A cup of tea can counteract fat accumulation and increase metabolism. But it has to be a tea rich in polyphenols, like green tea or, even better, oolong tea. Oolong tea, a partially fermented tea obtained from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, has in fact been shown to increase the body's ability to burn fat with a result twice as effective as green tea. This emerges from numerous scientific reports. Today, we will discuss the results of two very interesting studies.
Oolong tea contrasts obesity, the study
The first research is a study performed by a Chinese team and published a few months ago in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition (Li et al, Front Nutr, 2022). The study was carried out in the laboratory on a population of mice in order to verify the anti-obesity action of oolong tea, even in the presence of a high-fat diet. Well, after 8 months of intake of oolong tea it was possible to observe a reduction in body weight, fat mass, triglycerides and bad LDL cholesterol. Not only that, oolong tea also improved glucose tolerance and protected the liver from possible liver damage resulting from an unbalanced diet. The action of oolong tea can be traced back, as demonstrated by Chinese scientists, to its ability to reduce inflammation and support the gut microbiota, promoting the proliferation of a wide variety of good bacteria.
Oolong tea burns more fat than green tea, the study
The second study was conducted by a Japanese team and was published in The Journal of Medical Investigation (Komatsu et al, J Med Invest, 2003). It is a small research involving 11 young women but whose results are truly noteworthy. Half of the volunteers were asked to drink a cup of oolong tea, prepared by steeping 15 grams of tea in 300 ml of water for 5 minutes. The other half drank green tea instead, prepared by dissolving 5 grams of tea powder in 300 ml of water. For the next two hours after tea intake, energy expenditure, which represents the calories consumed by the body, was measured for all volunteers. What emerged is that both drinks boosted the metabolism, stimulating energy expenditure. Not only that, oolong tea has been shown to increase this energy expenditure by 10% while green tea "only" by 4%. The main components of green tea are caffeine and epigallocatechin gallate, which are present in twice the amount of oolong tea. Therefore, these are not the substances responsible for the so effective anti-obesity action of oolong tea. The explanation of this effect, which makes oolong tea more powerful than green tea in stimulating the metabolism, can be traced back to particular polyphenols developed by the tea during its manufacturing process.
Conclusions
Today's studies indicate that drinking tea is healthy, not only green tea, with its high anti-inflammatory and antioxidant power, but also oolong tea. This tea, thanks to the different manufacturing process, develops unique characteristics that make it a valid ally in the fight against overweight and obesity, by stimulating the metabolism and the fat burning action, and in controlling blood sugar and cholesterol. Oolong tea can be found in bags or loose in supermarkets or specialty shops.
