Tea makes you slim? Sure, it also has zero calories. But tea can also boost fat burning and slow down cravings. These five types are particularly effective.
Tea is an ideal companion on the way to your desired weight. And that’s not just because (unsweetened) tea – just like water – has no calories. Because certain types of tea can make it easier for you to lose weight. We asked tea expert Nicola Baumgartner from Shuyao which ingredients and effects of tea ensure a slim outcome.
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Lose Weight With Tea – This Is How It Works
The bad news first: “Unfortunately, drinking tea alone does not make you slim,” said the expert. Logical, because at the end of the day, only the energy balance counts: if you burn more than you eat, you lose weight. “But if you provide your body with sufficient fluids, you support the weight-loss process.”
So that all body functions function smoothly, you should drink at least 1.5 liters a day – whether you are losing weight or not. It doesn’t always have to be just water, tea is also allowed, and it has the advantage that the taste can be varied. “The taste must not be neglected – especially not when losing weight,” says Nicola Baumgartner, who with her company brings a piece of traditional Chinese tea culture to Germany.
But it’s not just the taste that makes tea the perfect diet aid. Because thanks to its unique ingredients, tea has many more positive benefits that you can take advantage of if you want to lose a few pounds.
Tea…
- Has a detoxifying effect
- Acts as a natural appetite suppressant
- Suppresses sweetness and cravings
- Stimulates the metabolism
- Pushes fat burning
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These Teas Make You Slim
Not every tea is equally suitable for losing weight. You can sip the following types of tea to support a diet:
Green Tea
The tea plant has been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM for short) against various ailments and diseases. And you can also achieve weight loss by drinking green tea because numerous studies have already shown that green tea stimulates fat burning. “The reason for this is the polyphenols it contains, above all the so-called catechins. These are secondary plant substances that are responsible, among other things, for the bitter taste,” explains Nicola Baumgartner, who was apprenticed to a Chinese tea master for months.
“Green tea, such as Japanese Matcha, also stimulates the body’s self-cleaning powers due to its high chlorophyll content and thus ensures a detox effect.” In addition, healthy bitter substances inhibit the cravings for sweets.
Is the bitter taste of green tea too intense for you? No problem, you can “train” your bitter taste receptors on your tongue and get them used to them. In this way, you learn to perceive the taste of less sweet foods better. In other words: after a while, sugar bombs like gummy bears & Co. will seem much too precious to you, so that you voluntarily do without them or only need small amounts to satisfy your hunger for sweetness. And that helps a lot with weight loss.
Tip: “Look out for tea blends that contain raw cocoa beans. They don’t taste bitter, but can just as well satisfy those who are hungry for sweets,” says the expert. However, sugar and aromas should not be added to the tea. Use mixtures that are as natural as possible.
Mate Tea
What green tea is in China, mate is in South America. But mate tea is also becoming more and more popular in this country because its caffeine content makes it a good substitute for coffee in the morning. But tea can also help you lose weight: “The bitter substances in mate tea curb the appetite,” says the expert. In Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Co., they even chew mate leaves to suppress hunger. Mate tea should always be made fresh from loose tea leaves so that the healthy ingredients can work optimally. By the way: Mate sodas, to which sugar, glucose syrup, and flavorings have often been added, will, of course, not help you lose weight.
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Ginger Tea
Ginger tea is a real all-rounder among the tea varieties because it not only helps you lose weight: “The gingerols in ginger tea not only give it the typical sharpness, but also strengthen the immune system, have an anti-inflammatory effect, and stimulate digestion and lipid metabolism warm us from within, “says Baumgartner.
It is best to make ginger tea yourself instead of using tea bags: For 0.5 liters of tea, peel around 5 grams of fresh ginger root and cut it into thin slices. Pour boiling water over the ginger, let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes, and you’re done. “You don’t have to change the ginger right after the first infusion, you can infuse it more often,” our tea expert knows. So you can savor the aroma to the full and determine the degree of spiciness yourself.
Tip: Refine your ginger tea with lemongrass and fresh mint. It gives a nice new kick. Also delicious and a natural weight loss hack for everyday use: if you feel cravings, sip a vegetable tea or vegetable broth.
White Tea
White tea comes from the same tea plant as black and green tea, for example, whereby only the closed buds are harvested for the white variant. The teas also differ in further processing or production and, of course, in taste. White tea is withered in the air and then dried. Green and black tea, on the other hand, go through further drying or fermentation processes, which also change the ingredients. White tea can also score points when losing weight with a high concentration of polyphenols and thus stimulate metabolism and fat burning.
By the way: Have you ever heard of oolong tea? It is currently experiencing considerable hype and is being traded as THE new fat burner tea. “Oolong tea is the champagne of the tea varieties. It is of very high quality and correspondingly expensive, but it is no better fat burner than green tea, for example.” The reason: Oolong is a semi-fermented tea and can therefore be classified between green tea and black tea. In other words: Oolong tea and black tea are much more strongly fermented than green tea. The problem: With the degree of fermentation, the “fat burner effect” also decreases.
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Nettle Tea
In contrast to the green tea variants, nettle tea does not contain caffeine. And that’s a good thing because not everyone can take the natural stimulant equally well. Thanks to its high potassium and calcium content, nettle tea has a dehydrating effect and is highly diuretic, so you lose a lot of water accordingly. “This supports the body’s self-cleaning powers,” says the expert, which is why nettle can also be found in many detox tea blends. You water out the fat cells, but the fat tissue itself is not broken down. Necessary: Only drink stinging nettle tea in moderation and give enough water again; otherwise, the body could dehydrate.
Expert Tip: Prefer Loose Tea Instead Of Tea Bags
“It is best to always enjoy tea in loose leaf quality. The larger the leaves, the better”. In the case of tea bags, the tea constituents were severely crushed so that the ingredients can escape directly when water is poured over them. This means that you have to change the tea bags for the second infusion; otherwise, the tea will quickly become bitter. If you use loose tea, you can infuse tea several times because this is the only way to release the aroma and all the valuable ingredients slowly.
Conclusion: Can You Lose Weight With Tea?
One often reads that St. John’s wort tea is also supposed to support weight loss. Why? St. John’s wort tea has an antidepressant effect and should help overcome setbacks and lows when losing weight. “If you are so frustrated with your diet, even liters of St. John’s wort tea can no longer help you,” is the conclusion of our tea expert.
We always say it: if you want to lose weight, you have to change your eating habits over the long term. The positive effects of tea alone are not enough to melt fat deposits – but certain types of tea can make it easier for you to lose weight.
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