Can Drinking Tea Help with Weight Loss ?
… what does the science say
Answer : Tea it is not a stand-alone weight-loss solution, however there are other benefits and considerations.
Persuasive online marketing is promoting brands of Latin American teas promising miraculous weight loss claims. I thought I would share what is current science and considerations, particularly if you are consuming large tea quantities.
I have also summarised the following research paper. This review (Guizhou Province Education Department, 2023) looked at the ways tea from the Camellia sinensis plant (green, oolong, black, dark) might help prevent weight gain. .
Review of Tea Polyphenols and Their Weight-Loss Mechanisms: Enzyme Inhibition, Gut Microbiota, and Short-Chain Fatty Acid Hypothesis. Supported by the Research and Innovation Team Foundation of Guizhou Province Education Department (2023).
I am a fan of the medicinal and calming benefits of tea and drink it regularly. I am very fortunate to work with a wonderful tea master when I visit “Kamalaya” Wellness sanitary in Thailand. San Boa teaches with passion about the medicinal and calming benefits of teas. We sample and experience quality Oolong teas grown at various altitudes across Asia. It’s a real treat.
Meet San Bao - Monk tea master at “Kamalaya” Wellness Thailand.
Please consider that NO tea is beneficial if it is pesticide laden
…..so whichever your brew, it must be organic. Organic teas gladly are now readily available in major supermarket chains.
So How Does Tea Support Weight Loss?
Blocking Fat and Sugar Absorption
Compounds in tea (catechins in green tea, theaflavins in black tea, and others in oolong and dark teas) can inhibit digestive enzymes like lipase and amylase.
This means the body absorbs fewer fats and sugars, reducing calorie intake.
2. Supporting Gut Health and SCFA Production
When carbohydrates remain undigested, they interact with gut bacteria.
This process produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which help regulate metabolism and activate AMPK, a key energy-sensing enzyme that promotes fat burning and some longevity pathways.
Fermented teas (oolong, black, dark) seem especially effective at promoting SCFA production.
3. Balancing Gut Microbiota
Tea polyphenols can shift the balance of gut bacteria, lower “obesity-linked” species (like Firmicutes) and increasing “lean-associated” ones (like Bacteroidetes).
This healthier microbiome profile is linked to reduced fat storage and improved metabolism.
4. Enhancing Fat Burning (Lipolysis) and Reducing Fat Storage (Lipogenesis)
By activating AMPK, teas increase the breakdown of stored fat and reduce the body’s tendency to make new fat cells.
Fermented teas may produce special compounds during processing (e.g., theaflavins, O-methylated catechins) that are particularly powerful in this process.
Good Liver function is crucial when consuming herbal brews
As with any substance, too much of anything that does not suit your genetics or your metabolism is not beneficial.
I have first hand experience of co-ordinating an urgent Liver transplant for a 42 year old Chinese patient who had developed acute and fulminant liver failure for unknown reasons. We eventually demonstrated he experienced a serious and near fatal hepatic reaction to excessive herbal brews.
There are many reports of individuals developing liver injury from excessive consumption of tea extracts, hence regular liver function monitoring by your primary care provider is recommended.
Broadly, if you are consuming nutraceuticals, I recommend your liver function is checked at least annually.
This is an easy blood test analysing levels of the major liver transaminase and enzymes for healthy hepatocyte function and detox capacity.
Remember, we all possess differing genetic variants which give us pre dispositions and capacity for clearing waste products with safety.
Why Results Differ Between People
Not everyone experiences the same benefits from tea.
The research highlights:
Different teas work in different ways. Green, oolong, black, and dark (fermented) teas all contain natural compounds that may support weight management.
It’s not just about antioxidants. Weight loss benefits appear to be linked more to how tea impacts digestion and gut health than simply to antioxidant effects.
Tea and gut microbiota work together. Undigested carbohydrates from tea interact with gut bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which can boost metabolism and help the body burn fat.
Fermented teas may be just as effective, or even more so, than green tea. Oolong and black tea appear to activate fat-burning pathways strongly, sometimes outperforming green tea.
Results vary between people. Factors such as genetics, ethnicity, caffeine tolerance, gut microbiome balance, and diet all influence whether tea helps with weight loss.
