecules found in food called flavonoids can also increase RMR. For example, 100 milligrams of green tea catechins, or what is found in a small cup of brewed green tea, increases RMR by about 13 calories per day. Other flavonoids found in the skins of apples and onions (quercetin) and in berries (anthocyanins) may also increase RMR, but more research is needed.”
About the Department of Health and Exercise Science
The Department of Health and Exercise Science in Appalachian State University’s Beaver College of Health Sciences delivers student-centered education that is accentuated by quality teaching, scholarly activity and service. The department includes three undergraduate academic disciplines: athletic training, exercise science and public health. The department also offers a master’s degree in exercise science that prepares students for advanced study in a variety of related fields, as well as research. Learn more at https://hes.appstate.edu.
About the Beaver College of Health Sciences
Appalachian's Beaver College of Health Sciences opened in 2010 as the result of a strategic university commitment to significantly enhance the health and quality of life for individuals, families and communities in North Carolina and beyond. In 2015, the college was named for an Appalachian alumnus and pioneer in the health care industry — Donald C. Beaver ’62 ’64 of Conover. The college offers 10 undergraduate degree programs and six graduate degree programs, which are organized into six departments: Communication Sciences and Disorders; Health and Exercise Science; Nursing; Nutrition and Health Care Management; Recreation Management and Physical Education; and Social Work. Learn more at https://healthsciences.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, Appalachian enrolls more than 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
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