Oolong Tea For Weight Loss?

About the Author

David Carloni

David Carloni is the creator of The Color Of Tea.com An online resource guide covering many aspects of tea, loose leaf tea brewing, benefits of tea, facts and information, and the many varieties of loose teas.

More about David Carloni

You've heard of green tea before, and maybe even white tea. And if you did, there is no doubt that the article or report mentioned something about the many health benefits these tea types have to offer. However, oolong tea, which is the next type of tea down the processing line offers its share of benefits as well. In fact, in the areas of weight loss, oolong tea, like the popular wu-yi tea variety, may be even greater.

All types of tea come from the same plant, the Camellia sinensis evergreen. This bush is responsible for every cup of traditional tea you ever steeped, aside from herbal teas like chamomile or rooibos, which are considered tisanes.

We get thousands of varieties from tea as well as many health benefits. A lot of this research seems to be focused more on green tea, but let us have a look at what its oolong tea cousin can provide us. This type of tea, mainly grown and processed in either China or Taiwan is a mix between green and black teas, but is fermented a little longer than green, yet not as much as black. Depending on the variety, the tea can taste either flowery or slightly woody, and produces some of the more exotic aromas tea has to offer!

Some of the health benefits associated with this tea are that it can help lower cholesterol, prevent certain tumor and cancer growth, and is even good for the skin by destroying wrinkle-causing free radicals.

Another noted benefit of consuming oolong tea (which is also called "wu long" tea), is help with weight loss. Notice how I wrote help.

This is because that many seem to either promote or believe that drinking oolong tea can magically make you shed pounds with little effort. At least that seems to be the hype going around the internet lately. However, please understand that proper eating habits as well as frequent exercise is important for weight loss.

What this tea does isn't magic either. Properties in the tea called polyphenols are what help you burn those calories. They trigger an action called thermogenesis in the body which in turn causes more calories to burn instead of idle. Oolong tea has shown to contain more of these natural plant polyphenols in it compared to green tea and is why some merchants out there are pushing it as the next big diet product!

Now, I'm not denying that it works, not at all...but diet and exercise are highly recommended too! This tea only helps in your weight loss mission. Also, be wary of a certain product called "wu-yi tea". This tea is nothing special, and is simply a variety of oolong that is supposedly grown in the Wuyi moutains of China which they named the tea after. I have tried many other teas that are grown in the Wuyi moutains and I'm sure they offer the same benefits, are of a better quality, and cost much less than the over-priced hyped tea out there.

So, if losing weight is your goal, oolong tea offers many benefits as well as any other tea type. But don't forget to add the exercise and eat properly. And always consult your doctor before using any tea as a weight loss supplement