Flat tummy teas are the closest thing Mother Nature has to a magic weight-loss potion. Unfortunately, that doesn’t let you off the hook as far as exercise and a healthy diet are concerned. Rather, herbal teas can be used in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle to make your weight loss journey easier and more effective.
What are Flat Tummy Teas?
Flat tummy tea features a selection of herbs specially chosen for their weight loss properties. These include suppressing appetite, aiding digestion, reducing bloating, burning fat, boosting metabolism, reducing water weight, or any combination of these.
Metabolism is the way the body uses available calories for energy. Green tea is one of the more well-known teas for boosting metabolism, among its other health benefits. In fact, it can improve metabolism by up to 4%. Matcha tea, ginger tea, and oolong tea are other teas that work by increasing metabolism.
Appetite suppression helps us to lose weight as it takes away the little cravings we get throughout the day for snacks – usually unhealthy ones. The galactomannan in fennel seed tea is known to suppress appetite by making you feel sated for longer than usual after a meal. Rooibos, ginseng tea, mint tea, and peppermint tea are other teas that vanquish those nasty cravings.
Burning fat. Sounds good, doesn’t it? An antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in green tea inhibits the enzyme that breaks down a hormone called norepinephrine. When this happens, levels of norepinephrine increase and more fat is broken down. Barberry tea, ginseng tea and oolong tea have similar fat-burning properties.
Teas such as bilberry, hibiscus and fenugreek seed help with issues such as bloating and water retention. Sipping these teas regularly helps to flush out the excess water, as well as harmful toxins. Teas that act as a diuretic have the added advantage of helping to clear up skin conditions. So, it’s a double win!
Finally, there are teas that aid digestion. The two main reasons that improved digestion helps with weight loss is that the faster food moves through you, the less chance there is for the body to absorb more than it needs, storing the excess as fat. Secondly, digestion issues often create inflammation, which has been linked to weight gain and obesity. Herbal teas that aid digestion and have some weight-loss benefits include peppermint tea, ginger tea, marshmallow root tea and dandelion tea.
The best time to drink a flat tummy tea.
You can never go wrong drinking herbal tea first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This gives the body a chance to absorb healthy nutrients before adding food to your stomach. However, some people experience an upset stomach if they do this. If you are one of these people, drink the tea before you go to bed – unless it contains caffeine or is a strong diuretic.
As herbal teas are best drunk 2 or 3 times throughout the day, every day, another great time to consume them is shortly after a meal. Give the body a few minutes to deal with the meal you have just eaten and then follow it with herbal tea, especially those that aid the digestive system.
Green tea and matcha tea are especially effective if taken 30 minutes before intensive exercise. They help the body to burn more fat and provide it with more energy to go longer and harder.
Conclusion
Trying to incorporate healthy herbal teas into your daily diet is not difficult. Throw away your coffee and exchange it for something that is going to benefit you more. And there are plenty of tummy teas to choose from.
