Whether you prefer tea or coffee, you can’t deny that a hot cup of Earl Grey is soothing. This drink does more than just make you feel calm, though.
Indulging in a mug may also be good for your health (think: preventing cancer and heart disease) and may even help you lose weight.
Even the best teas for weight loss won’t help you lose weight or burn belly fat fast (sorry to be a downer! ), but they can be a great addition to a healthy diet and exercise routine.
Liz Sasso-Karelitsky, RDN, of Love Food RD, says that tea is not a magic bullet, but that you can get the most out of it by drinking a cup directly after a meal.
“Making a cup of tea and taking the time to sit down and drink it would help to tell your mind and body that the meal is over,” she says.
She also says that the routine of making the tea helps you take a moment to notice when you’re full.
Sarah Rueven, RDN, CDN, who started Rooted Wellness, says that tea is also a great way to stay hydrated.
When you’re thirsty but not drinking enough water, you might want sweets and other salty foods. Getting enough water can also help your cells talk to each other better.
This makes your body work a little harder, which can slightly speed up your metabolism. She also says that herbal drinks that are meant to help you sleep can help you lose weight since getting enough rest is a big part of the process.
If you like iced tea more than hot tea, you should know that the benefits are the same no matter how hot or cold the tea is.
But if you’d rather get a cold drink somewhere else, Sasso-Karelitsky says you should be careful about what’s in your cup.
She says that places like Starbucks are known for putting a lot of sugar and juice in their iced teas. So always ask for it without sugar.
Note: Women who are pregnant shouldn’t drink herbal teas with licorice root, which can be dangerous in high amounts.
Rueven says you should use other herbs like peppermint, chamomile, and ginger instead. Sasso-Karelitsky also says to make sure you don’t drink too much tea with caffeine.
Want to try some teas? Here are the 10 best teas for losing weight and what science says about them.
Green Tea
After 12 weeks, green tea extract can help women lose weight and even get a smaller stomach, according to a study published in Clinical Nutrition.
This could be because green tea extract drops ghrelin levels in the body by a lot. Ghrelin is a hormone that is made in the gut. (As a bonus, green tea also helped lower cholesterol in the people who took part in the study!)
Rueven says that tea is a supplement that is not controlled by the FDA. That means you can’t always tell how much green tea or green tea extract a product really has. She says that the amount of these things can be different.
Rueven says, “The more organic, natural, and less processed varieties are likely to have a higher amount of green tea extract.” This is a good rule of thumb to follow when shopping.
Black Tea
Sasso says that black tea may help you lose weight, but that’s mostly because it has a lot of energy in it. “The caffeine can help give us a little bit more energy,” she says.
When you have more energy, you tend to move around more, which can help you burn a few extra calories.
White Tea
Even though white tea hasn’t been studied as much as black and green tea, there are some signs that it may help people lose weight.
A 2019 study found that white tea extract speeds up the metabolism of mice, which makes them store less fat.
But more study needs to be done to show that this claim is true and that it applies to people.
Herbal Tea
Herbal tea comes in many different flavors, from peppermint to chamomile. Rueven says that a cup of ginger tea won’t get rid of belly fat, but it does have a substance called gingerol that helps with bloating and gas.
“It can also calm your GI tract because it has anti-inflammatory properties,” she says. Tip: Honey and lemon go well with ginger to make a taste that is even more soothing.
Matcha Tea
Matcha is a green tea from Japan that comes in powder form.
One study in the scientific journal Foods found that because the tea plants are growing in the shade, it has more antioxidants than other types of tea.
It is thought to be the best green tea on the market.
Research in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism shows that if you drink matcha one day and then again 30 minutes before you work out, it can speed up the rate at which your body burns fat.
(However, it’s important to remember that the study was small and that more testing needs to be done.)
Note that matcha contains a high amount of caffeine, so avoid drinking it in the evening.
Rooibos Tea
The plants that make Rooibos tea grow in South Africa. There are two kinds of rooibos: red and green. The red kind is pickled, but the green kind isn’t.
A study in the journal Planta Medica found that the aspalathin in rooibos tea might help the body burn more sugar and fat.
Aspalathin can be taken in by drinking rooibos tea or eating green rooibos powder, which has a lot of this chemical. Again, more study is still needed, especially on people, to be sure of the effects.
Oolong Tea
This tea with caffeine may help you burn more energy because it speeds up the rate at which your body burns fat.
A study in Food Science and Human Wellness says that it may help lower the amount of fat in the body.
Mate Tea
Mate tea, like the well-known Yerba mate tea, could help you lose weight in a big way.
According to a study in the Journal of Functional Foods, Mate can help you burn more calories and lose weight.
It can also lower cholesterol, in case you needed another reason to make a cup.
Purple Tea
Purple tea is a type of green tea that was made for the first time in Kenya.
The caffeine in purple tea leaves and extract was found in a small study published in the International Journal of Biomedical Science to stop the body from absorbing fat.
Ten men who drank 100 to 200 mL of tea twice a day for one month lost weight and had less fat on their bodies.
Pu-Erh Tea
Fermented Pu-Erh tea comes from China’s Yunnan Province.
It is often used in Asia to help people lose weight. It has two different chemicals in it: therabrownin and gallic acid.
A study released in Food Research International found that they can help fight free radicals and get rid of toxins. They can also help fight obesity.
Well I’ve used green tea for a month I guest I should drink it a few more moths.
Great information love getting new ideal about weight and health care keep up the great work. Do u have anything on Menease illnesses.
I have used green tea for years and it helps with many things. I have been wanting to switch to matcha tea but keep forgetting. 🥺😎👍🆗✅💙
I’ve been drinking Tumeric tea to help with inflammation, especially my feet. It has helped.
But you should know you should brush your teeth after drinking it, as it can yellow your teeth.