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Weight Loss With Decaffeinated Tea

Jun 14, 2011 | By Milo Dakota
Weight Loss With Decaffeinated Tea
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If you want to drink tea to help you lose weight but don't want to spend your days -- and nights -- hopped up on caffeine, here's some good news: some metabolism-boosting teas contain little or no caffeine. Your choices include herbal drinks such as those derived from ginger and hibiscus and decaffeinated versions of regular tea.

Caffeine in Tea

A cup of black tea contains 40 mg to 120 mg of caffeine, about half of what you'd find in coffee. Decaffeinated black tea contains 2 mg to 10 mg of caffeine. Black tea contains more caffeine than any other tea. The caffeine content in green tea is about half of what you'd get in black tea and the caffeine content in white tea is further reduced. You can get green tea in decaffeinated form. White tea is nearly decaffeinated in its natural form, providing about 15 mg on its first brewing and significantly less on subsequent brews.

Tea Catechins Boost Metabolism

Because caffeine is only one component of the weight-loss benefits in teas, you don't necessarily lose any dieting advantage by choosing a decaffeinated version. Tea also contains catechins, an antioxidant that boosts metabolism and burns fat -- particularly abdominal fat -- without stimulating the central nervous system as caffeine does. White tea contains the most catechins and black tea the least. Some catechins are lost through the decaffeination process. If you're aiming for the highest weight loss benefits with the least amount of caffeine, white tea and decaffeinated green tea would be your best choices.

Catechin Study

The catechins in tea could help you lose a pound a month, according to a clinical trial led by Kevin Maki of Provident Clinical Research in the United States. Based on the results of his study, published in 2009 in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," you would need to drink about 4 to 5 cups of white tea, 12 cups of decaffeinated green tea or about 60 cups of decaffeinated black tea to achieve similar weight loss. The men in the study who lost the most weight -- and proportionately more abdominal fat -- consumed 660 mg of catechins daily while also reducing their caloric intake. Weight loss that could be specifically attributed to catechins amounted to about 1/4 lb. a week.

Herbal Teas

Several naturally decaffeinated herbal drinks offer potential weight loss benefits. You could, for instance, brew a tea from raw ginger root, shown in several animal studies to produce weight loss. In one study, researchers from Kuwait University fed rodents a ginger extract. According to the report published in 2007 in the "British Journal of Nutrition," the animals lost weight without altering their diets. Tea made from hibiscus also proved effective in weight loss, according to a study conducted by researchers F.J. Alarcon-Aguilar and colleagues from the University Autonoma Metropolitana. According to the report published in the "Journal of Ethnopharmacology," the researchers' findings supported the idea that hibiscus tea promotes modest weight loss.

Safety Considerations

Known side effects in natural tea -- black, green, white and oolong -- are associated with their caffeine content so decaffeinated teas should be safe for most people to drink. Pregnant women should limit their caffeine intake to 100 mg daily, according to the "British Medical Journal," and persons with kidney and nervous disorders might be adversely affected by caffeine. Ginger can be safely consumed by most people except those with gallstones. If you make ginger tea a regular part of your diet, you should alert your doctor before undergoing anesthesia. Hibiscus may lower estrogen levels, which could affect fertility. It may also lower blood pressure.

References

Article reviewed by Ed Garcia Last updated on: Jun 14, 2011

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