Wu-Long Tea - Oolong Tea - Wu Yi Tea: Balanced Review

 

First things first: all tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. It's the processing that determines which tea is oolong, green, black or white. Now, it is true that each type of tea will have its own individual amounts of antioxidants and other chemicals - there are differences - but for the most part, the differences are insignificant. As to the names - Oolong, Wu Yi and Wu Long - do not be fooled by that either, these are all the same tea. The standard, westernized name for this type of tea - derived from the Chinese "wu" (black) and "lung" (dragon) is Oolong. Wu Yi is the name of a mountain range where oolong tea has long been produced, Wu Long is just a hybrid of the names, and the bottom lines is: the various other names are just marketing. The last thing you should know is that Oolong tea (or Wu Yi, or whatever it's being marketed as) is not a "rare"commodity. It's as common and bountiful as Lipton Classic.

Now, how is tea such an effective weight loss tool? Oolong is said to allegedly activate enzymes that cause the breakdown of fat and improve your metabolism and WA-LA - you're a weight loss, metabolic machine. Now, if you're reading this you're likely also familiar with Green Tea as a health and weight loss aid. The Oolong folks claim their tea burns significantly more calories than Green Tea due to the way it's processed, and its aforementioned chemical compounds. They claim Oolong's formulation reduces the fattening effects of carbohydrates and the absorption of saturated fat. In addition, they claim Oolong makes your skin look younger, your teeth healthier, and your immune system stronger. Except that is not exactly so. Because....as we noted up top, all tea comes from the same plant. There just are not significant enough differences amongst types of tea to make claims like that.Which is not to say that tea does not have health benefits - it does - but oolong and green have essentially the same benefits as all other types of tea.

And what are those benefits? Tea is rich in antioxidants, chemical compounds which detoxify our systems by attacking the bad news "free radicals" (toxic chemicals) which damage our cells. Studies of rats prove that the heavy tea drinkers have less cancer than their non-tea drinking counterparts. But now as far as weight loss goes, the news is not so exciting. The chemical compounds in tea do speed up the metabolism - studies suggest somewhere around 4%. But if you roll out the math that works out to about 8 pounds a year - hardly the miraculous and stunning 30 lbs in a month type results that these "weight loss tea" marketers advertise to get your money. Bottom Line: Tea is Good For You. It's a healthier and less expensive alternative to sodas, etc. and a super accompaniment to a diet and exercise plan. But it will not, on its own, melt the pounds away. And finally, if you want to start drinking tea for its health benefits, oolong, green, black - they're all good. Drink what you like.

FYI, there are herbal teas on the market which claim to be "herbal weight loss" teas. Check the ingredients - oolong (under whatever name) and green tea contain no harmful elements, but some "herbal weight loss teas" do. They'll contain diuretic and laxative elements, so you'll drop a lot of water weight quickly, but have problems related to dehydration and digestive system issues.