Tea is a beverage enjoyed around the world.
You can make it by pouring hot water onto tea leaves and allowing them to steep for several minutes so their flavor infuses into the water.
This aromatic beverage is most commonly made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, a type of evergreen shrub native to Asia.
Drinking tea has been associated with many health benefits, including protecting cells from damage and reducing the risk of heart disease.
Some studies have even found that tea may enhance weight loss and help fight belly fat. Certain types have been found to be more effective than others at achieving this.
Weight loss tea products contain a veritable smorgasbord of botanical ingredients, including a range of different tea leaves, herbs, spices and concentrated herbal extracts.
Many have a long history of traditional use and are thought to have a variety of benefits , but in most cases more evidence is needed to support their effectiveness. For weight loss specifically there’s little published evidence to support their use – at best, more definitive clinical trials are required before conclusions can be drawn.
Green tea
Green tea has long been considered a great tea for weight loss and a number of studies have shown a strong link between the tea and a slimmer waistline.
A green tea weight loss trial found that green tea had a big effect on weight loss of the patients in the study.
Moderately overweight people were given two drinks each a day.
For one group all were placebos, the other had one serving of green tea while the other had two.
Scientists who carried out the research, in Shanghai, China, found: “We observed a decrease in estimated intra-abdominal fat in the GT3 group,” or the group with two servings of green tea.
Puerh Tea
Also known as pu’er or pu-erh tea, puerh tea is a type of Chinese black tea that has been fermented.
It is often enjoyed after a meal, and has an earthy aroma that tends to develop the longer it’s stored.
Some animal studies have shown that puerh tea may lower blood sugar and blood triglycerides. And studies in animals and humans have shown that puerh tea may be able to help enhance weight loss.
Black Tea
Drinking black tea may help you lose weight, according to studies. Scientists claim the tea encourages a bacteria to grow in the gut, which helps with slimming.
Study co-author Dr Zhaoping Li, from the University of California Los Angeles, said the findings suggest that the health benefits of both green tea and black tea go beyond their antioxidant benefits.
Mice who were given green and black tea extracts and ate a normal diet lost the same amount of weight as mice on a low fat diet in one study.
Oolong Tea
This tea, which is half way between green and black tea can help with fat burning.
A study of the tea called “Beneficial effects of oolong tea consumption on diet-induced overweight and obese subjects” found that 70 per cent of 102 obese people who drank 8g of oolang a day lost over a kilogram.
Twenty-two per cent lost over three kilograms.
Researchers said: “Oolong tea could decrease body fat content and reduce body weight through improving lipid metabolism.
“Chronic consumption of oolong tea may prevent obesity.
Chamomile tea
There are a few reasons you might hear sleep experts tell you to have a cup of this weight-loss tea before bed. For one, chamomile can make for an especially soothing part of your wind-down time, which cues your brain and body that you’re ready for sleep. Two, the herbal is caffeine-free, so it won’t keep you up. And three, chamomile has particular medicinal qualities from flavonoids called apigenin that calm nervous system activity to help you drift off without worry. Considering that a full night’s sleep promotes a healthy weight, this is one good-for-your waistline habit you should get behind.
Herbal Tea
Herbal teas involve the infusion of herbs, spices and fruits in hot water.
They differ from traditional teas because they do not typically contain caffeine, and are not made from the leaves of Camellia silences.
Popular herbal tea varieties include rooibos tea, ginger tea, rosehip tea and hibiscus tea.
Although the ingredients and formulations of herbal teas can vary significantly, some studies have found that herbal teas may help with weight reduction and fat loss.
In one animal study, researchers gave obese rats an herbal tea, and found that it reduced body weight and helped normalize hormone levels.
Rooibos tea is a type of herbal tea that may be especially effective when it comes to fat burning.
One test-tube study showed that rooibos tea increased fat metabolism and helped block the formation of fat cells.
However, further studies in humans are needed to look into the effects of herbal teas like rooibos on weight loss.