Another interesting read, The Ultimate TEA Diet: How Tea Can Boost Your Metabolism, Shrink Your Appetite, and Kick-Start Remarkable Weight Loss, has kept me mesmerized the past couple of days.
The most interesting tidbit I gleaned from this book is that tea contains an ingredient coffee does not, l-theanine, that moderates the effects of caffeine. That is why a nice, hot cuppa is both energizing and relaxing, good for any occasion whether happy or sad, stressful or relaxing.
Although I would not consider following this weight loss diet per se (some of the recipes are truly odd), I think drinking tea throughout the day does help reduce appetite. This appetite reduction is due to the combined stimulating effect of the following three ingredients:
1. Caffeine;
2. L-theanine (which limits the negative effects of caffeine);
3. EGCG, a type of catechin or polyphenol (antioxidant), which causes you to burn fat faster and more efficiently, stimulating your metabolism.
Here is another little known fact that can save you some money as well – you can reuse your tea leaves over and over during the day and after the first cup, there will be very little or no caffeine left, so you can enjoy it all day long.
Another new idea for me was that you can make your own flavored teas by adding chunks of chocolate or vanilla extract, for example, to enhance the taste. The author calls these “craving” teas and suggests these additions as a substitute for eating a whole chocolate bar.
The best way to make tea is with leaves rather than bags, although I use both, depending on where I shop, since some stores only carry bags.
I like to use almond milk (usually the unsweetened version) in my Earl Grey!