Smart Shopping for Weight Loss Teas

Tea has been a lot of press recently as a way to help people lose weight. Most of the attention has focused on oolong (or Wu-Long) and green tea. Preliminary evidence suggests that green tea and green tea extracts may help people lose weight. A chemical in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), may be responsible for this effect. EGCG is a catechin and a powerful antioxidant. It may prevent the digestion and absorption of sugar. Green tea has more catechins than other types of tea.

Oolong tea also has possible weight loss effects. In one study, men who drank 5 cups of oolong daily lost 12% more fat calories than a comparable group of men drinking the same amount of water. They also burned more fat calories than men drinking caffeinated water, suggesting that another component in tea was responsible for the fat-burning difference.

Tea overall may increase the amount of energy you expend and the number of calories you burn. Some people have wondered whether it is the caffeine in tea that increases metabolism, but when people are given just caffeine in tablet form, metabolic rate does not increase the way it does with tea. In mice, green tea extract seems to protect against fat storage in the liver as well as weight gain and overall fat gain.

What to Look for

It is not clear how much green tea to drink each day to get a significant weight loss, but researchers suggest that 4 cups may be a good target. Both green and oolong tea are available in most supermarkets and specialty food stores. Both types come loose or in bags. Buy the type that is most convenient for you to use. If you buy loose leaves, you will probably want some sort of infuser, or a tea ball, to help brew the tea.

If you decide to buy a green tea pill or extract, look for one with 25% EGCG, since this is the concentration used in one study that showed a benefit of green tea extract on weight loss.

Common Pitfalls

Be careful what you add to tea. Sugar and cream or milk can add lots of calories to each cup. Any weight-loss benefit you get from the tea could be reversed by adding too much milk or sugar.

Caffeine is a component of many teas that are promoted for weight loss, including green and oolong teas. There's no clear evidence that caffeine causes weight loss, but it can cause symptoms like poor sleep, irritability and jitteriness if you drink too much.

Concern about arsenic and heavy metal contamination in tea keeps some people away from this potentially healthful drink. A recent study conducted in Taiwan was reassuring because it demonstrated that arsenic and heavy metal contamination was low in black, green and oolong teas.