For those seeking to manage their weight, the world of tea offers some promising options. Among them, Oolong tea stands out for its unique properties and potential to aid in weight loss, particularly in reducing belly fat. If you’re a tea drinker, you probably already know tea has health benefits. “Tea has medicinal properties, and it is the second-most-consumed beverage in the world,” says Vicki Shanta Retelny, RDN, who is based in Chicago.
How Tea Consumption Can Contribute to Weight Management
If your beverages are typically high-calorie, swapping in tea may lead to weight loss. For example, trading a sugar-laden mocha for a zero-calorie tea at the coffee shop can easily save you a few hundred calories, notes Sarah Koszyk, RDN, the San Francisco-based author of 365 Snacks for Every Day of the Year.
What is Oolong Tea?
Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea that lies between green and black tea in terms of oxidation. This semi-oxidized tea contains a range of antioxidants, including many found in both green and black teas. Oolong tea accounts for only 2 percent of tea consumption around the world. Oolong tea is commonly consumed in China and Taiwan. In Asian countries, drinking tea is a large part of the culture and social gatherings. Friends and business associates often meet over tea.
It’s made from the same plant used in black and green teas, but the leaves are processed differently. This tea-making process is called oxidation. Exposing the tea leaves to air causes them to ferment, and the length of time a tea maker allows the leaves to oxidize impacts the tea’s color, flavor, and to an extent, its nutritional content. Green tea is unoxidized, which helps it retain some plant-based antioxidants like catechins, which would be lost or converted during oxidation. Black tea is fully oxidized, giving it a deeper, richer flavor. This fermentation process also forms nutrients called theaflavins, powerful antioxidants unique to oxidized teas.
Oolong teas fall somewhere in between green and black tea. Products sold range from low to high levels of oxidation, and the color of the tea gets darker based on how long the leaves were left to ferment. Greener oolong teas tend to have a rich, earthy taste, while darker varieties offer a more roasted flavor.
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Unlike other teas, loose leaf Oolong tea is prized for its nuanced taste and aroma. The manufacturing process of this tea demands precision and care in every step, as it is semi-fermented. It is fresh and mild in flavour and orange in appearance.
The Science Behind Oolong Tea and Weight Loss
Research suggests that tea may also play a direct role in weight loss. “Teas contain catechins, which can increase metabolism by stimulating the body to break fats down more quickly and burn more calories,” Koszyk says. The polymerized polyphenols present in oolong tea also help in increasing the overall metabolic rate and hence promote weight loss.
One of the significant Oolong tea benefits is its ability to enhance metabolism. The polyphenols in Oolong tea play a crucial role in breaking down fat molecules. They activate enzymes that improve fat mobilization, particularly from stubborn areas like the belly. Stable blood sugar levels are key to preventing weight gain and Oolong tea also helps in reducing overall absorption of fat in the body and lowers cholesterol levels.
Studies on Oolong Tea and Weight Management
Research supports the claim that Oolong tea can aid in weight loss. A study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that regular consumption of Oolong tea increased fat oxidation by 12%, particularly targeting visceral fat, which accumulates around the belly.
A total of 8 g of oolong tea a day for 6 weeks was ingested by 102 diet-induced overweight or obese subjects. The body fat level of the subjects was determined at the same time by taking body weight, height and waist measurements. The thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer was also determined on the abdomen 3 cm to the right of the navel by the ultrasonic echo method. On the other hand, effects of oolong tea ingestion on plasma triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) were determined. A total of 70% of the severely obese subjects did show a decrease of more than 1 kg in body weight, including 22% who lost more than 3 kg. Similarly, 64% of the obese subjects and 66% of the overweight subjects lost more than 1 kg during the experiment, and the subcutaneous fat content decreased in 12% of the subjects. The correlation between weight loss and subcutaneous fat decrease in men (r=0.055) was obviously lower than that in women (r=0.440, P<0.01). Body weight loss was signifificantly related to the decrease of the waist size in men (r=0.730, P<0.01) and women (r=0.480, P<0.01). Also, the correlation between subcutaneous fat reduction and decreased waist size was signifificant in women (r=0.554, P<0.01), but not in men (r=0.050, P>0.05). Moreover, the plasma levels of TG and TC of the subjects with hyperlipidemia were remarkably decreased after ingesting oolong tea for 6 weeks.
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A study in overweight and obese Chinese adults looked at the effect of oolong tea consumption on body weight. Study participants drank 300 milliliters (mL) of oolong tea four times per day. After 6 weeks, more than half of the participants had lost more than 1 kilogram.
A study in mice showed that the animals receiving oolong tea extract while being fed a high fat, high sugar diet, gained less abdominal fat than mice on the same diet that did not receive the tea extract. Green tea and black tea extracts also resulted in less abdominal fat gain. The mice that received the green tea extract also consumed fewer calories.
