White tea can be helpful for losing weight only when coupled with a healthy diet and fitness regime.
White tea can be helpful in losing weight
HIGHLIGHTS
- White tea is less processed than green or black tea
- White tea has lesser caffeine
- White tea can improve digestion in the body
We have heard of green tea and black tea. But there is also a third kind of tea - white tea, which can help you lose weight. White tea is derived from the same plant which gives us green and black tea. It is the Camellia Sinensis plant which gives us our very favourite teas. White tea however, is prepared from the still young buds and very young leaves of the plant. Brewing tea at this stage means very less processing. This makes white retain more nutrients than green or black tea.
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We ask clinical nutritionist Dr Rupali Datta about white tea for weight loss. She says, "White tea too is prepared like an infusion, just the way you prepare your green tea. It comes from the same tea plant. Since white tea is prepared with minimum processing, it retains most of the nutrients, as compared to green and black tea."
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Tea is rich in anti-oxidants and this is the reason it has a great influence on your health. When it comes to weight loss, drinking tea can help the process of weight loss but only when it is combined with a healthy diet and exercise regime.
"There are no foods or beverages that can help you lose weight as far as you're overeating and not exercising. If you think that drinking only white tea will help you lose weight, then that is definitely not the case. But what happens with white tea is that you're having hot water with a little flavour of tea and its antioxidants. Drinking lukewarm water after eating helps in digestion. This is something which is even recommend by Ayurveda," says Dr Rupali.
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Anything that improves your digestion will definitely help you lose weight. Secondly, if you replacing your regular dudh vali chai and its sugar, with white tea, you are cutting down on your calorie intake significantly.
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"That is how white tea can help in weight loss. People who follow it regularly as part of their weight loss program should have 3 cups of white tea every day. But this will be helpful only in addition to a fitness and diet regimen. If you think that drinking white tea alone will help you lose weight, the chances are very less likely," she adds.
Just like numerous variants of green tea and black tea are available in the market, white tea too is available, but in a little upscale grocery stores.
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Following are other health benefits of drinking white tea for weight loss
1. White tea can help in improving your heart health. Not only does it reduce cholesterol, it also helps in regulating blood pressure. These functions help in keeping cardiovascular diseases at bay.
2. Antioxidant properties in white tea make it an effective anti-ageing remedy. This is because of the content of polyphenols and catechins in white tea. These antioxidants help in fighting free radicals in the body and also improve the body's immunity. It rejuvenates the skin and protects the skin from damage when exposed to harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun.
3. As mentioned above, white tea improves digestion by improving effectiveness of intestinal transition and easily digesting fatty foods.
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4. White tea also acts as an effective antibiotic and stimulant. It improves mental performance while reducing fatigue. Since it has very less caffeine, there are no side effects of white tea on sleep.
(Dr Rupali Datta is a clinical nutritionist at Fortis Escorts)
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
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