If you’ve been getting into tea lately, you’ve no doubt heard about its many health benefits. But there’s one health benefit many of us are seeking: Can tea help with weight loss?
Tea, in combination with a healthy diet and exercise program, is good for weight loss. It can help:
- Suppress appetite
- Reduce snacking
- Speed up the metabolism
- Burn fat more efficiently
Drinking tea for health reasons is a concept that dates back thousands of years, but it’s only recently become commonplace in the West. Of tea’s many advantages, those who struggle with weight challenges might find the weight loss benefits most interesting.
How Can Tea Help with Weight Loss?
Before we get into detail about how tea can help promote weight loss, it’s important to note that tea isn’t a miracle cure and will only enhance a healthy diet and exercise program. If you eat fast food every day and refuse to exercise, drinking a few cups of tea will not have much effect.
With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s take a deep dive into how exactly tea can help with weight loss.
Suppress Appetite
Many teas can suppress appetite, helping dieters eat less. All teas can help you feel fuller longer by filling the stomach with liquid, which tricks the brain into thinking that your belly is full of food, so it takes longer for the hunger pangs to kick in.
If you’re trying to restrict calories, drinking a few cups of tea per day can help make the process more pleasant.
Multiple teas contain special components that also act as appetite suppressants, such as catechins and theaflavins. Many teas have something called polyphenols that are powerful antioxidants that may help suppress appetite and boost metabolism and fat burning.
Reduce Snacking
No matter what kind of tea you drink can help you reduce snacking or boredom eating. For one thing, the liquid will help you feel full, plus some teas act as appetite suppressants, as we’ve already mentioned.
But just the act of brewing yourself a pot of tea and enjoying a cup or two can replace the need for food, especially if you find a tea you really love. Switching it up with tea variety packs can also keep your focus on tea and away from food.
Speed Up the Metabolism
If you want to lose weight, then you’ll want to speed up your metabolism in addition to reducing caloric intake. Many teas contain specific flavonoids and other compounds that can raise your metabolic rate.
Other caffeinated teas can also boost metabolism by increasing your energy levels, which can also make working out feel like less of a chore.
Burn Fat More Efficiently
The teas on our list below not only help you lose weight by eating less and increasing your metabolism, but they can also trigger fat loss, helping you shed those stubborn inches.
For instance, white tea has been shown to increase the rate at which fat cells are broken down—a welcoming benefit for someone hoping to shed pounds.
What Teas Work Best for Weight Loss?
Maybe you like traditional English Breakfast tea in the mornings to get you going. Or maybe a relaxing herbal blend in the evening is just the thing to help you wind down. The good news is, many teas are good for weight loss, not just the black teas that many of us are familiar with.
True Teas
When you hear about teas that are good for weight loss, most of the time, you hear about one of the so-called “true teas” that come from the tea plant, called camellia sinensis. Although these teas all come from the same plant, they each aid in weight loss in different ways.
Black Tea
Black tea is the most caffeinated of the true teas and is also the most popular tea in the West. This tea contains powerful antioxidants called theaflavins that assist in weight loss by:
- Suppressing appetite
- Boosting metabolism
- Aiding in fat burning
The caffeine in black tea also suppresses appetite, as well as providing energy to work out.
Green Tea
Green tea is growing in popularity in the West due to its multiple health benefits. Green tea contains caffeine, but not as much as black tea does.
Green tea lacks theaflavins, but it has something that black tea doesn’t—catechins. These antioxidants are as, if not more, powerful than theaflavins and do much of the same things for weight loss:
- Appetite suppressant
- Metabolism booster
- Increased fat burning
Due to its lower caffeine content, many dieters find it easier to drink multiple cups of green tea a day without worrying about the side effects of too much caffeine.
Oolong Tea
One way to think of oolong tea is that it’s a mix between green and black tea. That’s because, during the tea processing, this tea is oxidized more than green tea is, but not as much as black tea.
Because oolong can fall anywhere in the spectrum between green and black tea, it contains the same properties, and therefore benefits, as these other two teas.
White Tea
White tea has a light, delicate flavor, barely any caffeine, and plenty of those helpful catechins found in green tea. As mentioned above, studies show that white tea can help promote the breakdown of fat cells and prevent new ones from forming, which is excellent news in the dieting world.
Yerba Mate
Yerba mate is a unique caffeinated brewed beverage made from the yerba mate plant native to South America. This tea has numerous health benefits, including—you guessed it—aiding in weight loss.
The tea has a high caffeine content, which reduces appetite and has a mild laxative effect. It can also help your body burn more fat and raise your overall metabolism.
Chai Tea
The rich and spicy blend of chai tea is more than a fantastic pick-me-up on a cold day. It’s also an excellent tea for weight loss, aiding in fat breakdown, and helping your body to absorb fewer calories.
It also helps you feel full, reducing the urge to snack.
Mint Tea
Mint tea is a terrific staple to keep in your tea box; it’s good for indigestion, insomnia, and a host of other health issues. And as you probably guessed, it can also help you lose weight.
Mint tea can reduce appetite as well as suppress cravings, so if you just can’t stop thinking about sweets, mint tea is a good one to try.
Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea has been used for centuries to reduce stress, promote healthful sleep, and keep the digestive system in working order.
Stress and insomnia are known to promote fat retention, so drinking this relaxing brew before bed or when you’re stressed can help keep those weight-increasing hormones at bay.
Lemongrass Tea
Lemongrass tea is a popular herbal tea that’s said to raise your metabolism and help your body get rid of toxins. This tea is also a diuretic, so it will help you shed some water weight as well.
This refreshing tea is an excellent way to start the day with a little zing if you’re trying to avoid caffeine.
Chupa Panza Tea
This popular herbal blend is made from ginger, pineapple, cinnamon and flax seed. Interested in more info, check out this chupa panza tea article.
The Takeaway: Tea Is Good for Weight Loss When Paired with a Healthy Diet
Many of us have come to love a nice cup of tea as part of our self-care routines—the delicious flavors and soothing warmth are an excellent way to start or end your day. But it’s becoming more and more clear how beneficial tea is in addition to being a nice treat.
Choose your favorite and see if regularly drinking it helps you along in your weight loss journey.
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