Breathe
By Olivia Medina
Now that the year is starting, many of us have decided to lose weight, if not for beauty, for health; and it is well known that being at the ideal weight not only makes us look better but we feel better, lighter, with more energy and the most important thing: we take care of our health, from the cardiovascular system to the joints.
There are countless diets and recipes to achieve it and some time ago it became fashionable the "Ulong" tea; I saw it with skepticism because I knew that there were more effective teas for this purpose, and then investigating I saw that there were studies about the infusions made with camellia sinensis (ie tea) of any kind (white, green, ulong, black and pu erh) that supported the fact that drinking tea makes our body burn more calories due to the flavonoids present in it.
On the other hand, it contains some caffeine, which is known to accelerate the burning of calories, as well as being diuretic, and as if that were not enough, other studies revealed that when you drink tea you do not absorb the same amount of fat that you eat (i.e., you eliminate it without absorbing it).
It is also a great way to increase our water intake, it is not a substitute for drinking water alone, but it does add fluids, did you know that we need more than the famous eight glasses of water a day? Generally women need 11.5 glasses of fluids a day (a formula to calculate this is to divide your weight in pounds in half and that is the amount of fluid ounces you should drink per day). Only 20% of the fluid we ingest is in food, the rest we should drink in the form of water, juices (not recommended for weight loss), coffee, tea or sports drinks. Energy drinks do not count since they do not replace electrolytes.
Here are some excerpts from publications that talk about the studies on tea in relation to weight loss:
"ARE YOU TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT? ANOTHER BENEFIT OF GREEN TEA "
Compared to a placebo and caffeine, consumption of a green tea extract produced a significant 4% increase in 24-hour energy intake. If you consume 2000 calories a day and do not gain or lose weight (i.e., you are in an energy balance) , an increase in your energy intake of 4% will translate into a difference of 80 calories a day. After one year, this can result in 40 kg of weight loss!!!!
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Nov 1999
"DRINKING TEA DAILY, BURNS EXTRA CALORIES."
In 1999 a Swiss study revealed that 6 out of 10 men who took green tea capsules burned an average of 80 extra calories a day, the equivalent of 3 scoops of ice cream, 7 potato chips or a donut. A second study, conducted by researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, found that an extra 67 calories were burned if 5 cups of black tea were drunk per day.
Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, June 2003
"RECENT STUDIES SHOW THAT IN THE BATTLE TO LOSE WEIGHT, GREEN TEA MAY BE BETTER THAN CAFFEINE ALONE."
According to a new study, green tea appears to speed up the burning of calories (including those from fat). Researchers suggest that compounds in green tea, called flavonoids, may change how the body uses a hormone called norepinephrine, which causes more calories to be burned.
Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness, April 2000
There are also studies of a specific type of tea, puerh, which has been drunk for centuries in China and is known for its purifying and detoxifying effects, thanks to fungi and yeasts that are generated naturally by leaving it in cellars. Another of its benefits is that it helps lower the levels of "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides thanks to an antioxidant present in it, lovastatin.
So no matter which one you prefer! If it is in your goals to lose weight and improve your health I invite you to drink at least 4 cups of tea a day, prepare it calmly, (those 5 minutes you take to prepare an authentic whole leaf tea will also help you lower your stress level and therefore the production of cortisol which in turn generates greater appetite for sugary or fatty foods and obviously this translates into accumulated fat in our body) so relax and enjoy every sip.
Here is my recommendation:
Tea in the morning: 1 cup of matcha to give you the energy you need to start the day and L'teanina to help you concentrate at work or school, or a black tea that will give you the punch to start the day but with much more calm than a coffee does. The caffeine in tea is "dosed" to enter your brain much slower than the caffeine in coffee.
Midday tea: 2 cups of flavored white tea (my favorite is peach orchid) sweetened with a little Stevia, will help you get to lunch without hunger, being diuretic you will go to the bathroom and eliminate toxins. Or green tea that will give you a little more stimulant and many antioxidants.
After-meal tea: 2 cups of pu erh to inhibit the absorption of fats from the meal and help your digestion, with a little caffeine to stay awake and energized for the rest of the afternoon (and avoid pork sickness! haha).
Tisane in the evening: 1 to 2 cups of a relaxing tisane (try moon milks or combinations with lemon balm, lavender, passionflower or valerian) since experts recommend not to drink caffeinated beverages after 6 pm (depending on how susceptible you are to this alkaloid, it may be even before 4 pm since the caffeine stimulus can last up to 8 hours).
Try drinking different teas at different times, and see how you feel, remember that every body is different.
Remember that restrictive diets only hurt you in the long term, it is proven that 80% of people who do these diets regain their weight after 2 years or less, so I recommend you to see a functional nutritionist to help you lose that excess weight gradually and healthy, to help you change your habits in a sustainable way so that weight loss is permanent and your habits change for the better.
I wish you a lot of health this 2024, after all, without it we cannot enjoy our life to the fullest.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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