Article 17: Tea Therapy for Weight Loss: The Correct Way to Drink Weight Loss Tea, Three Methods of Drinking Tea for Weight Loss, and Six Formulas of Traditional Chinese Medicine Tea Therapy

V. Tea Therapy for Weight Loss

Proper consumption of diet meals and slimming tea

When faced with tempting and trendy weight-loss foods and unsure which to choose, you might want to listen to the experts' analysis.

Weight loss meals: Nowadays, weight loss meals can be divided into meal replacements and supplementary meals according to their method of consumption.

Meal replacement products are weight loss foods that replace regular meals.

The methods of taking them vary, but what they have in common is that they cannot eat any regular meals other than the diet.

Generally speaking, you must chew your food thoroughly and slowly so that the enzymes in your saliva can work effectively.

At the same time, it gives the brain time to generate a satiety signal, stimulating the hypothalamus's satiety center to eliminate the feeling of hunger.

When blood sugar rises to a certain level, the saturation center sends a signal to stop eating.

Such as complete nutrition products and weight loss biscuits.

Supplementary foods refer to weight-loss foods that are added to regular meals, such as fiber products.

Slimming tea: Slimming tea is an ideal regular slimming product for women who are not very obese and do not have high expectations for weight loss results.

Brew a cup every day, just like drinking tea on a regular basis. It doesn't cost much and saves time and effort.

Generally speaking, the ingredients of slimming tea include traditional Chinese herbs such as cassia seed, honeysuckle, and Hangzhou white chrysanthemum. Most of them have the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. Long-term consumption is much safer for the body than quick and effective weight loss treatments.

However, most traditional Chinese medicines for weight loss have diuretic and laxative effects, and excessive consumption can cause diarrhea, or even collapse and shock.

Although weight-loss foods have many advantages such as being convenient to take, not affecting normal life, and having rapid effects, they still pose a potential risk of causing nutritional imbalances.

Therefore, you should never try to lose weight through food when you are under pressure from work or study. You should only try to lose weight through food when your life is at a stable pace.

Three methods for losing weight by drinking tea

Tea leaves are sweet and bitter in taste, slightly cold and non-toxic. They have the effects of clearing heat, promoting diuresis, resolving phlegm and aiding digestion.

The Compendium of Materia Medica for Diet Therapy states: "Consuming tea for a long time can make people thin and remove fat from the body."

Modern medicine believes that drinking tea not only promotes the metabolism of fat in the body, but also effectively increases the secretion of gastric juice and other digestive juices, helps digestion and promotes the conversion between fat and energy, ultimately achieving the goal of weight loss.

According to research by Japanese scholars, weight loss through tea consumption occurs through the following three mechanisms.

(1) Effects of caffeine

The caffeine in tea can combine with phosphate and pentose in the body to form adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the main substance in the human body that metabolizes fat into energy.

Caffeine also has the function of stimulating the central nervous system, which can increase the secretion of gastric juice and other digestive juices, thereby enhancing the stomach's absorption and conversion of fat.

(2) The compounds in tea, such as inositol, folic acid, and pantothenic acid, have the ability to regulate fat metabolism.

(3) The flavanols in tea have a special relaxing effect on the digestive tract, which can purify the microorganisms and other harmful substances in the digestive tract.

Flavanols also have a special purifying effect on the human stomach and liver. This not only helps with the digestion of fat, but also effectively prevents and treats the occurrence and development of digestive tract diseases, thereby enhancing the body's metabolism of fat and achieving the effect of fat reduction and weight loss.

Green tea is recommended for weight loss. Below are three weight loss tea recipes based on green tea, which obese individuals may wish to try.

(1) 15 grams of dried gourd and 3 grams of tea leaves are ground into coarse powder and brewed with boiling water as a tea substitute. This can promote diuresis and lower lipids and is suitable for patients with hyperlipidemia and obesity.

(2) Equal parts of hawthorn, malt, tangerine peel, poria cocos, alisma plantago-aquatica, medicated leaven, prunella vulgaris, red adzuki bean, radish seed, cassia seed, and agastache rugosa are ground into a fine powder. Take 6-12 grams each time and brew with boiling water as a tea. It has the effects of diuresis, dampness removal, lipid reduction, stress reduction, and weight loss.

(3) Take 3 grams of oolong tea, 18 grams of sophora japonica fruit, 30 grams of Polygonum multiflorum, 18 grams of winter melon peel, and 15 grams of hawthorn flesh. Decoction the last four herbs together and remove the dregs. Use the decoction to brew oolong tea. It has the effects of weight loss and lowering blood lipids.

What are some Chinese herbal tea therapies for weight loss?

(1) Bodybuilding Tea Recipe No. I~VI

Formula I: 7 grams each of hawthorn, alisma, radish seed, malt, medicated leaven, prunella vulgaris, dried tangerine peel, stir-fried fennel seeds, cassia seed, poria cocos, red adzuki bean, patchouli, and tea.

