There are lots of myths about the effects of tea.Some say adding milk to tea lowers its effect, butthat’s not true. Some say that hot tea is better than cold tea when really there is no difference. And there has been a discussion about whether or not tea can help reduce weight which is, in fact, very much true.
Let’s talk science
Tea is especially good for your body because it contains chemicals called catechins. Catechins help boost your metabolism that helps your body consume and use up calories. A faster and higher metabolism is ideal because it helps burn more calories per unit time.
Catechins also act as antioxidants in the body. What this means is that they remove free radicals to protect cells in the body from damage. Free radicals are unstable molecules that contribute to the formation of cancers, heart diseases, stroke and more, therefore antioxidants exist to get rid of these free radicals to keep the body healthy.
A certain type of catechins, in green tea especially, is epigallo catechin gallate (EGCG).EGCG is a chemical that is known to have anti-inflammatory effects and decrease fat storage in your body. Inflammation (when your skin becomes red and swollen) can happen due to many reasons such as toxins or bacteria in your body so EGCG is one of the chemicals that help battle this to reduce inflammation.
Tea, such as black tea, also contains a bit of caffeine. While a high consumption of caffeine can be dangerous for your body especially your heart, a little bit can give you a sufficient boost of energy to help you lose weight. Caffeine lasts for a few hours in your blood stream so you can drink tea a few hours before working out to give you that extra rush of energy.
It is important to note that tea alone will not help you reduce weight! It will keep your body healthy, guide you and promote mechanisms that help with weight loss however it’s up to you to do the heavy lifting (quite literally in this case). Exercise is as important as maintaining a healthy diet to lose weight.
List of teas
For example, The range at Tea Life shows that different types of tea have different qualities that can help the body relax, lose weight or boost immunity. But what are the teas that help with weight loss?
Green tea
this is one of the most well-known teas that help with weight loss for many people because of its high levels of catechins and antioxidants.
Black tea
because black tea leaves have gone through several stages of oxidation (exposure to air for long periods of time) they have great antioxidant properties.
White tea
this is the least processed out of the teas and so it has a sweeter flavour. This tea also has a high level of catechins although more studies are required to find more.
Oolong tea
this is a traditional Chinese tea and helps promote weight loss. However more research is required to find its effects on weight loss.
These are only a few short types of teas and their effects, however, there are so much more out there. Losing weight doesn’t solely depend on drinking tea so remember to exercise, maintain a healthy diet, sleep, and put in the hard work yourself.