Did you know that drinking tea might actually help you to lose belly fat? If you want to know what’s the best tea for weight loss, then keep reading to learn more.
Originating from China, tea is one of the world’s most popular drinks. It is most often consumed by pouring hot water over the dried or fresh leaves of the plant, Camellia sinensis. Drinking tea has been linked to many health benefits. However, research is discovering that regular consumption of tea can also help with shrinking your belly.
Background of Tea
There is a long history when it comes to tea drinking. Stories say that in 2737 BC, a Chinese emperor and herbalist named Shen Nung, drank some boiling water that had some leaves from the Camellia sinensis fall into it, and this is how the drink came to be.
While this legend may or may not be true, tea became an established ritual in the East many centuries before it arrived in the West.
Tea has even been discovered in ancient tombs.
Books dating back as far as the 8th century show how it had become the classic drink of the Chinese. In fact, by the 18th century, tea was traded in large amounts and sold in England, where adding milk and sugar became the way to drink it in that part of the world.
Why You Should Drink Tea
Tea is not just a sash full of ground leaves to be plunked into a cup of boiling water. It is a drink that is subtle and distinct and can be almost as diverse as wine.
In addition to the over 3000 varieties, each type has its own health benefits. Some teas can actually help to fire up metabolism, shrink fat cells, combat stress and reduce appetite when drunk each day.
Today in North America, tea is gaining more popularity for its different varieties and health benefits. Important reasons to drink tea include:
- tea is full of antioxidants which can help ward off certain diseases
- tea contains less caffeine than coffee
- may protect against heart disease, stroke and cancer
- can boost the immune system
- may fight inflammation
- could reduce risk of type-2 diabetes
- might help you to lose weight
Let’s put the kettle on and find out what’s the best tea for weight loss. If fighting belly fat is your goal, one of these 10 teas may just be something you want to add into your daily routine.
1. Green Tea
Did you know that drinking green tea can actually help you to burn fat? Science has found that the major catechin in green tea – EGCG – can help blast fat, particularly in the belly area.
In fact, these catechins (natural antioxidants) can boost your metabolism, target your belly’s adipose tissue and promote fat loss from cells.
In addition, they can help speed up the liver’s ability to burn fat.
Furthermore, the substances in green tea can help support fat-burning hormones in the body. Fat can then be released more efficiently into the bloodstream where it can be used for energy.
Drinking several cups of green tea a day combined with regular belly shrinking exercises, can be an even more effective way to shrink your waistline.
2. Black Tea
Black tea is slightly different in its compounds than white or green tea. However, it has also been linked to weight loss results.
In fact, black tea is packed with flavanoids or polyphenols, which are powerful antioxidants. Black tea’s polyphenols may actually promote the making of short-chain fatty acids in the gut to help boost metabolism.
Drinking black tea has also been linked to balancing blood sugar levels, according to one recent study. Exciting new research has found that drinking at least 3 cups of this brew (or coffee) each day can help lower your risk of type-2 diabetes.
3. White Tea
This tea is picked when it is young. Therefore, it is very delicate and gently processed before packaged for sale. The flavor is mild, light and almost sweet in taste.
Science has shown many health benefits to drinking white tea, including fighting cancer cells. Drinking white tea has even been found to help fight the formation of new fat cells called adipocytes, plus break down the existing ones.
Weight loss becomes easier when new fat cells can be slowed down. Adding white tea to your day is a great way to fight the bulge and slim your mid drift.
4. Red Tea
This red-looking herbal tea is also known as Rooibos. It comes from the leaves and stem of the “red bush” plant near Cape Town, South Africa.
Rooibos is a sweet, nutty tea that is often used for its weight loss properties because it contains a powerful flavanoid called Aspalathin, In essence, this flavanoid has been shown to cut new fat cell production by 22%.
Another key point is that regular consumption of red tea can help balance blood sugar levels and improve insulin resistance. This can be important when trying to manage appetite for weight loss.
5. Pu-erh Tea
This fermented, black Chinese tea is commonly enjoyed after a meal for its soothing, calming effects. Studies have shown that drinking this tea may be linked to weight loss.
Science is looking into how the compounds of this unique tea may change the way fat is processed after you eat so that it is used immediately for energy. Pu-erh tea may also lower triglycerides and blood sugar levels.
6. Oolong Tea
Fruity and aromatic, oolong is a Chinese tea that has been partially oxidized. Oolong is packed with polyphenols that have antioxidant benefits that can help with weight loss.
Some studies have shown that oolong tea can help speed up metabolism and assist in burning fat. In other words, drinking this hot tea can help you improve your weight loss efforts.
The polyphenols in oolong tea may help speed up weight loss and help keep it off. In addition, the catechins and caffeine found in this drink add a powerful punch to those trying to shed fat.
7. Hibiscus Tea
Hibiscus tea may be helpful for boosting your immunity in addition to lowering free radical damage in the body. However, research on this tea is limited so drinking more is not necessarily healthy.
Some studies have suggested that this tea can help fight belly bloating. The compounds in hibiscus can affect the hormone aldosterone which balances water and electrolytes in the body.
If you have any health issues, it is wise to check with your doctor before drinking hibiscus tea as it can lower blood pressure. It also contains melatonin which is useful for regulating sleep; however it may interfere with certain medications.
8. Matcha Tea
Matcha tea comes from the Japanese tencha leaf (another green tea) but the difference is that it is in powder form. You may be familiar with this bright, green powdery tea that is strained and whisked in ritual.
In essence, matcha tea is helpful for weight loss because it is so high in EGCG levels. EGCG helps to break fat down and prevent the formation of new fat cells, particularly in the abdomen.
This antioxidant tea has been found to boost metabolism, reduce toxins and inflammation in the body and help the immune system.
Plus, drinking matcha tea after a workout has also been found to increase resting metabolic rate.
9. Mint Tea
Want a quick fix to quiet your appetite? Pour yourself a big cup of mint tea and breathe in its aroma! The sweet smell of mint has actually been found to suppress appetite while other scents like cinnamon can increase it.
One published study even found that people who smelled peppermint every few hours lost upwards of 5 pounds over the course of a month. This may explain the popularity of peppermint inhalers in the aromatherapy market.
Drinking decaffeinated mint tea before bed can also help promote better sleep, while keeping hunger at bay.
10 . Mate Tea
One of the best benefits of mate tea is its thermogenic qualities. That means the body can burn calories more efficiently. It can also improve insulin sensitivity which is key when trying to lose weight.
Mate tea is full of powerful antioxidants that can help fight disease, B vitamins, and chromium which can assist in moving blood sugars into the cells for energy.
Also known as Yerba mate, this caffeinated tea may help change the way fat is digested in the body. One recent study done on rats who ate a high-fat diet showed that mate helped changed how fat was metabolized in the body. That’s good news for those who are fighting obesity and their related conditions.
What’s The Best Tea For Weight Loss?
Tea has been drunk for thousands of years by cultures all around the world. It is only in recent years that the health and weight loss benefits of tea drinking have been discovered.
Different teas offer various advantages. Tea can be used to balance blood sugar levels, reduce the risk of certain illnesses, promote weight loss or just be enjoyed for its taste.
Ultimately, choosing the right tea for you may simply boil down to your own personal tastes. Have you lost weight using tea? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Hello. I didn’t know that tea was so good to burn fat and specially belly fat. And that it lower your risk of Type 2 diabetes. Now that I know all this I will start drinking tea daily. And you offer a lot of varieties of flavors which is great so we won’t get tire of drinking the same thing every day. And I’m glad that you point it out the importance of exercising. I partially like the local and stretching exercise because it lets me work on the area I most need. However they’re all good. It really depends on what what each individual likes.
After reading all your information about tea, I think it’s important to include tea as part of our daily balance meal.
It is quite amazing that there are so many teas that can be helpful in improving metabolism to burn fat. Tea is a simple, delicious and easy way to help your health. Thanks for dropping by!