Turmeric has been in use for over 4000 years in India and a few other Eastern countries. It is one of the staple spices among Indian households. Turmeric has been long hailed for its medicinal properties and is widely used in Indian cuisine. Not only does it add taste, but it also brings in a lot of health benefits as well. Long before the advent of allopathy, people used to apply turmeric on wounds and cuts. And there are many such benefits one could enjoy by incorporating it into their diet and lifestyle.
It has made its way to the West and is promoted as a dietary supplement for various health conditions. This golden spice was one of the most used medicinal spices in Ayurveda. Turmeric has plenty of bioactive compounds called curcuminoids which possess great health benefits.
Turmeric For Weight Loss: Best Ways To Drink Turmeric Tea
Turmeric is a great spice that not only makes any food or drink tasty, but it also is very healthy. Especially, if you are trying to lose weight, you must consider turmeric, since it contains curcumin, which is a great fat burner. To make effective turmeric teas for weight loss, try preparing by combining turmeric with ginger, mint, cinnamon, honey, or lemon. All these ingredients offer many health benefits and fat-burning qualities.
5 Ways To Make Turmeric Tea For Weight Loss
Turmeric tea is great for the digestive system, which makes it helpful for losing weight. Moreover, it has anti-inflammatory properties that can stop fat cell proliferation. Another way turmeric aids weight loss is by regulating blood sugar levels, improving glucose metabolism, and thereby preventing insulin resistance. Curcumin is the fat burner that will speed up your weight loss process.
Along with weight management benefits, you can also keep winter ailments at bay, by incorporating turmeric spice in your diet. You can also sprinkle some turmeric on your salads or add it to any food. Turmeric tea accelerates the process of digestion, boosts metabolism, and aids weightloss. Here are 5 ways you can make turmeric tea that stimulates the fat-burning process.
Turmeric Ginger Tea
In a saucepan add water and bring it to a boil. Now, add a dash of ground turmeric and add grated ginger to it. Make sure to grate ginger instead of chopping it. Grating releases more juices than chopping. You can use either fresh ginger root or dried ginger powder. You can also use fresh turmeric root if you have one. Once boiled for around two minutes, turn down the heat and let it cool for a minute before drinking it.
Drink turmeric tea daily at room temperature. Ginger is a natural appetite suppressant and keeps our insulin levels in check. Ginger also improves your digestion prowess. According to a study,[1] the compounds in ginger called zingerone and shogaols help promote weight loss. Ginger is known to warm our bodies and improve cold sensitivity. You can sip this tea and exercise outside in cold weather. This concoction contains potent antioxidants of both turmeric and ginger. Drink turmeric tea or turmeric water every morning on an empty stomach to see the results.
Turmeric Mint Tea
If you are a fan of mint leaves, then you might love this. In a saucepan, pour some water and add steep fresh mint leaves. To this, add turmeric powder and crushed black pepper. Let the concoction boil for a couple of minutes.
Enjoy the menthol fresh tea either in the mornings or evenings, preferably a couple of hours away from a meal. Mint leaves are high in fiber and low in calories. Mint prevents indigestion and stimulates digestive enzymes that help facilitate better absorption of nutrients from food.
Digestive enzymes play a crucial role in breaking down fats and carbohydrates. These digestive enzymes turn fat into energy. When the body assimilates nutrients properly, the body’s metabolism improves as well. The faster the metabolism, the faster the weight loss. Moreover, pepper contains piperine, which inhibits fat cell formation and decreases body weight, according to this test tube study.[2]
Turmeric Cinnamon Tea
Add cinnamon powder or a piece of cinnamon stick to the turmeric tea. You can also add freshly crushed black pepper. Cinnamon helps improve insulin sensitivity, decrease blood sugars, and is helpful in treating type 2 diabetes. Cinnamon is a potent antioxidant as well.
Cinnamon contains a natural chemical named cinnamaldehyde, which helps balance out hormones by increasing progesterone levels and decreasing testosterone production in women, thus offering weight loss benefits.
The strong antioxidant manganese in cinnamon protects your heart and brain health. This tea is loaded with antioxidants that are great for people working the night shift to boost their immune systems.
Turmeric Tea With Honey
If you have a sweet tooth, then this tea is for you. Add honey and a pinch of pepper. But do not add sugar. Honey is an appetite suppressant and has anti-inflammatory properties that will help you lose weight. A review study[3] reported that honey improves lipids metabolism by lowering the total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides and prevents fat deposition in arteries. Moreover, it also increases good cholesterol (HDL). Honey enhances insulin sensitivity and reduces oxidative stress. All these factors make honey a potent fighter of excess weight. Pepper is known to improve the absorption of turmeric, which contains fat-burning properties, into the bloodstream. Shed your excess fat with this sweet concoction.
Lemon Turmeric Tea
To prepare this delicious tea, add a dollop of honey, a pinch of turmeric, a pinch of cayenne, and some lemon juice and bring it to a boil, and turn off the heat. Lemon juice can promote satiety and fullness, which decreases calorie intake and helps you lose weight. The antioxidants in lemon have anti-inflammatory properties.
Lemon polyphenols[4] improve insulin resistance by regulating lipid metabolism and preventing metabolic syndrome. They also suppress fat accumulation. In addition, cayenne pepper contains capsaicin, which gives a spicy flavor to cayenne as a thermogenic ingredient, which is known to raise the temperature and stimulate energy expenditure. Capsaicin is known for its anti-obesity effect. Moreover, some studies[5] found that Capsaicin increases the levels of fullness and decreases the hunger hormone, ghrelin levels.[6]
Turmeric For Weight Loss: How Can It Help?
