Health Benefits of Wu Long Tea

Research studies on the health benefits of wu long tea (also referred to as oolong tea) reveal the brew's potential to reverse signs of aging, facilitate weight loss, and promote overall wellness.
While all teas possess similar properties including caffeine, catechin, polyphenals, and teaflavin tearubigin that provide benefits to the human body, the quantities and percentages differ depending on the extent of oxidation during production.
Therefore the health benefits of wu long tea, which is semi-fermented, vary from those offered by green tea with its limited processing and black tea with its extensive oxidation process.
Following are some research studies that point to the health benefits of wu long tea consumption.
WEIGHT LOSS:
Scientists from Japan's University of Tokushima School of Medicine found that people who regularly consumed oolong tea experienced more than twice the calorie-burning results compared to those who drank green tea.
A study published in the Journal of Medical Investigation found that women who consumed wu-long tea directly after a meal increased energy expenditure by 10%. This compared to an energy expenditure of 4% for green tea drinkers and 0 for water drinkers.
Researchers at the Suntory Research Center in Osaka, Japan found that drinking wu long tea 15 minutes before eating foods high in carbohydrates curbed rises in insulin, thus reducing some of the fattening effects of carbohydrate intake.
ENHANCED SKIN CONDITION:
Researchers from Japan's Shiga University of Medical Science found that drinking wu long each day helps to clear up skin problems within one month.
Kenichi Yanagimoto and colleagues from the University of California found that people who drank wu long tea on a daily basis experienced a fifty-percent reduction in free radicals within 15 days. Dr.
Free radicals are damaging substances in the body that contribute to signs of aging, including wrinkles and dark spots that are caused by ultra-violet rays, chemical food additives, pollution and stress.
HEALTHY TEETH:
A study by the Department of Dentistry at Japan's Osaka University showed that regular consumption of oolong tea strengthens teeth and helps prevent tooth decay by inhibiting the build-up of plaque.
STRONGER IMMUNE SYSTEM:
According to a study published in Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, test subjects who consumed wu long were found to have stronger immune systems and a reduced risk for infections.
While the results of these and other studies are promising, you should always talk with your doctor about the health benefits of wu long tea before adding the brew or other varieties to your daily diet for therapeutic purposes.
This article was written by Jules Sowder. Visit
Learn-About-Tea.com
for more information on tea, including varieties, health benefits, selection, accessories, gift-giving and entertaining.

Green Tea vs Black Tea - Which Is Better?

Which tea is better - green tea or black tea? As we all know, green tea is a very powerful weapon against several illnesses. But how about black tea? Do we also get health benefits from it?
Black tea does have several health benefits but they are not nearly as wide-ranging and powerful as those of green tea.
But what makes green tea more beneficial than black tea?
Catechins are, by the way, the one responsible for green tea's amazing health benefits. Catechins are green tea's main ingredient containing eight times more than black tea. The answer is "catechins"!
Bottom line is that the more catechins a tea has, the better it is for your general health.
Unfortunately, these catechins are mostly oxidized into theaflavins and thearubigens during the manufacture of black tea.
Theaflavins and thearubigens do have some of their own health benefits, but they can't compare with the wide-ranging effects of green tea's catechins, particularly the powerful EGCG.
While a cup of black tea contains about 5- 10 mg of the powerful catechin EGCG, a cup of green tea contains more than eight times than amount, or 40-90 mg.
Although green and black teas came from the same plant - Camellia Sinensis, what makes them different from each other in terms of taste and health benefits is the processing method.
This processing is so minimal that green tea can be consumed the same leaves are picked. When making green tea, processors lightly steam or gently heat the leaves to stop the oxidation process.
On the other hand, tea leaves designed to become black tea are allowed to oxidize and undergo considerably more processing, including a fermentation process that produces the dark-brown and even reddish color of black tea.
But the process used to make a black tea destroys compounds called polyphenols. It is the polyphenols that are responsible for the long list of health benefits of green tea.
Despite its stronger color and flavor, black tea cannot come close to green tea as far as health benefits are concerned.
Because green tea's processing is as little as possible, green tea retains its original polyphenols.
Rose Antonio has been a green tea drinker for many, many years. She has a special interest in alternative healing and natural remedies.
Though she has tried different types of tea from different countries, she always go back to Japanese Green Tea not only because of its taste but more so because of its amazing health benefits gathered from years and years of research and from talking to many health enthusiasts.

Wu-Long Tea – Helps Reverse the Signs of Aging

As we grow older, the effect of free radicals takes its toll on the body mainly in the form of aging. Actually in the past 50 years, free radical research has strongly concluded that free radicals are a major factor in aging and the visible signs that go along with it. Other diseases related to aging and caused in whole or part by free radical damage are cancer, Alzheimer's dementia, arthritis and inflammatory disease and heart/artery disease.
These free radicals are produced by stress, pollution, eating processed foods, chemical additives in many of the foods we eat etc..
The damaging process is certainly a gradual one. day in - day out. Many of the visible signs of aging, such as dark spots and wrinkling of the skin, have been strongly linked to increased levels of free radicals invading our body...
Antioxidants are the best defense against free radicals. Fortunately you can take action to reduce the amount of these nasty, damaging substances in your body without drugs.
One of the best and enjoyable methods is to drink Wu-long tea (oolong).
Wu Long tea is rich in these 3 substances: catechins, theaflavins and thearubigins. These substances act as antioxidants, which destroy free radicals and are completely natural. Be advised, grocery store versions of Wulong or any teas have much lower levels of these antioxidants because the leaves have been extremely processed. The oxidation process reduces the catachin level.
To get maximum potency and value of Wu Long tea I suggest you find a good online tea store and not waste your money on pre-packaged name brand type wu-long tea.
You are doing yourself a favor every time you drink a cup….slowly undoing the effects of aging. Also it's nice to know there are no side effects to drinking Wu-long tea; it tastes great and is good for your soul!