The most widely consumed beverage in the world is tea. Three varieties of tea exist: green, black and oolong. Each contains ingredients that boost health and enhance weight loss. Teas that have added herbal laxatives, such as senna, may be dangerous. Talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks of teas that promote weight loss .
Oolong Tea
Oolong is an increasingly popular tea for weight loss, reported to have antiobesity and hypolipidaemic effects -- meaning it lowers lipid levels in the blood. A study done at the School of Medicine, Ehime University, Japan, was performed on mice with high fat diets to clarify the efficacy of oolong tea at preventing obesity. The results suggest that the tea may be an effective crude drug for treating obesity as well as a fatty liver resulting from a high-fat diet. Also known as wu long tea, oolong is a partially oxidized tea, a balance of both green and black varieties with less fragrant and robust qualities than plain green or black teas. It is available over the counter in varying strengths.
Green Tea
Green tea is possibly the most widely sipped tea of all varieties, touted for its manifold health benefits. Unlike black or oolong tea, green tea is made from unfermented leaves and therefore contains contains the highest concentration of potent antioxidants called polyphenols -- substances that break down damaging compounds in the body that lead to health complications. Green tea extracts are used to make over-the-counter diet pills, which may promote weight loss by increasing calorie and fat metabolism and staving off hunger. Some researchers assume that the tea's polyphenols are responsible for these fat-burning effects, according to the UMMC.
Black Tea
Black tea, like green tea, is used for increasing mental alertness, treating headaches and low blood pressure and reducing the risk of certain types of cancer. The caffeine content in black tea gives it a diuretic effect, which helps decrease bloating among dieters. Although black tea has fewer health benefits than green tea, due to the aging process the tea undergoes, some of the same fat-burning effects exist because the tea contains polyphenols and has approximately 2 to 4 percent caffeine.
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