Having a well-balanced microbiome with healthy species, significantly supports healthy weight management. A healthier microbiome profile is linked to reduced fat storage and improved metabolism.
My Sustainable weight management plan requires combination therapy with the tea;
Victoria’s key pillars:
Healthy biome , appropriate fibres suitable for you (there are many and commonly used ones can upset some people), personalised food coaching, species optimisation, calm and optimise gut based IgG (immunity), healthy endogenous production of GLP-1 peptide.
Stress identification and management, reduction in your specific triggers, food sensitivity knowledge, emotions.
Toxic burden knowledge and reduction, artificial sweeteners, antacids, food additives, BPA, PCBs, personal care, air pollutants.
Sleep quality cortisol / melatonin balance, HPA axis regulation., healthy nutritional co-factors.
Relationship quality, healthy self-talk, purpose, belonging, pride.
Movement
Nature and for many, pets.
References
Review of Tea Polyphenols and Their Weight-Loss Mechanisms: Enzyme Inhibition, Gut Microbiota, and Short-Chain Fatty Acid Hypothesis. Supported by the Research and Innovation Team Foundation of Guizhou Province Education Department (2023).
Yang, C.S.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Huang, J.; Wang, Y. Mechanisms of body weight reduction and metabolic syndrome alleviation by tea. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2015, 60, 160–174.
Henning, S.M.; Yang, J.; Hsu, M.; Lee, R.; Grojean, E.M.; Ly, A.; Li, Z. Decaffeinated green and black tea polyphenols decrease weight gain and alter microbiome populations and function in diet-induced obese mice. Eur. J. Nutr. 2017, 1–11.
Jobu, K.; Yokota, J.; Yoshioka, S.; Moriyama, H.; Murata, S.; Ohishi, M.; Miyamura, M. Effects of Goishi tea on diet-induced obesity in mice. Food Res. Int. 2013, 54, 324–329.
Welker, T.L.; Wan, X.; Zhou, Y.; Yang, Y.; Overturf, K.; Barrows, F.; Liu, K. Effect of dietary green tea supplementation on growth, fat content, and muscle fatty acid profile of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquac. Int. 2016, 25, 1073–1094.
Kayashima, Y.; Murata, S.; Sato, M.; Matsuura, K.; Asanuma, T.; Chimoto, J.; Yamakawa-Kobayashi, K. Tea polyphenols ameliorate fat storage induced by high-fat diet in Drosophila melanogaster. Biochem. Biophys. Rep. 2015, 4, 417–424.
Sae-Tan, S.; Grove, K.A.; Kennett, M.J.; Lambert, J.D. (−)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate increases the expression of genes related to fat oxidation in the skeletal muscle of high fat-fed mice. Food Funct. 2011, 2, 111–116.
Cheng, M.; Zhang, X.; Miao, Y.; Cao, J.; Wu, Z.; Weng, P. The modulatory effect of (−)-epigallocatechin 3-O-(3-O-methyl) gallate (EGCG3″Me) on intestinal microbiota of high fat diet-induced obesity mice model. Food Res. Int. 2017, 92, 9–16.
Yamashita, Y.; Wang, L.; Wang, L.; Tanaka, Y.; Zhang, T.; Ashida, H. Oolong, black and pu-erh tea suppresses adiposity in mice via activation of AMP-activated protein kinase. Food Funct. 2014, 5, 2420–2429.
Raso, R.A.; Paim, R.R.; Pinheiro, S.V.; Júnior, W.C.; Vasconcellos, L.D.; Alberti, L.R. Effects of chronic consumption of green tea on weight and body fat distribution of Wistar rats evaluated by computed tomography. Acta Cir. Bras. 2017, 32, 342–349.
Lee, M.; Shin, Y.; Jung, S.; Kim, Y. Effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate on thermogenesis and mitochondrial biogenesis in brown adipose tissues of diet-induced obese mice. Food Nutr. Res. 2017, 61, 1325307.
Yang, C.S.; Wang, H.; Sheridan, Z.P. Studies on prevention of obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer by tea. J. Food Drug Anal. 2018, 26, 1–13.
Hursel, R.; Viechtbauer, W.; Westerterp-Plantenga, M. Effects of green tea on weight loss and weight maintenance. A meta-analysis. Appetite 2009, 52, 838.