What the hell is this EGCG crap?

One of the least enlightening Super Bowl commercials was for some Snapple tea drink with some weird chemical in it: EGCG. A douchebag guy runs up a mountain to ask some guru what the junk is, only to be reprimanded that it's right on the side of the bottle. It might have been witty, if not for the logical suspicion that whatever this guy is asking about is a load of crap.

Well, apparently the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) thinks EGCG is a load of crap too. And that's why they're suing Coke and Nestle over its absurd marketing claims that epigalloocatechin gallate (EGCG, as above) has a negative calorie effect, which it justifies by citing one terribly done study that even the conference where the study was presented rejected.

I especially appreciate the semi-sardonic tone of the article:

David Schardt a senior nutritionist with the CSPI says there is no clear evidence that what is in Enviga will help control weight and a person would do better to give up non-diet soda or join a gym, which is in the long run less expensive than buying 3 cans of Enviga a day.

Enviga sounds a little too much like a sexually-transmitted disease for my taste.

UPDATE: The Connecticut AG calls bullshit too.