Amid today’s obesity epidemic, many seek ways to shed unwanted pounds other than dieting. What if simply drinking tea could help? Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers four teas and one powder, called lotus leaf ash, that are all said to help eliminate fluid retention and cellulite and help people lose weight.
TCM holds that “phlegm dampness” is the main cause of obesity. Both phlegm and dampness come from excessive waste accumulated due to imbalances in the internal organs and conditions such as hyperlipidemia (excess lipids) and hyperglycemia (excess glucose). Therefore, TCM treats obesity by first regulating the internal organs to expel excess substances and toxins from the body.
Recipes for Body Slimming Teas
1. Oil Removal and Cellulite-Reducing Tea to Trim Waist and Abdominal Flab
If you have what is called an “apple-shaped” figure, meaning you tend to carry weight around your waist, this tea might be for you. It incorporates cassia seeds, hawthorn, and tangerine peel as the main ingredients.According to TCM theory, when “dampness” invades the body, it can cause organ dysfunction, resulting in excess water being retained by the body, causing edema and other conditions.
Hawthorn can promote fat decomposition, eliminate food stagnation, and lower blood lipids.
To Make the Tea:
In a filter tea bag add:- 15 grams of cassia seeds (adjust the dosage according to the health of bowel movements)
- 4 grams each of hawthorn and tangerine peel
Halfway through drinking, you can top off the cup with hot water once again. Continue doing this throughout the day until the herbs completely lose their taste.
Suggestion: You can make use of the steeping time to do 10 minutes of exercise to increase the effect of fat elimination.
2. A Drink to Remove Swelling and Promote Slimming: Improve Lower Body Obesity
For those with a “pear-shaped” figure, that is, tending to carry weight around the hips and lower half, this drink may help remove swelling and promote a slimming effect. Its main ingredients are Poria cocos fungus, Codonopsis pilosula (dangshen), and pink rose.Poria cocos can strengthen the spleen, remove dampness, and eliminate edema.
To Make the Drink
In a filter tea bag add:- 12 grams of Poria cocos
- 3 grams of Codonopsis pilosula
- 4 to 6 pink
Again, while it steeps, why not add in some light exercises, such as squatting to exercise the gluteal, leg, and abdominal muscles? Squats mobilize muscles throughout the legs and torso and can effectively help overweight people burn fat and reduce retained fluid in the lower body.
3. Blood-Nourishing and Fat-Reducing Tea: Removes Waste from Blood Vessels
You can embark on a healthy weight loss regime and also take care of cardiovascular health at the same time with this blood-nourishing and fat-reducing tea. Its main ingredients are hawthorn, Panax notoginseng, rose flower, and chrysanthemum.Panax notoginseng can enhance blood circulation and remove blood stasis, help to remove fat from the body, and help remove long-standing phlegm and phlegm dampness.
Roses can nourish liver qi.
Chrysanthemum can clear the liver, improve eyesight, and help burn fat at the same time.
To Make the Tea
- 10 grams of hawthorn (washed)
- 3 grams of Panax notoginseng (Chinese ginseng)
Suggestion: Drink 2 to 3 times a week for best results.
4. Lotus Leaf Tea: Lowers Blood Lipids and Blood Pressure
Lotus leaf can lower blood lipids, which is immensely helpful for obese people with hyperlipidemia. Lotus leaves as a tea for daily consumption can form a fat isolation film on the intestinal wall, which can inhibit the body’s absorption of fat, eliminating fat and lowering blood pressure on the other.To Make the Tea
- 15 to 20 grams of lotus leaves
- 6 grams of green tea leaves
Lotus leaf tea can serve as both a diuretic and fat reducer. People whose faces are prone to swelling and who don’t urinate frequently can drink the tea before meals. It has the effect of strengthening metabolism, detoxifying, and reducing weight.
Lotus Leaf Ash: An Ancient Weight Loss Tip
Lotus leaf ash, also known as burnt lotus leaf or lotus leaf charcoal is very special. It’s used to strengthen the spleen, aid in weight loss, remove phlegm and dampness, and is proven to be exceptionally effective. Many TCM pharmacies can make lotus leaf ash.Dai Sigong, an eminent TCM practitioner in the Ming Dynasty, recorded the efficacy of lotus leaf ash in his medical classic “Key to Diagnosis and Treatment.”
“Cure edema due to yang fluid by retaining the property of burned lotus leaf. Grind it into powder, mix it with watery porridge, and drink. Lotus leaf ash can help people lose weight,” he wrote.