Are all teas equal in weight loss?

The study results tend to divide the teas into two groups:

• fermented or patricianly fermented teas, such as pu-erh and Oolong tea
• unfermented tea – green tea.

There is some indication that the fermented teas are more effective than green tea at reducing body fat. Hoever the evidence is not strong.

There are also Chinese empirical notions as follow:

• green tea is effective at reducing blood sugar level. It is commonly used in areas where the diet is sweet and climate is humid.
• Oolong or Pu-erh tea on the other hand are more effective at reducing body fat. For example, Pu-erh is widely consumed in areas like Tibet, where the local diet contains high level of rich meat (horse or lamb) and dairy products.

Sugar and fat are both energy supplies for the human body. They convert into each other depending on the body energy requirement level. When supply exceeds consumption, fat builds up. However when it comes to energy mobilization, sugar resolves to energy much faster than fat.

Although all teas interwork with the body's energy consumption/storage, they somehow work from slightly different angles.

The general opinion of health professionals in this area is that there is more overlap than differences. Tea consumption therefore should be encouraged as a functional health food, including weight management.

Apart from Camellia Sinesis teas, there are also herbs, especially combination of herbs that have also been recorded in Chinese medicine to have potent weight reducing effects. For example, lotus leaf tea has been recorded as:

"The lotus leaf, mixed with common tea leaves and made into tea, is a potent concoction for preventing heatstroke, lowering blood lipid levels and treating obesity." [Chinese Medicine]

To find out more about lotus leaf herbal tea, please go to: Natural Shape – Lotus leaf herbal tea.