Turmeric is composed of more than 100 components. Nutritional analysis[7] of turmeric of 100 grams showed that it contains components such as curcumin, volatile oils, 10mg of sodium, 2500mg of potassium, 47.5mg of iron, 4.8mg of niacin, and 50mg of ascorbic acid. It is also a good source of omega-three fatty acids and linoleic acid. Apart from its health benefits, turmeric may also help you lose weight and melt belly fat too.
Taking turmeric tea could be the answer to your weight loss goals. But, the main active ingredient, curcumin is not well absorbed into the bloodstream. Consume black pepper along with turmeric, as it contains piperine which enhances curcumin absorption by 2000%.[8] It’s best to take turmeric supplements containing piperine to enhance curcumin absorption and increase its efficacy.
It’s also recommended to consume turmeric powder with a fatty meal, as curcumin is fat-soluble. As per the WHO, the dosage of turmeric is 1.4 mg per pound (3mg/kg) to be an acceptable daily curcumin intake.
Scientific Research On The Relation Between Turmeric & Weight Loss
The active compound of turmeric named curcumin is a powerful booster of the immune system with its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is known to melt belly fat. Here are three studies that determine the role of turmeric in weight loss.
- Study #1 – A meta-analysis[9] using 21 human studies on the effects of turmeric for weight loss showed that consuming curcumin significantly decreases weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and leptin- a hormone that regulates weight gain. Curcumin also significantly raised adiponectin levels.
- Study #2 – A study conducted in mice[10] showed that curcumin in turmeric powder suppresses the formation of new blood vessels in fat tissue, with its effects on the metabolism of lipids in adipocytes. All these factors aid weight loss. These findings suggest turmeric can help prevent weight gain.
- Study #3 – According to the animal study[10] conducted by Tufts University, Boston, curcumin can suppress fat tissue growth. Curcumin also reduces belly fat and obesity. Moreover, turmeric is a cholagogue,[1] it can produce bile, a digestive juice that emulsifies fat. Stimulating bile production can improve the body’s ability to digest fats.
Final Words
Indians have been consuming dry turmeric as a part of their everyday diet. It has been in use for both culinary and medicinal benefits. The health benefits of this golden spice led to thousands of studies, thanks to many curious scientists. Several medicinal benefits of this wonder spice not only help in weight loss but also keep diseases at bay.
For better results, try to follow a healthy diet. You could also take advantage of a high-quality CBD product that helps you in your weight loss journey along with turmeric teas. However, you will also need to do proper exercise along with consuming turmeric/turmeric supplements for better results.
+ 10 Sources
- Mehdi Sharifi-Rad, Elena Maria Varoni, Salehi, B., Javad Sharifi-Rad, Matthews, K.R., Seyed Abdulmajid Ayatollahi, Farzad Kobarfard, Ibrahim, S.A., Dima Mnayer, Zainul Amiruddin Zakaria, Majid Sharifi-Rad, Yousaf, Z., Marcello Iriti, Basile, A. and Rigano, D. (2017). Plants of the Genus Zingiber as a Source of Bioactive Phytochemicals: From Tradition to Pharmacy. [online] 22(12), pp.2145–2145. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules22122145.
- Park, U.-H., Jeong, H., Jo, E., Park, T., Seung Kew Yoon, Eun Kyung Kim, Jeong, J.-C. and Um, S.-J. (2012). Piperine, a Component of Black Pepper, Inhibits Adipogenesis by Antagonizing PPAR? Activity in 3T3-L1 Cells. [online] 60(15), pp.3853–3860. doi:https://doi.org/10.1021/jf204514a.
- Nur Ainna Ramli, Chin, K.-Y., Khairul Anwar Zarkasi and Ahmad, F. (2018). A Review on the Protective Effects of Honey against Metabolic Syndrome. [online] 10(8), pp.1009–1009. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10081009.
- Fukuchi, Y., Masanori Hiramitsu, Okada, M., Hayashi, S., Yuka Nabeno, Osawa, T. and Naito, M. (2008). Lemon Polyphenols Suppress Diet-induced Obesity by Up-Regulation of mRNA Levels of the Enzymes Involved in ß-Oxidation in Mouse White Adipose Tissue. [online] 43(3), pp.201–209. doi:https://doi.org/10.3164/jcbn.2008066.
- Westerterp-Plantenga, M.S., Smeets, A. and Lejeune, M.P.G.M. (2004). Sensory and gastrointestinal satiety effects of capsaicin on food intake. [online] 29(6), pp.682–688. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802862.
- Smeets, A.J. and Westerterp-Plantenga, M.S. (2009). The acute effects of a lunch containing capsaicin on energy and substrate utilisation, hormones, and satiety. [online] 48(4), pp.229–234. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-009-0006-1.
- Prasad, S. and Aggarwal, B.B. (2013). Turmeric, the Golden Spice. [online] Nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92752/.
- Guido Shoba, Joy, D.A., Joseph, T., Muhammad Zeeshan Majeed, Rajendran, R. and Srinivas, R. (1998). Influence of Piperine on the Pharmacokinetics of Curcumin in Animals and Human Volunteers. [online] 64(04), pp.353–356. doi:https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2006-957450.
- Akbari, M., Kamran Bagheri Lankarani, Tabrizi, R., Majid Ghayour-Mobarhan, Payam Peymani, Ferns, G.A., Ghaderi, A. and Zatollah Asemi (2019). The Effects of Curcumin on Weight Loss Among Patients With Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. [online] 10. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2019.00649.
- A. Ahsan Ejaz, Wu, D., Kwan, P. and Mohsen Meydani (2009). Curcumin Inhibits Adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes and Angiogenesis and Obesity in C57/BL Mice. [online] 139(5), pp.919–925. doi:https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.108.100966.