Wulong Tea for Weight Loss

Examining the Facts About Drinking Wulong Tea for Weight Loss

Wulong tea has received a tremendous amount of publicity as the new weight-loss miracle. The truth is that wulong tea is neither “new” nor “miraculous.” It has been around for centuries and does have some weight loss properties. While it can be considered a dieting aid, it is not the magic cure for obesity.

Wulong tea is also known as “oolong” or “wu long.” The different spellings result from the various ways the Chinese language can be written using the English (or more properly the “Roman”) alphabet.

The Chinese pronunciation of this tea sounds like “oo-long.”

Wulong was first produced in the 15th century in China’s Fujian province. It is a semi-oxidized tea, meaning that the tea leaves are allowed to partially oxidize after they are picked.

Black tea is a fully oxidized tea and green tea is un-oxidized, so wulong has characteristics of both green and black tea.

In the 18th century, people from Fujian province crossed the Taiwan Straight to settle on the island of Taiwan and brought with them their techniques for producing wulong tea.

Taiwan proved to have ideal conditions for growing tea and now some of the finest wulong tea in the world comes from Taiwan.

Wulong Tea for Weight Loss and Dieting

This brew has recently come into the spotlight as a weight loss drink. Some unscrupulous vendors have pounced on this publicity and promoted wulong tea for weight loss as a “magic diet aid” that will shed extra pounds effortlessly.

As always, the truth is a little less dramatic. Scientific studies have shown that drinking the tea can raise the metabolism, and this in turn can burn extra calories.

he effect is relatively slight. A 2003 Japanese study found that energy expenditure increased by 10% for a period of 2 hours after drinking wulong tea.

The metabolic increase is due to polymerized polyphenols, which are more abundant in wulong tea than other types. Wulong tea can also suppress lipid metabolism which has the effect of suppressing fatty accumulation and body weight increases.

Another Japanese study concludes that long-term consumption of wulong tea for weight loss is beneficial for the suppression of diet induced obesity.

Asian Diet

Wulong tea is popular is many Asian countries, and some have made a link between the slim Asian physique and wulong tea consumption.

While the tea undoubtedly plays a part in keeping Asians slim, a bigger part by far is the traditional Asian diet. The typical Asian diet is plant-based as opposed to the meat-protein diet of Western countries.

Asians typically have fewer chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. Asians also have longer life spans than Westerners. Diet certainly plays an important role in these differences.

Anyone who is seriously interested in losing weight and maintaining long term health is advised to take a take a close look at what keeps Asians slim and healthy.

Wulong tea is part of that diet, but it also includes an abundance of plant foods, low fat consumption, low dairy food consumption, a moderate amount of fish and a small amount of poultry and eggs.

The traditional Asian diet is very low in red meat. As Western influences spread through Asia and more red meat is consumed, there is a corresponding increase in “Western” disease such as coronary heart disease and some cancers.

Include Wulong Tea in Your Diet

Anyone wanting to drop pounds will benefit from daily consumption of wulong tea for weight loss.

Yet, there is much more to it than that. Permanent weight loss can only be accomplished by permanent lifestyle changes.

This means eating healthy foods and getting plenty of exercise. Wulong tea (which, by the way, is a delicious drink) can play an important part in that healthy lifestyle.

This article was written by Ross MacIver who operates www.TeaFromTaiwan.com, a website that offers a selection fine wulong tea from Taiwan, as well as information about the tea culture of Taiwan.

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