Chinese Tea for Weight Loss

There are countless weight loss products in the market, and many of these products are advertised in a way that it's the only best available option for you. However, in reality, most of them are totally useless, and only a few are beneficial for weight loss. Among these few helpful products, a number of Chinese teas have gotten much attention in recent years. Although scientific evidence behind their effectiveness is still limited, but they are increasingly gaining popularity all over the world. Also, many experts now claim that they will not only aid you to trim down those extra fats but also provide you several other health benefits.

How Chinese tea works for weight loss?

Chinese teas are obtained from the fresh leaves and leaf buds of Camellia sinensis plant. These teas contain more than 500 chemical compounds. Chinese teas are enriched with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Polyphenols, these antioxidants are frequently found in Chinese tea, and one of the potent polyphenols is catechins that will particularly inhibit weight gain in your body by boosting your metabolism and promoting the thermogenesis effect. You need to know that antioxidants protect you from free radicals and decrease the threat of several diseases, including cardiac diseases, certain skin cancers, diabetes, high blood pressure and rheumatic arthritis.

Chinese tea contains several vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin B3, Beta-carotene, Niacin, Folic Acids, Iron, Calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and many more. These potent vitamins and minerals are important in lowering your cholesterol levels, reducing blood sugar and strengthening your immune system.

Aside from containing antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, Chinese tea also contains caffeine, tannin and saponin. You need to know that caffeine is psychoactive stimulant and when you consume caffeine, it slightly increases the basal metabolic rate. Tannins are another important agent found in Chinese tea, because several recent studies suggested that tannins work as an anti-cancer agent in our body. Chinese tea also works as the antibiotic and anti-inflammatory agent due to the presence of saponins.

Types of Chinese tea

Chinese teas are classified in several different types. However, green tea, red/black tea, oolong tea, pu-reh or puer tea and scented tea are the most common types of Chinese tea for weight loss.

Green Tea

Green tea is one of the most popular Chinese teas for weight loss. This tea is made from dried tea leaves without fermentation. It contains only 4 calories per serving without sweeteners. Green tea contains anticancer agent tannin, caffeine and potent antioxidants like catechins, these ingredients can aid you for weight loss by boosting your metabolism.

Black/Red Tea

Black tea is enriched with caffeine, and it contains the highest caffeine content than any other Chinese teas. You need to know that caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, and it will not only provide you a refreshed feeling but also it will aid you to lose weight. The calorie content of black tea per serving is as same as green tea. Several researches suggest that the ingredients in black tea improve our glucose metabolism. This means that black tea may aid in type 2 diabetes mellitus, and you may know that this disease can cause weight gain.

Oolong Tea

The leaves of Oolong tea are partially fermented, though it does not contain vitamin C, but is rich in calcium, iron and other minerals. Oolong tea is well known for its fat burning ability, and you need to know that this tea can burn 157% more fat than green tea. Long-term drinking of 2 cups of oolong tea a day could provide you several weight loss benefits, including fat metabolism, fat shedding, belly fat loss, and prevention and mitigation of obesity.

Pu-reh or Peur Tea

The preparation procedure of Pu-erh tea is distinctly different from other types of Chinese tea. This tea is traditionally made from wild tea leaves, and also known as large-leafed tea. The Pu-reh tea leaves are fermented for more than years, and for this reason, it has a pretty unusual earthy flavor. Several studies has shown that Pu-erh tea can lower cholesterol levels, decrease blood fat, thirst quencher, increase fat metabolism and helps digestion.

Image source: Yomi Yomi, CC-BY-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons