Calories In A Cup Of Tea Can Stimulate Weight Loss – Fact Or Fiction?

With so much talk about green tea and oolong/wulong tea health benefits, more and more people have started looking into tea nutrition facts. Before you make the switch from coffee to tea, make sure you know about the calories in a cup of tea.

There are many health and weight loss benefits associated with drinking tea, but it’s always best to have all the facts before making significant changes to your diet. Keep reading to find out if the calories in a cup of tea can really stimulate fat loss.

Calories In A Cup of Tea

When you’re looking for a zero calorie beverage, tea is one of your best options. In addition to the many weight loss benefits of drinking certain types of tea, tea is a great way to have a flavorful drink with a meal without adding unwanted calories. If you’re trying to create a calorie deficit to lose weight then the calories in a cup of tea are right up your alley.

But before we find out if the calories in a cup of tea can stimulate weight loss, there are other factors we must consider including calories in hot tea versus iced tea and the types of tea available to you.

Hot Tea vs. Iced Tea

The calories in a cup of tea will vary depending on if it’s a cup of hot tea or iced tea. Hot brewed tea generally has no calories when brewed with simple water. Homemade iced tea also has zero calories before sweetening agents like sugar are added.

The calories in a cup of tea purchased at a restaurant however can increase depending on whether the tea is flavored and sweetened. The calories in a cup of tea that is unsweetened has zero calories, even when purchased at the most popular fast food establishments.

When it comes to the calories in a cup of sweetened iced tea two factors should be taken into consideration; the serving size of iced tea and the calorie count. Popular fast food chains like McDonald’s for example consider 16 fluid ounces a small iced tea, and the calories in a cup of iced tea from McDonald’s is 140. Not to mention that this one cup of tea has nearly 35 grams of sugar. There are just 70 calories in an 8 ounce cup of Lipton iced tea and similar bottled teas.

Types of Tea

If you want to make the most of the calories in a cup of tea then it’s important that you know about the various types of tea on the market. There are many health benefits associated with adding tea to your diet, however the benefits are based on the type of tea you drink.

Green tea has the most health benefits because it has been processed the least, but the calories in a cup of green tea are the same as in oolong and black tea. Oolong tea, also called black dragon, is a moderately processed tea that has also been known to stimulate weight loss, even more so than green tea. The flavor of oolong tea is milder, so you may be able to keep the calories in a cup of oolong tea to a minimum with limited sweeteners.

Finally there is black tea, the most heavily processed tea. While it does have some health and weight loss benefits the strong and sometimes bitter taste of black tea means you’ll probably add tons of additional calories to a cup.

Tea Condiments

The only factor that can really increase the calories in a cup of tea is what you put in the tea to flavor it. Sweeteners and cream will add unnecessary calories to your cup of tea, but as long as you know how many calories then you can do what needs to be done to keep your weight loss on track.

Keep these calorie counts in mind next time you brew a cup of tea.

The chart above is one big reason why we almost always just use stevia and lemon in our teas.

Tea & Weight Loss

When you decide to take advantage of the calories in a cup of tea, you’re doing more than just reducing your calorie intake. Tea in general, but especially green and oolong tea have properties that stimulate weight loss through increasing metabolism. In fact Japanese studies have found that drinking 5 cups of green tea each day can burn up to 80 additional calories.

Think about that; zero calories in a cup of tea can help you burn up to 80 extra calories in a day!  And if you use this specific type of oolong here, you can burn even more calories just by drinking!

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