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Oolong Tea & Its Benefits

Apr 22, 2011 | By Kimberly Riggins
Oolong Tea & Its Benefits
Photo Credit blue cup and tea from a blue tea-pot image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com

Oolong tea is a semifermented tea that originated in China more than 400 years ago. Oolong tea has the properties of both black and green tea, giving it twice the antioxidant power. Due to its high content of antioxidants, especially polyphenols, oolong tea may help reduce stress levels, burn body fat, aid in weight management, improve cognitive memory and possibly promote healthier skin and stronger bones and teeth.

About Oolong Tea

Oolong tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, the same plant that produces white, green and black tea. Each tea goes through an oxidation or fermentation process that establishes its antioxidant power, flavor and color. Oolong tea is semifermented, giving it a dark brown color closer to black tea but more of a green tea flavor without the grassy undertones. Oolong tea is full of nutrients, including vitamins A, B, C, E and K, as well as calcium, copper, maganese, selenium and potassium. It is also rich in antioxidants, including polyphenic compounds that might provide health benefits.

Fighting Obesity

Oolong tea may be an effective way to control obesity. According to Organic Facts, oolong tea appears to activate enzymes in the body that can control fat metabolism. In a study published in the January 1999 issue of the "International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders," oolong tea was given to lab rats that were on a high-fat diet for 10 weeks. The rats lost weight, and the tea positively affected their fatty liver caused by the high-fat diet. In another study published 10 years later in the February issue of the "China Journal of Integrative Nutrition," researchers showed that oolong tea can decrease body fat content and reduce body weight through improving fat metabolism. Overweight study participants took 8g of oolong tea every day for six weeks; a strong majority lost weight.

Combats Stress

Oolong tea may help reduce stress levels, according to a study in the September 2002 issue of "Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry." During this study, performed at the Osaka Institute for Health Care Science in Japan, lab rats that were administered oolong tea showed significant improvement in their stress levels. More studies are needed to determine whether this was because of oolong tea's high polyphenol content and its ability to increase fat metabolism or because oolong tea contains a stress-relieving property not yet discovered.

Improves Memory

Drinking a daily cup of oolong tea may improve cognitive memory. A study in the August 2006 issue of the "Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology" suggests that oolong and green tea both have the ability to reduce deterioration of cognitive ability and degenerative brain changes and slow down the aging process. During this study, lab mice given oolong and green tea daily supplements showed significant improvements, reversing their cognitive impairment and degeneration of their brain tissue.

References

Article reviewed by Alison Gaynor Last updated on: Apr 22, 2011

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