Unfortunately, tea is not a magic bullet, causing weight loss with zero effort. The good news is, tea is a great addition to your diet.
Adding tea to dieting can accelerate weight loss, curb your appetite and dieting is a national past time in some areas. It seems that people are either on a diet, going on a diet, and they have recently been on a diet. Often, people find, that by adding tea to their diet regimens, they can gain an extra edge which enables them to lose unwanted pounds. Perhaps that is the reason why diet teas are becoming so popular.
Today, there are a number of teas available which claim to be diet teas. Although tea in general is known to help increase metabolism and concentration, some teas are specifically marketed as “diet teas”.
General Information about Diet Tea
Diet teas may contain additional ingredients besides tea. In order to promote weight loss, natural or artificial ingredients are added.
Usually, these ingredients are added to either green tea, white tea, or oolong tea. These teas naturally have some weight loss abilities.
Some of the diet teas contain ingredients like guggul, guarana and kola nut. These ingredients can be put in tea, but they are also used in many different types of weight loss pills.
Different teas and herbs may work differently for each person. Therefore, you may not have any weight loss success using a certain type of tea while your friend may lose quite a bit of weight.
When using this tea, it is best to start out slowly and gradually work up to the recommended dosage. If you have any negative side effects, stop using the tea immediately and then try another type of tea. Keep in mind that it may take a long period of time in order to see weight loss results. It may take several weeks to experience the beneficial effects of tea, depending on your metabolism and body type.
Diet tea may be loose tea, or it may be purchased in tea bags. No matter how the tea is packaged, it is essential to prepare the tea properly for the best results. If you have never prepared tea from loose leaf tea, you may need to ask the shop owner for directions.
Safety
There have been concerns raised about the safety of diet teas. Diet teas are remarkably safe. However, it is essential to consider a few items before purchasing any diet tea.
- Diet teas should be made by a reputable manufacturer.
- All the ingredients should be listed. If there is not a complete list of ingredients on the package, you should seriously consider purchasing another type of diet tea.
- Double check ingredients if you have any food allergies. For example, if you are allergic to nuts, you should not drink tea with kola nuts. To do so may cause an allergic reaction.
- Be sure to do some research on the ingredients contained in the tea before purchasing. If you have no idea what the ingredients do or why they are there, you may want to do some research online.
Effectiveness
Effectiveness of diet teas is variable. Consider reading product reviews or customer testimonials to determine how effective tea actually is at promoting weight loss.
Remember that other things can limit the effectiveness of the tea. If you drink your diet tea with cream and sugar, you will be negating any weight loss properties that might be present in the tea.
If you do not like the taste of a particular type of tea, you may want to try a diet tea that uses a different kind of tea. For example, many people complain that green tea has a “grassy” aftertaste. In order to reduce the aftertaste, many green tea drinkers use some sugar. If you do not like the aftertaste of green tea, you may want to try oolong diet tea or diet tea made from white tea leaves instead. Typically, white tea leaves are the sweetest because of the way they are harvested and processed.
Herbs that are contained in the tea can also affect the taste of the tea. Tea containing kola nut can also have a bitter taste.
What Some Of The Tea Ingredients Do
Weight loss or diet teas may contain ingredients like psyllium and agar. These ingredients are bulk-producing. These ingredients are designed to make the consumer feel “full”. The idea is that a tea drinker who feels full will eat less food and lose weight over time. These ingredients can also cause digestive problems in some people. In fact, these ingredients are also used as laxatives or to encourage bowel movements. If you do decide to purchase tea with these ingredients, you may want gradually to increase the amount of tea you drink over time. Drinking the full amount suggested in the beginning may cause digestive and intestinal distress.
Glucomannan
Glucomannan is another ingredient often contained in diet teas.
This ingredient is actually a type of starch which is produced by a konjac plant. The starch is a type of bulk producing ingredient similar to the above ingredients. Most consumers feel that glucomannan is not effective in helping with weight loss efforts. However, there are those who feel that the glucomannan did indeed help them to lose weight.
Guarana
Guarana is another commonly used ingredient in diet teas. This ingredient has been tested by the FDA in the United States and is considered to be safe. According to research, guarana works because it affects the way that the body perceives stomach fullness. One study showed that participants that drank tea with guarana lost about 11 pounds more than the group that did not.
Yerba mate
Yerba mate is another ingredient that may be contained in diet teas. Very few studies have been done on this ingredient in regards to weight loss. However, it is thought to work by suppressing the amount of lipids that can be absorbed by the body.
Kola nut
Kola nut has long been used in Africa, and other cultures to stop hunger pangs. The nut has a slightly bitter taste and contains caffeine. In some cultures, people drink beverages made of the beverage instead of drinking soda or alcoholic beverages. Originally, Kola nut was used to make soft drinks. Eventually, this practice was stopped.
Ma Huang
Ma Huang is a stimulant that was originally used by the Chinese. The effects of this herb can be somewhat unsafe. The plant produces a chemical call ephedra which can cause severe side effects with prolonged use. Because the amount of the stimulant is difficult to control, there can be wide variations in amounts in each batch of tea made. This can cause problems. Some deaths have been reported from taking too much Ma Huang. Because the herb causes uterine contractions, pregnant women should refrain from drinking tea, which contains this herb.
It is crucial to follow the product directions, no matter which type of diet tea you choose. If you don’t, you may experience stomach discomfort including cramps and diarrhea. In some cases, users may experience nausea and vomiting. Sometimes, too much of a good thing is not so good.
Teas which work by encouraging frequent bowel movements can cause dehydration if used extensively over a period of time.
Long Term Effects
While you may lose weight by using diet tea, it is vital to make long term lifestyle changes if you want to keep the weight off. This means reducing your calorie intake and exercising. Some tea ingredients may not be safe to ingest for a lengthy time period.