Additional Health Benefits of Oolong Tea
All teas contain high levels of antioxidants that offer a range of health benefits. However, research shows that the nutrients in oolong tea have stronger antioxidant and antimutagenic effects than green or black varieties. Oolong tea’s powerful antioxidants and other nutrients may offer health benefits like:
- Lower Risk of Diabetes: Research shows that the polyphenols in oolong tea lower blood sugar levels. They also reduce insulin resistance, a condition where the body doesn’t properly use sugars in the blood. High blood sugar and insulin resistance are both risk factors for diabetes and other health conditions like obesity.
- Heart Health: Oolong tea’s polyphenols activate an enzyme that breaks down triglycerides, a type of fat in your blood. These triglycerides contribute to the thickening of artery walls, increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack, and other heart diseases. Research also shows oolong tea can also lower your cholesterol, which at high levels is another heart disease risk. Researchers in China studied the relationship between drinking oolong tea and cholesterol levels, as high cholesterol levels can be associated with an increased risk for heart disease. They found that people who drank at least 10 ounces of oolong tea per week had lower risks of having high total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL or “bad” cholesterol levels. The same was also true of people who drank similar amounts of green and black teas. People who had been consuming oolong tea for the longest time had lower total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL cholesterol levels. In another study, Japanese men and women were studied for the impact of consuming coffee, green tea, black tea, and oolong tea on their risk of heart disease. Researchers found that men who drank 1 or more cups of oolong tea per day had a lower risk of heart disease.
- Cognitive Support: Oolong tea is high in an amino acid called L-theanine, which studies show has cognitive effects like improved brain activity, better sleep quality, and reduced stress and anxiety. In addition, oolong tea’s antioxidants have brain-protective properties that may help prevent neurodegenerative diseases, in which parts of the nervous system stop working. Scientists continue to study the tea’s potential in preventing diseases related to cognitive decline, like Alzheimer’s and dementia.
- Dental Health: Tea leaves naturally contain fluoride, so drinking oolong tea could help prevent cavities. Excess fluoride can be harmful, but drinking less than 1 liter of oolong tea per day is safe for most adults.
- Other possible benefits: While there is not enough current research to support the following benefits, drinking tea has also been associated with: healthier gut bacteria, lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, natural defense from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, stronger bones
How to Incorporate Oolong Tea into Your Diet
Drinking loose leaf Oolong tea after meals aids digestion and reduces bloating, a common contributor to belly fat appearance. Drinking 2-3 cups of loose leaf Oolong tea daily can produce noticeable results over time. You can use oolong tea bags or tea leaves to make your tea. Oolong tea must be taken twice daily to observe effects on overall body weight and promoting weight loss.
Preparation Tips
Oolong tea requires water at 185-205°F. To make it at home, you want to use water that is just shy of boiling - around 190 degrees Fahrenheit or 90 degrees Celsius. This ensures the best flavor profile but also reduces nutrient loss. Higher water temperatures can destabilize and reduce the tea’s antioxidants like its polyphenols. Researchers found that oolong tea has the strongest antioxidant activity when soaked at these temperatures for 3 minutes.
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Choosing the Right Oolong Tea
When choosing Oolong tea, opting for organic Oolong tea is crucial. Organic variants are grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, preserving the natural compounds responsible for the tea’s health benefits.
Considerations and Potential Side Effects
Because oolong tea contains caffeine, drinking it in high amounts can have adverse side effects like headaches, irritability, increased heart rate, and insomnia. Experts recommend not exceeding 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, and one cup of oolong tea contains about 38 milligrams per serving. People who are sensitive to caffeine should still limit their intake.
Tea can decrease the amount of iron absorbed from plant foods. Also, some researchers found that young children who drank tea were more likely to have lower iron levels. It may, therefore, be better to drink tea outside of meals to limit its impact on iron absorption. When consumed together at meals, eating foods rich in vitamin C can increase the amount of iron absorbed from plant foods.
Oolong Tea vs. Green Tea
Oolong tea and green tea contain similar amounts of caffeine, approximately 10 to 60 milligrams (mg) per 8-ounce cup. For comparison, coffee contains approximately 70 to 130 mg of caffeine per 8-ounce cup.
The difference in green tea and oolong tea is processing. All tea is green when picked. Green tea is heated in order to halt the natural enzymatic reaction (oxidation) of the leaf. 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. Oolong tea is more beneficial in promoting weight loss because the caffeine and EGCG content is much higher in the green tea versus the oolong tea.
However, from some of the research reviewed above, drinking green tea may offer the most health advantages.