To make lemongrass tea at home, you can prepare 3-4 fresh lemongrass stalks, 700-800ml of water and a few slices of fresh lemon. Remove the old leaves, wash them, crush the stem and cut them into pieces. Put lemongrass in a pot of water, boil for about 5 minutes, then reduce heat for another 5-10 minutes to let the fragrant compounds mix into the water.
Turn off the heat, let the tea cool down a bit and then filter out the residue. When drinking, you can add a few slices of lemon to enhance the flavor. Most importantly, do not add sugar, condensed milk or sweet syrup if the goal is to control weight.
WHO says free sugar in the diet should be limited to less than 10% of total daily energy intake; reducing it to less than 5% can bring more health benefits.
Therefore, replacing a cup of milk tea, soft drinks or sugary drinks with unsweetened lemongrass tea can help reduce excess calories, but the effectiveness depends on the entire diet during the day.
The point to emphasize is that belly fat cannot be reduced effectively with just one type of drink. Lemongrass tea has no credible evidence that it can selectively reduce visceral fat or subcutaneous fat in the abdomen.
If you drink unsweetened lemongrass tea, the main benefit may come from replacing a calorie-rich drink with a lower energy option.
A cup of lemongrass tea in the morning or between meals can be a suitable choice to increase water intake and replace sweet drinks.
However, you should not drink too much with the thought that the more you drink, the more fat you lose. Lemongrass tea cannot compensate for the situation of regularly eating excess energy, exercising little or not getting enough sleep.
To support belly fat reduction, unsweetened lemongrass tea should be used as part of a healthy habit: prioritize low-processed foods, increase vegetables, fruits and fiber-rich foods, control portion sizes, limit soft drinks and maintain regular exercise.
WHO recommends that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week; for weight control purposes, some people may need to exercise more.
Therefore, the best lemongrass tea recipe to help reduce belly fat is fresh lemongrass cooked with water, drinking without sugar and without adding high-calorie ingredients.
