Facts about Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is a Chinese and Taiwanese tea with a fruity aroma. It is a product made from the leaves, buds, and stems of the Camellia sinensis plant, which is the same plant used to make black tea and green tea. The different between them is in the processing. Oolong tea is partially fermented, black tea is fully fermented, and green tea is unfermented.
The health benefits of oolong tea are basically doubled because of the combined qualities of black tea and green tea. According to the Tea Association of the United States, oolong tea falls somewhere between green and black teas, as its leaves are only partially oxidized. There are numerous kinds of tea in this world; but oolong tea might be one of the most beneficial.
Here’s a look at the science behind some of Oolong tea’s health effects:

• Oolong tea and Diabetes. Oolong tea is used as an herbal brew for treating type-2 diabetic disorders and as an addition to other supplementary drugs for treating that disease. It regulates the amount of blood sugar and insulin that is in the bloodstream at any one time, so the dangerous dips and spikes in blood sugar that can be so disastrous for diabetic patients was reduced. A 2003 study showed that when combined with regular hyperglycemic drugs, oolong tea further balanced the blood sugar levels and prevented the sudden drops in almost all of the test subjects.
• Oolong tea and Weight Management. The polyphenol compound found in oolong tea is very effective in controlling the metabolism of fat in the body. It activates certain enzymes, thereby enhancing the functions of fat cells in the body. It is commonly believed that daily consumption of oolong tea can reduce obesity. Some earlier studies actually showed that the caffeine content was the active ingredient behind the weight loss, but it now appears to be mainly due to polyphenols. Apparently, the active components in oolong tea make fat work for you!
• Oolong tea and Harmful free radicals. The polyphenolic compound in oolong tea is also responsible for the removal of free radicals in our body, because it functions as an antioxidant and stimulates the behavior of other free radical compounds in the body. Therefore, consuming daily doses of oolong tea can help people from the potential harm that these free-moving cells often pose to the human body, including cancer, atherosclerosis, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, neurodegeneration, and diabetes. Any antioxidant characteristic of food or drink is beneficial, but polyphenols are particularly powerful antioxidants in oolong tea.

Oolong teas and green tea contain 8 to 30 milligrams of caffeine per cup, yet black tea does not seem to promote weight loss the way oolong and green teas might.

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