Rooibos Tea For Weight Loss – Benefits And How To Prepare It.
Charushila is an ISSA certified Fitness Nutritionist and a Physical Exercise Therapist. Over a span of 6 years, she has authored more than 400 articles on diet, lifestyle, exercises, healthy food, and fitness equipment. She strives to inform, educate, and motivate her readers via authentic, straightforward, and fact-checked information.
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Rooibos (ROY-boss) tea is known for its countless medicinal benefits – weight loss being one of them. It gained popularity due to its natural sweetness, unique color, and great taste. According to the South African Rooibos Council, the tea is caffeine-free, loaded with antioxidants, helps protect the heart, liver, and brain, and may fight cancer (1). In this article, we will discuss in detail how rooibos tea for weight loss actually shows results, how to brew it, how many cups to consume per day, and much more. Read on.
Rooibos Tea For Weight Loss – 10 Ways
Rooibos tea or red tea is an herbal tea made from the needle-like leaves and thin stems of a South African bushy plant Aspalathus linearis. For thousands of years, it has been used as a natural remedy for various health problems. Now, scientists have put rooibos tea to test and identified a few key properties that contribute to its weight loss aiding property. Here is why you may drink rooibos tea to lose weight.
1. Low In Calories
The first and primary reason rooibos tea is great for losing weight is that it is low in calories. A cup of rooibos tea provides 0-2 calories, depending on the brand. This is way less than the calorific content of tea or coffee with milk and sugar. So, basically, when you drink rooibos tea, you consume fewer calories, thereby reducing the chances of the extra calories being stored as fat.
2. Naturally Sweet
Rooibos tea is naturally sweet. This prevents you from adding refined sugar or aspartame to sweeten your tea. It is best that you drink rooibos tea in its naturally brewed form without adding any artificial sweeteners to keep its weight loss properties intact.
3. Antioxidant-Rich
This tea is loaded with aspalathin and nothofagin, which are antioxidants. They help scavenge the harmful free oxygen radicals that tend to damage the DNA and hinder normal cell functions. The flavonoids in rooibos tea protect the DNA by preventing the splicing of the DNA strands (2). However, the antioxidant levels of the tea depend on the region it was grown, the fermentation process, brewing technique, etc.
4. Reduces Oxidative Stress
An increased and continuous state of oxidative stress can lead to fat accumulation, especially in the belly region. Drinking rooibos tea can help reduce the oxidative stress levels, thereby aiding weight loss (3). This also helps protect the brain from oxidative damage (4).
[ Read: Acerola For Oxidative Stress ]
5. Anti-Inflammatory
Scientists have found that aspalathin and nothofagin, the two major antioxidants found in rooibos tea, have anti-inflammatory properties. Researchers found that they blocked the inflammation precursors, which prevented a full-blown inflammatory response (5). In another study, scientists found that supplementing lab rats with rooibos tea helped lower DNA damage and inflammation (6). We are well aware that inflammation for a prolonged period can lead to inflammation-induced obesity. Drinking rooibos tea can help prevent this.
6. Regulates Blood Sugar
High blood sugar is a condition where your body is either not producing enough insulin or has become insulin resistant. In this case, the body is not able to use up the circulating glucose as energy. As a result, there is a spike in the glucose levels, leading to diabetes. A study published in Phytomedicine (2009) stated that treating diabetic type 2 mice with aspalathin significantly increased glucose uptake and insulin secretion, lowered blood glucose levels, and made the mice insulin sensitive (7). So, rooibos tea can help prevent type 2 diabetes, the early symptom or sign of which is weight gain.
7. Improves Lipid Profile
If you want to be healthy, you need to have a normal lipid profile. The higher the triglyceride levels, the more you are at the risk of disrupted body functions, inflammation, weight gain, and heart attack/stroke. Drinking rooibos tea, which is loaded with antioxidants, can help improve the lipid profile (8).
8. Reduces Blood Cholesterol
Cholesterol is of two types – good (HDL cholesterol) and bad (LDL cholesterol). LDL cholesterol is bad because it forms plaque or gets deposited on the walls of arteries, leading to narrowing of the artery passages. This, in turn, restricts blood flow and puts your heart health at risk. Drinking rooibos tea helps lower the LDL cholesterol levels, which improves metabolism. Scientists also found that drinking rooibos tea can help improve the HDL cholesterol levels (9).
9. Prevents Metabolic Diseases
Metabolic diseases have crippled a majority of the world’s population. Rooibos tea can help lower triglyceride and LDL levels, improve HDL levels, lower blood sugar, and prevent obesity, which are usually the precursors of metabolic diseases. Hence, drinking rooibos tea regularly can prevent you from falling prey to these fatal diseases.
