Many of u girls may have heard that drinking tea is good for trimming the waistline. But have you ever wondered how much of it is true and how it works? 

 

And then the next question you might ask is - which tea is best?

Well, here are some answers for you! 

We did some research on the two popular types of tea that many claim can help you lose weight - green tea and oolong tea. These are most popular as weight-loss teas, and are widely available.


So, what's the difference?


The difference between green tea and oolong tea is in its processing. 

 

All tea is green when picked. 

Green tea is heated in order to halt the natural enzymatic reaction (oxidation) of the leaf. Once dried, green tea leaves are then rolled intentionally, breaking the cell structure. 

Oolong tea leaves are plucked, kept under carefully controlled conditions and allowed to oxidize. These leaves are not intentionally broken, leaving most of the cell structure intact. 

These processing differences make the two types of tea beneficially different even though they come from the same plant.

 


So, what's the deal with oolong tea?


In 2001, the US Agriculture Research Services' Diet and Human Laboratory investigated the ancient Chinese belief that oolong tea is effective in controlling body weight. 

The study measured how tea influences energy expenditure (EE) and included 12 male volunteers who were given 4 separate beverage formulas over three consecutive days. The beverage formulas consisted of:

1) full strength oolong tea,
2) caffeinated water with caffeine equal to full strength oolong tea,
3) half strength oolong tea and
4) non caffeinated water. 

The study found that EE levels were about 3% higher when they drank the full strength oolong tea versus the non caffeinated water.

 

Another similar Japanese study comparing oolong tea with green tea showed the increase in Energy Expenditure after drinking oolong tea was 10%, while the increase from drinking green tea was only 4%. This means oolong tea could help you burn 2.5 times more calories than green tea! 


Changeparade loves Pokka Oolong tea! We just bought ten 1.5l bottles yesterday!
 

The studies above also revealed that participants' fat oxidation (fat burning) increased by a whopping 12% after consuming the full strength oolong tea versus caffeinated water. 

 

 

Poly-what??


The reason for this is polymerized polyphenols (sounds impressive already doesn't it).

Found commonly in oolong tea, polymerised polyphenols are responsible for the increase in fat oxidization.

Fat oxidization is the process by which your body burns fat for energy. Normally this process only occurs during long, hard workouts, where your body has burned fast-access sugars and resorts to burning fat.

In oolong tea, these polyphenols have the ability to dramatically increase the rate at which your body burns fat for energy.

To sum it up, although oolong tea on its own will not magically make you lose weight, it will help you get into shape faster in 2 ways:

  1. by increasing the amount of energy you burn, and 
  2. telling your body to burn fat FIRST as an energy source, 
hence greatly improving the results of your exercise. 

 

So next time, before your workout, have a cup of oolong tea!


Changeparade