Lemongrass tea is a low-calorie herbal drink that may support weight loss through several modest mechanisms, including mild diuretic effects, improved blood sugar regulation, and compounds that influence how your body stores fat. It won’t replace a calorie deficit, but it’s a simple addition to a weight loss routine. Here’s how to make it and what the evidence actually shows.
Basic Lemongrass Tea Recipe
Use 1 to 2 fresh lemongrass stalks, trimmed and cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Bruise the pieces lightly with the back of a knife or a rolling pin to release the oils inside. Bring one cup of water to a full boil, then pour it directly over the lemongrass pieces in a mug or teapot. Let it steep for at least 5 minutes. Longer steeping, up to 10 or 15 minutes, produces a stronger flavor and extracts more of the active compounds.
Strain out the stalks before drinking. You can make a larger batch by scaling up: 4 to 6 stalks per liter of water, simmered in a pot for 10 to 15 minutes. Store leftovers in the fridge and drink them cold or reheated within a couple of days.
Fresh vs. Dried Lemongrass
Both work, but they have different strengths. Fresh lemongrass contains more protein and fiber, making it slightly more nutritious overall. Dried lemongrass, on the other hand, has stronger antioxidant activity, largely because the drying process concentrates caffeic acid, a natural compound that protects cells from oxidative stress. If your main goal is antioxidant support alongside weight loss, dried lemongrass holds up well. For flavor, fresh stalks are hard to beat.
If using dried lemongrass (loose leaf or in tea bags), use about 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup. Steep in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes.
Adding Ginger for a Stronger Effect
Combining lemongrass with ginger significantly boosts the antioxidant content of the tea. Research testing different lemongrass-ginger ratios found that a blend of roughly 75% lemongrass to 25% ginger, boiled for 15 minutes, produced the highest levels of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. The antioxidant capacity nearly doubled compared to weaker blends.
To make this version, add 2 to 3 thin slices of fresh ginger root to your pot along with the lemongrass stalks. Simmer together for 15 minutes, then strain. Ginger on its own has well-documented effects on thermogenesis (heat production in the body) and appetite, so the combination is a reasonable choice if you’re using this tea as part of a weight loss plan.
How Lemongrass May Help With Weight Loss
The honest picture: most evidence connecting lemongrass directly to fat loss comes from animal studies and lab research, not large human trials. That said, the mechanisms researchers have identified are worth understanding.
The key compound in lemongrass is citral, which exists in several forms. In lab studies, citral isomers activated a cellular energy sensor called AMPK, which plays a central role in how your body decides whether to store or burn fat. When AMPK is activated, it triggers a chain of events that can convert white fat cells (which store energy) into beige fat cells (which burn energy to produce heat). This process, called “fat browning,” increases your metabolic rate. The most effective citral forms for this activation were neral and geranial diethyl acetal. This research is promising but was conducted using computational modeling, not human subjects drinking tea.
In one animal study, obese rats given lemongrass extract over eight weeks showed a 12.7% reduction in body weight compared to obese controls that continued gaining weight. Rats that received both lemongrass extract and interval exercise lost even more, ending with the lowest body weight and the lowest measured fat mass in the study.
Diuretic Effects and Water Weight
One of the more immediately noticeable effects of lemongrass tea is increased urination. A study of 105 participants found that drinking lemongrass tea increased urine output more than other beverages. This means you may lose some water weight relatively quickly, which can show up on the scale but doesn’t represent fat loss.
This diuretic property is worth knowing about for two reasons. First, the initial “weight loss” you see may be mostly fluid. Second, if you’re already taking prescription diuretics, you should avoid lemongrass tea because stacking diuretic effects can lead to dehydration or electrolyte imbalances.
Blood Sugar and Appetite Control
Lemongrass has a more established evidence base for blood sugar regulation, which ties indirectly into weight management. Animal studies show that lemongrass extracts inhibit enzymes involved in carbohydrate digestion, specifically the ones that break down starches and sugars in your gut. The result is a slower, more gradual rise in blood sugar after meals rather than a sharp spike. Steadier blood sugar generally means fewer cravings and less of the energy crash that drives overeating.
Small preliminary clinical trials have also reported improvements. In one trial of 50 participants, drinking lemongrass tea improved glycemic control. Another trial of 30 participants found enhanced lipid metabolism, meaning better processing of fats in the bloodstream. Citral specifically appears to improve how well insulin works in your body, helping cells take up glucose more efficiently.
How Much to Drink
There’s no established clinical dose for weight loss. Most people drink 1 to 3 cups per day, which is a reasonable amount based on the quantities used in available research. Drinking it before or between meals may help with appetite and blood sugar management, though no study has directly compared timing strategies.
More is not necessarily better. Research on kidney function found dose- and time-dependent effects on markers of kidney filtration. At high doses or with prolonged daily use, lemongrass tea showed potential to reduce kidney filtration rates. This is particularly relevant if you have existing kidney issues, are elderly, or take medications that affect kidney function. For most healthy adults, a few cups a day is unlikely to cause problems, but drinking large quantities every day for months on end hasn’t been proven safe.
What to Realistically Expect
Lemongrass tea is calorie-free, pleasant to drink, and has genuine biological activity that could support a weight loss effort. The diuretic effect may help you feel less bloated within a few days. The blood sugar benefits could reduce cravings over time. The fat-metabolism effects seen in animal research are real but haven’t been confirmed at meaningful levels in humans drinking tea.
Where lemongrass tea fits best is as a replacement for caloric beverages. Swapping a daily sugary coffee drink or soda for lemongrass tea eliminates calories while adding antioxidants and mild metabolic support. That substitution alone, repeated daily, can contribute to a calorie deficit that produces actual fat loss over weeks and months.