Weight Loss Tea

Weight Loss Diets on the Market

Weight loss diets basically focus on reducing the dieter's caloric intake whilst at the same time increasing their metabolism, even though the latter tends to do opposite. Reducing one's caloric intake will automatically reduce metabolism, yet that's a whole new discussion which wont be dealt with here.

Most diets are broadly similar, emphasizing certain foods while reducing or eliminating others. Some advocate making fruit and vegetables a major part of the diet, while others go about weight loss according to different principles, such as emphasizing the consumption of protein and the drastic reduction of carbohydrates. Other entities such as food and beverage manufacturers are looking hard at thermogenic, so-called "negative-calorie" foods to help the general population with weight loss. And one of these is tea.

Kinds of Tea

There are several kinds of tea on the market, all of which may be more or less useful in weight loss. They vary according to the way the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant are processed and how much tannin is contained in the tea.

• There is green tea, which uses leaves that are dried but unoxidized.
• Black tea (sometimes called red tea) uses leaves which have been allowed to wilt, fully oxidize, and then crushed.
• White tea uses fresh, unoxidized leaves.
• Oolong tea is similar to black tea except the leaves are not crushed and are only partially oxidized.

The Benefits of Tea

In the area of weight loss, tea is claimed to have several benefits. Tea has long been known for its diuretic properties - lose some retained water, lose some weight. But that's not all. Once it was believed that the caffeine content of tea was responsible for its fat-burning properties. Now it is thought that the chemicals known as catechin polyphenols, in particular epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which are present in teas, promote the metabolism of fat and the production of heat (thermogenesis), raising the body's metabolism and enabling it to get rid of larger amounts of stored energy, which fat basically is.

Tea has also been shown to lower cholesterol levels, which is also good news not only for dieters, as elevated cholesterol levels usually signal increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Tea also helps regulate blood sugar levels, which may help in the fight against diabetes, a major threat in today's world.

Claims for tea's effectiveness range from slight to the absolutely miraculous. Wherever the truth may lie, most experts agree that the consumption of tea is beneficial not only for weight loss purposes, but also for promotion of overall good health.