Do Fat Burning Teas Work? Experts View

You’ve no doubt seen ads for them on social media—and maybe even had a friend or two post about how they helped her slim down quick. Fat-burning teas are everywhere, and their lure of fast, effortless weight loss can be super tempting.

But are they legit? Testimonials from slim, toned celebs might make you a believer. (If it worked for her, it’ll work for me!) And since most of the brews claim to be made with all natural, herbal ingredients, it’s easy to assume that at the very least, there’s nothing to lose.

But experts disagree. The majority of dietitians and doctors alike say teas that claim to help you burn fat are ineffective at best, and they can be dangerous at worst. Here, three share what they wish everyone knew about these products—and why you should steer clear.

Related: Your Body On Green Tea

1.You might lose water weight, but not much else.

The expert: Christine Palumbo, RDN, FAND, Nominating Committee member for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Her take: Far from being a safe and natural route to slimming down, so-called fat-burning teas are full of harsh herbal ingredients that bring on quick, temporary weight loss by diuresis and laxation. In other words, you pee out excessive amounts of fluid and your bowels get a workout from the harsh laxatives.

Some of the most common ingredients you’ll find are things like senna, rhubarb root, buckthorn, cascara, castor oil, dandelion leaf, cassia, burdock, catsia, and prunella. They’re herbs—but they can still potentially dehydrate you. And the laxatives could create a dependency, making it difficult for you to have natural bowel movements without them.

The Best Teas For Losing Weight.

Looking to sip your way to some serious health benefits? Not only is tea a great way to improve your overall health, but it has some powerful weight loss boosting capabilities as well. 

We consulted with some tea experts — Billy Dietz, tea specialist at DAVIDsTEA and Kristina Richens, certified tea expert and Minister of Commerce at The Republic of Tea — as well as Lisa Eberly-Mastela, RD, MPH to find out which teas are best for shedding some pounds.

While these aren't outright medical claims or prescriptions for weight loss, teas have well-studied (and scientifically proven) natural benefits that can help your body perform at its best. Eberly-Mastela noted that "all tea will support weight loss because it helps you stay hydrated, which supports weight loss," but our team of experts chose a few standouts to add to your weekly routine.

Types of Teas



 Green Tea and Matcha. These teas are "known for increasing metabolism," said Richens. And she's right! A study published in the American Journal For Clinical Nutrition found that green tea promotes fat oxidation, "beyond that explained by its caffeine content." Read: caffeine boosts your metabolism on its own, but green tea's got that extra mojo. It's also been shown that matcha can stop the growth of new fat cells. "This is due to the antioxidant catechins found in green tea," said Richens. "It triggers the release of fat from fat cells, and also helps speed up the liver's ability to turn fat into energy." Drink up!

Related: Your Body on Green Tea.

Do Tea And Coffee Count Towards Your Water Intake?

The human body is two-thirds water, and considering how much of that we lose on a daily basis through sweating and going to the toilet, it's important to keep our fluid levels topped off. But, let's face it: despite the various ways to make your water fruity, endlessly sipping water can feel like a chore that doesn't quite hit our sweet spots, which leads to hydrating with hot takeaway beverages and carbonated drinks.

If you're feeling guilty about reaching for a cup of coffee over a glass of water, allow us to put your mind to rest. Although caffeinated drinks like coffee and tea do have some diuretic effects — meaning they make you go to the toilet more often — the caffeine from your daily cup isn't high enough to cause dehydration and may actually have some health benefits. 

Related: 3 Effective Drinks To Boost Your Weight Loss

That said, it's surprisingly easy to overdo it and experience the physical and mental side effects of too much coffee, and one way to alleviate that worry is by switching to potent brews that have healing, healthy properties, like green tea.




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5 Simple Ways To Turn Off Your Fat Gene Switch

Looking at your dad could feel like a mirror into the future. And that’s great if he’s still running 5Ks for fun every weekend. But what if your dad is more Dad Bod than Dad God?