It has the effect of eliminating stagnation and promoting diuresis.

Suitable for recently obese individuals whose diet, bowel movements, and sleep are all normal.

Formula No. II: 10 grams each of raw Polygonum multiflorum, Prunella vulgaris, hawthorn, Alisma plantago-aquatica, abalone shell, radish seed, and tea.

It has the effects of calming the liver and extinguishing wind, regulating qi and resolving dampness.

Suitable for obese individuals with liver yang hyperactivity and irritability.

Formula No. III: 10 grams each of Atractylodes lancea, Alisma plantago-aquatica, Poria cocos, Plantago asiatica, Polyporus umbellatus, Stephania tetrandra, and tea leaves.

It has the effects of strengthening the spleen, drying dampness, promoting diuresis, and reducing swelling.

Suitable for obese individuals with lower limb edema.

Formula IV: 20 grams each of rhubarb, immature bitter orange, atractylodes macrocephala, licorice, and tea.

It has the effect of relieving indigestion and promoting bowel movements.

Suitable for obese individuals with constipation.

Formula V: 5 grams each of prepared Pinellia ternata, Poria cocos, dried tangerine peel, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Citrus aurantium, Areca catechu peel, winter melon peel, prepared Cyperus rotundus, stir-fried Alisma plantago-aquatica, Plantago asiatica, stir-fried Atractylodes macrocephala, Artemisia capillaris, and tea.

It has the effect of strengthening the spleen and removing dampness.

Suitable for obese individuals who have no discomfort and are otherwise healthy.

Formula VI: 40 grams of hawthorn plus Formula I.

It has the effects of softening blood vessels and lowering lipids.

Suitable for obese individuals with elevated triglycerides.

Each of the above six prescriptions should be ground into a fine powder.

Regardless of which prescription is chosen, it should be divided into 7 portions, with 1 portion to be taken daily.

(2) Lotus leaf slimming tea.

Take 5 grams of fresh lotus leaves, 5 grams of hawthorn, and 3 grams of raw Job's tears, and drink the decoction with boiling water.

It has the effects of aiding digestion, relieving stagnation, reducing lipids, and promoting weight loss.

Suitable for hyperlipidemia and obesity.

(3) Cassia Seed Tea.

Steep 6 grams of cassia seed and 6 grams of tea leaves in boiling water and drink like tea. This is suitable for patients with constipation and dry mouth.

(4) Seaweed and Polygonum cuspidatum drink.

Boil 4 grams of seaweed, 6 grams of Japanese knotweed, and 6 grams of dried tangerine peel in an appropriate amount of water to extract the juice and drink it.

Take once or twice daily.

(5) Hawthorn and cattail pollen drink.

Take 10 grams of hawthorn, 6 grams of Solomon's seal rhizome, and 3 grams of cattail pollen. Boil the first two ingredients in water for 20 minutes, then add the cattail pollen, stir well, and drink the liquid.

Suitable for patients with coronary heart disease.

Take 1 to 2 times daily.

(6) Celery drink.

Take an appropriate amount of fresh celery with roots and leaves removed, wash it, blanch it with boiling water, mash it, squeeze out the juice, and drink it.

Take 1 to 2 times daily.

Suitable for patients with red, swollen, and painful eyes, dizziness, headaches, and high blood pressure.

(7) Goji Berry Drink.

Take 10 grams of wolfberry, 10 grams of Polygonum multiflorum, 10 grams of Alisma plantago-aquatica, and 10 grams of dried tangerine peel. Add an appropriate amount of water and decoct to obtain 200 ml. Take in two divided doses.

Suitable for patients with yin deficiency, such as those experiencing lower back pain, dry throat, and flushed cheeks.

Oolong tea

The popularity of oolong tea is entirely due to its fat-dissolving and weight-loss effects, and this claim does indeed have a scientific basis.

Because the main component of tea-tannins-has been shown to be closely related to fat metabolism, and experimental results have also confirmed that oolong tea can indeed lower cholesterol levels in the blood, making it a truly rare and excellent weight-loss tea.

As everyone knows, oolong tea is a representative of Chinese tea. It is a semi-fermented tea, and its characteristic is its transparent amber-colored tea liquor.

However, oolong tea is just a general term; it can be further subdivided into many different categories of tea.

For example, there are various types of tea such as daffodils, white peonies, and Tieguanyin tea, which is suitable for pairing with seafood. You can choose from a wide variety of options.

Experiments have shown that drinking one liter of oolong tea daily can inhibit the rise of cholesterol.

While the amount consumed should be determined according to each person's physical condition, it is best to pair oolong tea with oily food, as it not only provides a feeling of fullness but also helps to remove the greasiness.