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Move over coffee and energy drinks — with their wealth of antioxidants and nutrients, tea is nature’s gift that keeps on giving.
Whether you are trying to lose weight, reduce stubborn belly fat, or just maintain your weight and improve your health, various tea types can help by providing health benefits that range from boosting your metabolism to promoting better sleep, which, in turn, helps regulate your metabolism.
It’s important to remember that most teas still contain caffeine, so be careful when you pick and choose the teas you drink at night or your cup could wind up keeping you up. This is the one caffeine-free tea you should have right before bed if you want a flat stomach:
Chamomile Tea
Fat just loves to accumulate around the midsection and this type of visceral fat (as it’s called) is one of the most difficult to lose. Crunches and planks will help, of course, but a better plan involves eating a diet of whole foods, including fat-burning cardio in your workout, finding ways to reduce stress in your life, and making sure you get a quality seven to nine hours of solid sleep each and every night.
And that’s where chamomile tea comes in.
Two of the best teas to drink at night are chamomile and peppermint teas, neither of which contain caffeine that will keep you up. Both teas relax your gastrointestinal muscles and relieve gas and upset stomach, registered dietitian Keri Gans, author of The Small Change Diet, told Health.com.
“Peppermint tea can help reduce bloating, which can make your stomach look flatter,” says Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD. “And chamomile may help improve sleep—and too little sleep has been linked to an increase in belly fat.”
Chamomile is an ancient medicinal herb. Chamomile tea is made from dried chamomile flowers that contain plenty of antioxidant flavonoids that can combat free radicals responsible for damaging cells in your body. According to studies, chamomile tea reduces inflammation in the body and can help soothe gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders. Chronic inflammation has been linked to a multitude of diseases like Type 2 Diabetes and cancer, but it’s also a culprit behind obesity and belly fat. The more effective your body is at fighting inflammation (with help from healthy foods and teas like chamomile), the better for your health and your body’s ability to burn belly fat.
The power of sleep to regulate your metabolism cannot be understated. In one study, ten cardiac patients were reported to have immediately fallen into a deep sleep lasting for 90 minutes after drinking chamomile tea. In another study, simply inhaling the vapor of chamomile oil reduced a stress-induced increase in plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels.
Bottom line: your anxiety is keeping you up at night, a cup of chamomile can help you get to sleep faster.
As if helping you sleep and de-stress isn’t enough, chamomile’s health benefits don’t stop there. In one study, 64 diabetics with Type 2 Diabetes were broken up into groups, with some given chamomile tea each day. Those who consumed the tea with meals experienced lower blood sugar levels than those who drank water. There’s also evidence that drinking chamomile can prevent blood sugar spikes after meals.
More evidence may be needed, but in the meantime, it can’t hurt to brew a cup of chamomile and sip it after dinner.
Most teas, including black and even green teas, contain far too much caffeine to drink them with confidence before bedtime (unless you want to be up for hours). A naturally caffeine-free chamomile improves digestion, eases anxiety, and promotes sleep, thanks to an antioxidant called apigenin. Enjoy a cup or two daily and experience the sedative effect of chamomile, which has another added benefit: helping you lost weight and reduce belly fat.