If your dad’s on the portly side, you may wonder if you’re destined to fill those heavy shoes as you grow older, too. And that’s not a far-fetched scenario: After all, there are nearly 100 gene variants linked to obesity—meaning that dear old dad may have passed along a proclivity to portliness along with freckles or slightly-larger-than average nose.  

But the good news is, not all these genes are necessarily set in stone. Some of the so-called fat genes can turn off and on depending on your habits and your environment.

Now, you can plunk down a few hundred dollars on a DNA test to see exactly where you stand, but we’re sure you can find a bunch of other things to do with that kind of cash. Instead, put away your wallet—and try these smart strategies to hack your DNA and turn off your fat switch instead.

This Tea May Help You Lose Weight. Not Green Tea.

The health benefits of tea are vast, including soothing an upset stomach or helping to ease congestion. And while we've heard that matcha or peppermint tea are good teas to try if you're looking to lose weight, there's another tea out there that can help as well: white tea. While chatting with Bernadine Tay, global tea curator for Wedgwood, she shared this lesser-known benefit of sipping white tea.

"White tea actually stops new fat cells from forming," Tay told me while showing off Wedgwood's new Wonderlust Tea collection. The weight-loss benefits of white tea have been studied many times, including a study done by Science Daily, and Tay pointed out that while it's been heavily studied, not many people realise that just drinking a few cups of white tea a day can help with losing weight.

5 Weight Loss Tips That Experts Say Suck!

Contrary to what all of the "diet rules" out there would lead you to believe, losing weight doesn't have to be complicated. And, truth be told, it shouldn't be complicated. 

To help you streamline your efforts, we talked to top weight-loss experts about less-than-stellar weight-loss strategies that are total waste of time.

From the minimally effective to absolute B.S., these common weight-loss tips have got to go.

1.OD'ING ON GREEN TEA

Okay, research shows that drinking green tea (without sugar or artificial sweeteners) could help you lose weight, but the effect is pretty "meh," says Craig Primack, M.D., a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine. In one study, people who drank two to four cups per day increased their metabolism by 50 daily calories. That's a ton of brewing for so little benefit.  

3 Effective Drinks To Boost Your Weight Loss!

Starting the day with a glass of lemon-infused water has become akin to a religious ritual for many looking to lose weight fast. The bad news? Dietitians in the know say the water won't magically help you shed pounds. In fact, no beverage in and of itself is a silver bullet for slimming down (especially not diet soda). But there are some brews that, coupled with a healthy lifestyle, can actually give your weight loss efforts a boost. Here are three to start sipping.

Coffee

Call it nature's perfect energy drink: Research shows drinking two to three cups of coffee before a workout can spur you to work out longer and harder than you would if you hit the gym caffeine-free—and that means you torch more calories. One study in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found that exercisers could do almost 20% more reps on a leg press machine when they fueled with java. But remember: Always drink it black (or add a little no-calorie stevia extract), since loading up on cream and sugar is the fastest way to undo the benefits of your coffee-fueled extended workout.  

Plain ice water

Swap out the squeeze of lemon for a handful of ice: Cold drinks prompt your body to expend more energy to maintain its preferred 98.6-degree temperature. This means downing three 24-oz servings of ice water in a day can help your body burn up to 100 extra calories, says Mitzi Dulan, RD, nutritionist for the Kansas City Royals and author of The Pinterest Diet. Do it every day and you could lose up to 10 pounds over the course of a year.

Green tea

Not only is green tea gloriously calorie free, it can also help spur fat burn and weight loss. In one study, participants who drank four cups of green tea daily for 2 months lost an average of about 6 more pounds, compared with those who drank just plain water, according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Another 2013 analysis from the European Journal of Nutrition found that regular green tea drinkers weigh less and have smaller waists. (Scientists speculate green tea's combo of catechin antioxidants and caffeine are behind the effect.) Choose fresh, hot brewed tea with nothing added—store-bought bottled brews tend to have fewer antioxidants and can be loaded with excess sugar. Stay away from unregulated green tea supplements, too: They're a frequent cause of liver damage and may contain unsafe doses of compounds isolated from tea.

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Your body on Green Tea

Green tea. Effective for weight loss?