What is Oolong Tea? And What Are Its Health Benefits?
Oolong tea is not a popular tea. In fact, of all the teas in the world, oolong tea represents just 2% of the family of teas consumed worldwide. Despite its tiny fraction of popularity, it is a diamond in the rough. This is because it is a combination of the qualities of both green teas and dark teas. Hence its high nutritional profile and numerous health benefits.
Some of the health benefits of drinking oolong tea include; stress reduction and weight loss management.
This article elaborates on the health benefits associated with oolong tea.
Oolong Tea
The question now is, what exactly is this oolong tea?
Oolong tea is an ancient tea that still exists today but is common among the Chinese. It is a kind of Chinese tea that is produced from a plant known as the camellia Sinensis plant. This tea plant is also known to be used in the production of some other kinds of teas like black and green tea. Though made from the same plant, these three kinds of tea differ by the process of production of each of them. Oolong tea, on the one hand, is made by wilting the plant in the sun and partially oxidize it, while green tea and black tea are made from fresh Camellia Sinensis leaves that have not undergone oxidation and fully crushed Camellia Sinensis leaves to enhance oxidation, respectively.
Nutritional Value of Oolong Tea
Just as black and green teas are highly nutritional, oolong tea also has high nutritional value. It contains high amounts of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
One cup of oolong tea is packed with potassium, magnesium, and calcium. In addition, it contains more amounts of caffeine content compared to green and black tea. For instance, one cup of green tea contains 29 g of caffeine, while one cup of oolong tea contains 36 g of caffeine.
Oolong tea is wealthy with healthy antioxidants like polyphenols, thearubigins, theaflavins, and EGCG. These antioxidants have over the years been discovered to be the brain behind oolong tea’s numerous health benefits.
In addition, oolong tea is known to be packed with L-theanine. L-theanine is an amino acid that has promising and positive effects on cognitive functions and helps your body relax while reducing stress in the process.
Prevents Diabetes
Researchers have discovered that oolong tea can help in the prevention of health conditions like type 1 and 2 diabetes. It can also help in the management of diabetes and reduce the impacts of complications from the illness. Oolong tea does this by tackling insulin resistance and promoting normal metabolic processes, and reduces inflammation in the process.
More research found that consuming oolong tea regularly can help in the management and regulation of blood sugar levels, as well as reduce type 2 diabetes risks.
Reduction of plasma glucose is another health benefits oolong tea is known for. This condition is usually common among people with type 2 diabetes. When people who suffer from this health condition drink oolong tea regularly, they may experience an improvement in their health condition. However, before consuming oolong tea, if you have any health condition, speak to your doctor first to know if you should go ahead with it without the tea interacting with your medication.
Although oolong tea might not completely cure type 2 diabetes, it can help combat the onset of the illness. This is why it is the best tea to drink when you want to prevent or reduce your risks of developing type 2 diabetes.
Improves Heart Health
Antioxidants are healthy properties that can improve the overall health of an individual. In fact, consuming oolong tea on a regular basis, according to researchers, may help in the protection and promotion of heart health.
More studies found that consuming oolong tea that contains high amounts of antioxidants can also contribute to the reduction of high blood pressure, reduction of heart diseases risks, and also the reduction of high cholesterol levels.
The research found that people who consumed oolong tea regularly for 6 months had lower risks of developing heart diseases like coronary heart diseases compared to non-drinkers. Drinking at least 240 ml of oolong tea every day can reduce of risk of developing heart diseases by a whopping 61%. In addition, the regular consumption of this tea can reduce stroke risks.
Despite these heart health benefits of oolong tea, it is important to be cautious when consuming it, as its high caffeine contents. Its level of caffeine can slightly raise your blood pressure or even give you hypertension. Although, there are no scientific backings for this yet, as no research has linked caffeine to high blood pressure or hypertension. However, the bottom line still remains, apply moderation when consuming it, as too much of not just oolong tea, but every other thing is bad.
Regulates Weight
Oolong tea can help in the regulation of weight. That is, drinking it can give you a healthy weight. In other words, you will neither be overweight, not underweight.
Over the teas, most teas have been used in the reduction of unnecessary weight, and truly, studies and surveys have confirmed this to be true in many people. This is why most overweight and obese people are advised to drink teas to help with their weight loss regimen. The property in the oolong tea that encourages weight loss is known as bioactive compounds.
Recent research found that in addition to these bioactive compounds, other compounds like gut microbiota and its interaction with some antioxidants are the ones that trigger weight loss. Oolong tea also helps in fat oxidation, to the effect of weight management.
Because oolong tea has been associated with weight loss, it does not mean drinking oolong tea alone without any other form of the lifestyle of dietary changes can magically transform your body and promote weight loss.
A number of determinants have been known to assist oolong tea beat down your body’s carbs and fats. These factors include lifestyle and dietary changes. In addition to this, the effectiveness of these weight loss measures varies from person to person.
Improves Brain Function
Research has shown that drinking oolong tea every day can help improve brain function, enhance cognitive performance, boost memory, and reduce cases of brain decline that come with old age.
Oolong tea encourages the higher release of properties like dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, the two compounds that are known to be responsible for controlling attention, brain function, and mood.
In addition, its amino acid can help reduce anxiety and boost your attention levels. In fact, the research found that the theanine and caffeine contents may increase attention and alertness in less than 2 hours of taking it.
More studies have found a link between consuming both oolong, green and black teas with improved memory, improved brain function, enhancing the speed of information processing, and improved cognition.
Prevents Some Kinds of Cancer
Researchers believe that some of the properties of oolong tea can help protect your body against the mutation of cells that can trigger certain cancers in some parts of the body.
The polyphenol contents of oolong tea, as well as the other two kinds of tea, can help in the reduction of the division of cells that cause cancer. Some of the types of cancers oolong tea can protect your body against include; liver, esophageal, lung, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers.
Improves Bone and Tooth Health
The antioxidants contents in oolong tea may help in the protection of bone and tooth health. Studies found that people who consumed oolong tea regularly can improve their teeth and bone health by up to 30%.
It has also been discovered that oolong tea properties can help reduce risks of fractures by increasing the bones’ mineral density by up to 2%.
It also improves dental health and prevents you from developing dental conditions like cavities.
In conclusion, oolong tea is a healthy and natural beverage that can be consumed by anybody across all age groups. It replenishes the body with diverse health benefits like protection of the teeth and bone, prevention against cancer, weight management, and diabetes prevention. It is necessary to note that oolong tea is not a substitute for any medication. Also, speak to your doctor first about oolong tea before you adopt it.
