How rooibos tea can help you lose weight

By swapping just one cup of coffee for rooibos tea every day, you could lose as much as a kilo every month

Most of us load our coffee with sugary syrups, chemical creamers, honey, whipped cream or milk, and sugar, which can add anything from 35 to 250+ calories per cup. And if one considers that the average South African knocks back about four cups of coffee a day, drinking rooibos tea instead could lead to a whopping 7 – 14kg shed in a year.

Ernest du Toit, spokesperson for the SA Rooibos Council, says the indigenous tea offers dieters a healthy, enjoyable and sustainable way to lose weight.

“Rooibos tea contains no fat or carbohydrates and its weight-loss properties further extends to inhibiting fat-storage hormones within the body.

The rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) plant’s unique bioflavonoid, aspalathin, helps to reduce the stress hormones that trigger hunger and fat storage, typically associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes.

In a nutshell, rooibos tea can prevent the body from storing and even forming new fat cells.

In a nutshell, rooibos tea can prevent the body from storing and even forming new fat cells

Rooibos tea is also caffeine-free and naturally sweet, so there’s no need to add sugar, honey or other sweeteners to it

"Plus it [is packaged] in a variety of flavours like berry, cinnamon, mint and citrus. It’s also 100% natural with no additives, no preservatives and no chemicals,” he says.

“Drinking rooibos tea instead of a regular 35+ calorie cup of coffee (enjoyed with milk and a spoonful of sugar) or a 100+ calorie carbonated drink will automatically reduce your calorie intake, which should put you well on your way to losing centimetres.”

A-list celebrities sporting svelte figures such as Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta Jones and supermodel Cindy Crawford all swear by rooibos’s health benefits.

Drinking up to six cups a day – hot or cold – along with a healthy and balanced plant-based diet, will provide you with the maximum health and weight-loss benefits that rooibos tea can offer.

For more information about rooibos and its health properties, visit the website of the SA Rooibos Council at www.sarooibos.org.za

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