How to Lose Weight Drinking Oolong Tea

4 Parts:

The Studies Behind Oolong Tea

Oolong Tea For Weight Loss

Ways to Consume Oolong Tea

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Oolong Tea is a derivative of the Camellia sinensis plant, which also produces Black Tea. Oolong is comprised of almost the entire plant by allowing the plant to dry in the sun and then processing the plant down to a bag of tea that we steep. Black Tea is fermented while Oolong is only partially fermented. It has a pleasant almost sweet taste reminiscent of Southern Sweet Sun Tea.

• A study by the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine in February 2009, showed that drinking two cups of oolong tea a day could shed one extra pound a week. That is tremendous when you think about how you can lose an extra 4 pounds a month just by drinking two cups of tea.
• The Department of Applied Nutrition, The University of Tokushima School of Medicine, in 2003, found that Oolong tea caused energy expenditure (EE) to peak at 120 minutes in females that were also drinking water and green tea. Polymerized polyphenols found in teas were more than double other teas which is the believed reason for the prolonged EE. It also contains half the caffeine of other caffeinated teas which means that you can drink it and feel that boost of energy but it maintains at a steady pace for 120 minutes. These polyphenols are excellent for reducing cancer risks and cardiovascular disease as well. Fat oxidation was also found to be 12% higher during this study vs. water consumption only.
• There was a study by Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Department of Nutrition, University of Tokushima and Suntory Research Center, Suntory Ltd., Osaka Japan, that Oolong tea increases the metabolic rate and fat oxidation in men that consumed the 15 mg daily of dried oolong tea made with boiling water 3 times a day.
• An addition study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition cited findings that the polyphenols in oolong tea create an atmosphere where fat is not absorbed but instead excreted. They fed participants food high in lipids like potato chips and also had some in the study consume oolong tea three times a day. It was found that the participants had extra fat in their fecal matter vs. those in the study that just had a placebo.

What is Fat Oxidation

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   Lipids and Triglycerides

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   Fat in our body is comprised of molecules called lipids. When you break down the composition they are triglycerides and essential fatty acids. The essential fatty acids are what keeps our joints lubricated and fight inflammation in our body. Triglycerides are the portions of fat that we want to lose. Energy is expended using the triglycerides. When you carb load after a work out this is what you are hoping to use to burn off the extra fat stored in your body. The triglyceride breaks down the fats from food and sends them to our fat storage zones. If you do not burn off that fat right away, you end up with the "beer belly" storage issue.

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   How Fat Oxidation Works

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   The Lipids are broken down in our body almost like how a traffic circle works. Essential fats go here and triglycerides go in the other direction in the traffic circle usually where you already have fat zones stored in your body. Healthy fats can be consumed like avocados for instance burn belly fat instead of contributing to it. It is mainly carbs that give us triglycerides and other unhealthy fat sources that we consume. Diet and exercise can help to control the triglycerides with fat oxidation but if you are diabetic you have elevated triglycerides because your body does not process sugars and carbohydrates the way it should.

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   How Oolong Tea Helps

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   When you consume the oolong tea your body immediately says, Let's Party! Energy is immediately felt and during this time, the oolong tea is working on those triglycerides to expend all the excess energy. You almost get the energy boost you would after exercising, like the "Runner's High" and the best part is unlike other energy sources, oolong does not cause rapid heart beat. So that 12% increase in fat oxidation can help you lose the stored fat faster with diet and exercise.

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Now that we have learned about energy expenditure and fat oxidation let's learn how it benefits us for weight loss when we drink two cups of oolong tea a day.

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   Energy Expenditure

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   The oolong tea raising our energy expenditure by just 3% but that equates to 70 extra calories burned a day and the polyphenols in the tea increase our energy expenditure by another 10% lasting 120 minutes after we have consumed the tea. This means that for 2 hours while you are sitting on the couch watching a movie, the oolong is burning calories.

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   Fat Oxidation

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   Remember we want to get rid of those nasty triglycerides swirling around in our blood stream looking for a nice new permanent home. Due to that increase in oolong tea, your fat storage will reduce quicker than regular diet and exercise alone. You also can decrease your cholesterol levels with oolong tea. A good way to tell if the oolong is working is to measure yourself once a week. People get confused with weight loss where they keep losing 3 pounds only to gain 2 pounds back. That is because they are losing just water weight and very little actual fat loss. With the oolong tea, you can work towards targeting those fat zone properly and see an actual weight loss of fat results.

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   Polyphenols

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   Oolong contains the most polyphenols in teas. Considering is also is one of the lowest in caffeinated varieties that is a bonus. Polyphenols cause our bodies to push the triglycerides into our intestine. This means that we evacuate the fat before it deposits into a fat storage area like our stomach region. Polyphenols effect our good bacteria the way a probiotic would. This also boosts your immune system and stop potentially harmful bacteria.

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   Iced Tea

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   Oolong makes a great choice as a base for iced tea. Add mint, berries such as blueberries and raspberries or cranberries if you would like more of a flavor based iced tea. Use additional teas like white tea fruit flavored varieties to enhance the iced tea flavors. A particularly good one to use is white tea with pomegranate and blueberry which is refreshing and pairs well with the oolong tea.
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