2. Good ol’ Green tea
For centuries, Asian philosophers and physicians have praised the health benefits of tea, be it green, black or white.
Green tea in particular has been proven to have weight loss capabilities, by:
- Inhibiting intestinal lipases
- Decreasing fat absorption
- Increasing fat excretion
- Increasing uncoupling proteins
- Increasing thermogenesis
- Decreasing lipogenic enzymes
- Suppressing appetite
This is due to its high concentration of polyphenols and a powerful antioxidant, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), that can only be found in green tea alone. Also, take note that the catechin polyphenols present in green tea will stimulate your muscle cells and liver to use more fatty acids, making your body use more carbohydrates at a slower rate. With more carbohydrates remaining in your body, you can exercise for a longer period of time, and your body will burn more calories!
3. Lemon up your water!
“If life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. Well, why stop there? That’s only one of the many uses for this fantastic fruit! Adding a slice of lemon in your drinking water will give it detoxifying properties.
A better way to make use of it is to take the whole lemon, grind it until it becomes lemon puree and add water on top of it. This mix helps against food cravings, slows down the sugar absorption rate of your body and provides an excellent source of fiber, due to the pectin present in the lemon peel.
And now, the ‘piece de resistance’: you can add a dash of Cayenne pepper to your lemon-based beverage, and voila! Your drink has thermogenic properties now, adding one more “gun” to its already impressive arsenal of weight loss capabilities.
4. Milk, nature’s most perfect drink… for losing weight
It has been proven: studies show that consuming 1,000 to 1,400 milligrams per day of calcium from dairy products changes the way the body burns fat, speeding up the metabolism. Also, calcium-rich dairy foods help people lose more stomach weight than those eating a low-calcium diet or taking calcium supplements. That happens because of the lactose present in the milk, which helps the body absorb it more easily.
As you can see, milk can turn out to be a great tool for weight loss. But not just any kind of milk will do you good. For the best results, try the skimmed, low-fat type. It combines the richness in calcium and vitamin D of regular milk with an almost total lack of saturated animal fat, making it a valuable ally in your quest of trimming down the excess weight.
Switching to fat-free milk won't compromise the amount of nutrients in your glass. If anything, you'll get slightly more. Fat takes up a lot of space, leaving less room for nutrients. Less fat, more room for nutrients.
So only cry over spilt milk when it's the skimmed kind. Drinking it as part of a healthy diet will bring all types of surprising health benefits.
5. Juice those veggies!
Instead of turning them into a salad, why not throw them in a juicer and press the ON button?
In a study conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine, adults who drank at least 8 ounces of low sodium vegetable juice every day as part of a diet lost 4 pounds over 12 weeks, while those who followed the same diet but did not drink the juice lost only 1 pound. The vegetable juice drinkers also significantly increased their intake of vitamin C and potassium, while decreasing their overall carbohydrate intake.
Based on this, switching to vegetable juices will not only make you lose weight, but you will also get a bigger fill of your necessary daily nutrients, get a boost in energy due to the stabilization of your body’s pH and quicker absorption of nutrients. It also acts as a formidable appetite suppressant, making you eat less and healthier.
So, there you go. Five healthy drinks which can help just about anyone lose those extra pounds. I specifically emphasize the word “help” because they work best together with a healthy way of living, regular sports and careful eating. Rely solely on them and you’ll get results (if any) in a slow and unsatisfying manner.