10. Improves Sleep
Rooibos tea can help improve your sleep quality. It does so by reducing the oxidative stress and inflammation in your body. This helps your brain and body cells function better. And when you get better rest and sleep, you will lose weight naturally.
[ Read: 27 Benefits Of Rooibos Tea For Your Health ]
These are the 10 reasons you should choose rooibos tea for weight loss. Now, let me tell you about the correct way of brewing it.
How To Brew Rooibos Tea For Weight Loss
Brewing rooibos tea is easy, but you should know the correct method to do it. Here’s how you should go about it.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon of rooibos tea leaves
- 1 cup of water
How To Prepare
- Bring a cup of water to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down for a minute.
- Add the rooibos tea leaves and steep for 3 minutes.
- Strain the tea before drinking.
There you have it – a yummy cup of rooibos tea. But did you know you can add other weight loss promoting ingredients to it to enhance its benefits? Well, let me share some delicious rooibos tea recipes with you.
Rooibos Tea For Weight Loss – Recipes
Adding a few natural ingredients to your cup of rooibos tea will accelerate the weight loss process and benefit your overall health. Here are a few recipes.1.
1. Rooibos Tea And Lemon
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon of rooibos tea leaves
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
How To Prepare
- Bring a cup of water to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down for a minute.
- Add the rooibos tea leaves and steep for 3 minutes.
- Strain the tea into a cup.
- Add the lemon juice and stir well. Your tea is ready!
Benefits
Lemon juice fortifies the tea with vitamin C, which builds immunity. It also enhances the taste and flavor of the tea.
2. Rooibos Tea And Mint
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon of rooibos tea leaves
- 1 cup of water
- 5 mint leaves
How To Prepare
- Bring a cup of water to a boil.
- Add the mint leaves to it and let it boil for 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down for a minute.
- Add the rooibos tea leaves and steep for 3 minutes.
- Strain the tea into a cup and sip!
Benefits
Adding mint leaves to you rooibos tea will have a cooling effect and help improve digestion.
3. Rooibos Tea And Cinnamon
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon of rooibos tea leaves
- 1 cup of water
- 1 inch of Ceylon cinnamon
How To Prepare
- Boil a cup of water.
- Add the cinnamon stick to it and boil for 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down for a minute.
- Add the rooibos tea leaves and steep for 3 minutes.
- Strain the tea into a cup before drinking.
Benefits
Ceylon cinnamon is known for promoting weight loss. It boosts your metabolism and enhances the flavor of the tea.
You can also add other natural weight loss ingredients that have worked for you previously to the tea. The next question is, is rooibos tea better than coffee or green tea for weight loss? Let’s find out.
Is Rooibos Tea Better Than Green Tea Or Coffee?
Rooibos tea is, hands down, the best option if you are not a fan of caffeine. It contains no caffeine and is naturally sweet. So, if you are new to trying weight loss-promoting natural drinks, rooibos tea is your best bet. You do not have to add artificial sweeteners to it. Moreover, coffee makes it difficult for you to fall asleep, whereas rooibos tea helps promote better sleep. Green tea is healthy and good for you, but its taste can put you off. So, yes, rooibos tea is a better option.
Now, the next big question is, which variety of rooibos tea is better? Here’s what you need to know.
Which Is Better – Fermented Or Unfermented Rooibos Tea?
Fermented rooibos tea is red, and the unfermented or unoxidized variety is green. Of the both, fermented rooibos tea contains fewer antioxidants. However, you can drink both to lose weight. The fermented variety is widely available and is therefore used more for losing weight.
Well, you know how to prepare rooibos tea for weight loss, but you aren’t aware how many times you should drink it to lose weight. Let’s look into it.
How Many Cups Of Rooibos Tea Per Day Will Aid Weight Loss?
Scientists have found that drinking 6 cups of rooibos tea per day can help you lose weight. Have it 20 minutes before every meal. You will feel less hungry, which will make you consume fewer calories, and you will slowly start to lose weight.
By drinking rooibos tea several times a day, you will improve your health in the following ways.
Other Benefits Of Rooibos Tea
- Treats headache.
- Helps treat nausea.
- Improves bone strength.
- Fights cancer.
- Helps reduce pain and swelling.
- Reduces sinusitis pain.
- Improves heart health.
- Prevents kidney stones.
- Reduces muscle spasms.
- Treats allergies.
- Improves skin health.
- Delays aging.
[ Read: 10 Amazing Benefits Of Rooibos For Skin, Hair And Health ]
Before we conclude, let’s take a look at the precautions you must take.
Precautions
Avoid rooibos tea if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Talk to your doctor or dietitian before incorporating rooibos tea into your diet.
Remember, nothing will work unless you make it work. Eat well, in the right portions, at the right time, and workout regularly. Rooibos tea is definitely a wonder drink that promotes weight loss. So, get your pack of rooibos today and start leading a healthier life. Cheers!
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