The Benefits, and Myths, of Tea and Weight Loss.

Ah, tea, the word conjures up images of wise old men in China enjoy a cup of the brew, healthy green tea ads and words like “antioxidants” and “flavonoids”. The dieting industry has pounced on this healthy image that we have of tea and have marketed “miracle” teas that melt the fat away.

The truth is that these weight loss teas are a scam. There is nothing special in these teas that you can’t find in a regular tea that you buy at the grocery store. There are many healthy benefits to tea, which we will explore, that these “diet” teas can also have so the claims are not completely baseless, you just don’t need to spend a lot of money and should not put all of your weight loss goals on a cup of tea.

Tea comes in many varieties. The 3 major types of tea that come from the tea plant are black tea, green tea and white tea. Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world, though it’s popularity varies by country. There are also many herbal teas, many of these are healthy for their own reasons but do not contain any actual tea leaves. There is also red tea, or rooibos, which originated on the African continent and also contains no tea leaves.

Tea is full of antioxidants and other healthful compounds. The remarkable health advantages of antioxidant enriched foods in your diet has been well documented by the medical community. Not only do these free-radical fighting antioxidants make you appear younger by slowing down the process of aging, but they help users prevent heart disease, cancer, and lots of other degenerative afflictions. In addition to long-term benefits, antioxidants can help your workout. Antioxidants are to your bloodstream what fiber is to your digestive system, it cleans out the bad stuff so that your body works better.

Tea, any variety, can be a great replacement for those looking to reduce the amount of soda or coffee they drink. Instead of ordering a soda, try an unsweetened iced tea with lemon, if you need to you can add sugar and it will still be far less sugar than what is in soda. Tea is also a great way to enjoy a flavor while consuming no calories. Try stocking a few different flavors at your desk at work and when you get the urge to “consume” something, have some tea. This is also a great way to stay hydrated if you are one of those people who does not enjoy drinking plain water.

One of the negatives is that tea does have caffeine. Caffeine in small amounts is ok for most people, but you will need to consider this if you try to avoid the compound. A serving of black tea has half the caffeine of coffee, next is white tea and then green tea in regards to caffeine content. Herbal and red teas contain no caffeine and you can buy regular tea that has been decaffeinated. One way to remove most of the caffeine from regular tea on your own is to brew the tea for twenty seconds, then throw out this liquid and pour more boiling water over the tea bag. This method will remove about 80% of the caffeine since most of the caffeine is released in the first few seconds of brewing. Also be aware that tea can stain your teeth, but not nearly as much as coffee, cola or red wine.

Tea is an easy and affordable way to improve your health. Though it will not directly cause you to lose weight, you can use it in your overall weight loss plan as a beverage substitute and as a way to ward off cravings.