Tea and Weight Loss
Green tea contains a combination of caffeine and antioxidants called catechins that may help with weight loss and improve body composition. A study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2010 found that drinking green tea each day for eight weeks helped people lose a small amount of weight compared to drinking water.Black tea may not be as beneficial for weight loss as green tea, as the fermentation process used to make black tea decreases the amount of catechins it contains.
If you want to limit your caffeine intake, decaffeinated green tea may still have some weight-loss benefits, but it's lower in catechins than regular green tea.
Cinnamon and Weight Loss
Including more cinnamon in your diet may help improve your body composition while you lose weight. A study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in 2006 found that a cinnamon extract helped improve the body composition and blood sugar levels of people with prediabetes. Study participants experienced a small increase in muscle and a small decrease in body fat.Honey and Weight Loss
Putting honey in your tea will increase the number of calories it has, with each tablespoon of honey adding 64 calories. This might not increase your risk for weight gain, however, as a study published in the Scientific World Journal in 2008 found that consuming about 3.5 tablespoons of honey per day for a month led to a decrease in weight and body fat of about 1 percent. The sweetness of the honey will help make the cinnamon and tea mixture more palatable.Potential Considerations
Speak with your doctor before adding large amounts of cinnamon or green tea to your diet. Green tea can interact with some medications, including blood thinners, beta-blockers, chemotherapy medications, medications to treat depression, antibiotics and sedatives, increasing the risk of adverse effects.Getting too much caffeine can cause headaches, dizziness, insomnia, irritability and heart palpitations, so if you drink a lot of green tea, make some of it decaffeinated.
Cinnamon may interact with diabetes medications, and large amounts could harm the liver due to a substance called coumarin found in some types of cinnamon.
