A Review of Gourmet Teas for Weight Loss

While most of us dream of having access to a magic pill that would burn all of our extra body weight without any effort require on our parts, such a pill simply doesn’t exist.  Nowadays, the latest fad is drinking gourmet teas for weight loss.  Gourmet teas can make it easier for you to lose weight but they should not be treated as a magic solution either.  If you don’t burn more calories than you consume, you won’t lose weight… it’s as simple as that.  However, gourmet teas do help you lose weight because they:

• Fill you up without the need for consuming extra calories
• Suppress your appetite
• Increase your metabolism

If you drink tea in addition to following a healthy diet and exercise plan, you will be able to burn more calories and be more likely to adhere to your diet and exercise regimen.  Unfortunately, many dishonest marketers tout tea as if it were the ultimate solution to weight loss.  You can never forget that discipline and effort are always required if you want to lose weight.  Nonetheless, there are several gourmet teas out there that will help you reach your weight loss goals more quickly. 

Green Tea

Green tea is the godfather of weight loss teas.  Numerous scientific studies have shown that green tea indeed helps you lose weight.  The antioxidants and caffeine in green tea increase your metabolism.  These substances cause an effect known as thermogenesis, which is the process of heat production in organisms.  If you drink five cups of green tea per day, you can lose an extra 70-80 calories per day.  In addition, green tea ups your endurance so you can exercise for longer periods of time. 

However, green tea should not be looked to for its weight loss benefits alone because drinking green tea provides you with several important health benefits.  In fact, drinking green tea can even help to lower the risk of cancer.  The beauty of drinking green tea is that unlike diet pills and other types of “diet” tea, you can drink three to six cups of it daily without experiencing any unpleasant side effects.  Green tea not only helps to maintain your weight, it maintains your overall health. 

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is a partially oxidized tea that is a hybrid between green tea and black tea.  Oolong tea contains a variety of antioxidants.  The Chinese believe that oolong tea helps you lose weight and maintain a healthy body weight.  In two studies in the US and in Japan, oolong tea was shown to increase the rate of fat oxidation.  Many scientific studies also show that oolong tea blocks fat absorption and increases metabolism. 

If you have lost weight and want to maintain a healthy weight, drinking oolong tea is a good option.  Unlike taking diet pills, drinking oolong tea has no negative side effects over the long-term so you can drink it for an extended period to prevent fat from piling on. 

Hoodia Tea

One of the more exotic gourmet teas that people drink to lose weight is hoodia tea.  Hoodia tea is made of a cactus from South Africa.  The San people of South Africa drank hoodia tea to suppress their appetites when food was scarce.  Real hoodia tea is difficult to find because the cactus is rare.  When you can find the real stuff, the problem is that it is very expensive.  And compared to other types of gourmet teas for weight loss, drinking hoodia tea is not as appealing as a long term strategy because it does not provide as many health benefits. 

Dandelion Tea

Dandelion tea is not effective as a long term weight loss tea but it can help you get rid of water weight.  Dandelion tea is a diuretic and a healthier alternative to coffee.  Drinking dandelion tea helps you get rid of unwanted toxins in your body and is supposed to be a short-term weight loss tea.  You can drink it while you follow a diet and exercise plan because it will help to get rid of the toxins that are released from fat cells as you lose weight. 

Pu-erh Tea

Pu-erh tea is from the Yunan province of China.  The Chinese have been drinking Pu-erh tea for thousands of years because of its numerous health benefits.  The taste of Pu-erh tea is mellow and sweet.  Unlike other gourmet teas, Pu-erh tea can be stored for a long time and in fact, the longer you store it the tastier it becomes. 

Pu-erh tea is thought to aid digestion, burn fat, and warm the stomach.  Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham is a fan of Pu-erh tea.  If you drink Pu-erh tea before you eat, it can help to suppress your appetite.  One of the perks of drinking Pu-erh tea regularly is that you can brew it for a long time without it getting bitter like other types of gourmet teas do.