Certain types of tea can rev up your body’s ability to melt fat quickly and easily. Recent studies show that tea can reset your internal thermometer to increase fat burn by more than 20 percent without exercising, or dieting, or sitting in a sauna.
Why not give your body every advantage it can get in the battle against fat? Here are the top 6 teas to start sipping for a slimmer, sleeker, more efficient fat-burning you.
Green Tea: Burns fat and helps you lose weight
Some studies have found green tea extract, which is rich in polyphenols and catechins, to be useful for obesity management since it induces thermogenesis and stimulates fat oxidation.
A type of catechin prevalent in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), is said to increase resting metabolism and stimulate fat-burning.
Dutch researchers helped 76 people lose weight and, over the next three months, gave the patients either a 270-milligram capsule of green tea or a placebo every day. The group who took the green tea continued to lose weight but the group taking the placebo soon regained their lost weight. Another study agreed that EGCG has the potential to increase fat oxidation in men and may contribute to the anti-obesity effects of green tea.
If you normally drink coffee loaded with cream and sugar or a 500-calorie mocha every morning, then swapping either out for calorie-free green tea will certainly contribute toward great weight loss.
There are many countries where green tea consumption is high, and obesity rates are significantly lower as compared to United States.
White Tea: Breaks down stored fat
Think of white tea as Spanx in a cup.
It actually works with your body in many different ways to promote fat-burning: It blocks the formation of new fat cells while simultaneously boosting lipolysis, the body’s process of breaking down stored fat, according to a study published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism.
Another group of researchers found that the tea is also a rich source of catechins, a type of antioxidant that triggers the release of fat from the cells and—bonus!—helps speed the liver’s ability to turn fat into energy. Brew this and burn fat.
Barberry: Blocks fat cells from growing
The stem, fruit and root bark of the barberry shrub contains berberine–a powerful, naturally occurring, fat-frying chemical.
A study conducted by Chinese researchers revealed that berberine can prevent weight gain and the development of insulin resistance in rats consuming a high-fat diet.
Previous studies have also found that consuming the plant can boost energy expenditure and help decrease the number of receptors on the surface of fat cells, making them less apt to absorb incoming sources of flubber.
Pu-erh Tea: Reduces belly flab
This fermented Chinese tea might do to your fat cells what the New England Patriots allegedly do to their footballs—deflate them!
To discover the brew’s fat-crusading powers, Chinese researches fed groups of rats varying diets over a two-month period. Those who had a high-fat diet while also receiving pu-erh tea extract had lower levels of fat in their blood and lower levels of belly fat than those who did not.
While the effects aren’t proven in humans, this tea has true fat-blasting potential.
Oolong Tea: Burns a pound a week
This antioxidant-rich traditional Chinese drink not only helps keep cholesterol levels in check and aids digestion, it can also help rev up your metabolism. Like green tea, oolong is also packed with catechins, which boost weight loss efforts by improving the body’s ability to metabolise fat. A six-week Chinese study found that participants who regularly sipped the brew lost a pound a week!
Rooibos: Cuts new fat cell growth
This red, naturally sweet tea made from the leaves of the Rooibos bush are powerful fat-melters. According to South African researches, polyphenols and flavonoids found in the plant inhibits adipogenesis—the formation of new fat cells—by as much as 22 percent. The chemicals also aid fat metabolism. Sip this brew to help burn that stubborn bit of chub clinging to your middle, no diet necessary.
