Oolong tea is a popular category of tea around the world.It is known to have to a lot of amazing health benefits and the type of Oolong tea varies around the world depending on the roasting process and the origin.It was said that Oolong originated from China or Taiwan, which explains why Oolong tea is still so commonly consumed for its health benefits in these two regions.
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What is Oolong Tea?
Oolong is semi-oxidized and its tea leaves have to go under strong sun and oxidation before they can form into the deep yet full-textured tea. Common flavours of Oolong tea include sweet, fruity, woody, fresh and roasted.
Oolong tea can vary extremely in price according to their species and varieties, for instant, Tieguanyin (“Iron Goddess of Mercy”) is one of the most famous and prestigious type of Oolong tea. Tieguanyin is made organically and has maximised the health benefits of Oolong tea. Some other notable type of Oolong tea include Da Hong Pao (“Big Red Robe”), Shui Jin Gui (“Golden Water Turtle”), Dongding (“Frozen Summit”), Dongfang Meiren (“Oriental Beauty”), Black Oolong and High-mountain Oolong.
These Oolong teas each have their own aroma and taste, and their prominent health benefit also varies. Many may have mistaken that Oolong tea is black tea or green tea, while in fact, Oolong tea is a tea category of itself and it strikes a delicate balance between the benefits and harms of both black tea and green tea. Oolong tea contains a lot of minerals and antioxidants, contributing to its vast amount of health benefits.
Health Benefits of Oolong Tea
In the modern society, people are starting to pay more attention to the benefits of what they are consuming, therefore, with these wonderful properties of Oolong tea, It did not take long before Oolong tea become popular around the world. Let’s find out some of the most amazing benefits of Oolong tea.
Benefit 1: Oolong Tea can prevent diabetes
Diabetes is now getting more and more common around the globe due to an increasing popularity of an unhealthy lifestyle. Diabetes can cause a lot of inconvenience in daily life. But now you have a simpler solution to this problem.
You can try to incorporate Oolong tea in your everyday diet, then in a few weeks, you can start to enjoy the incredible benefits brought by this new daily routine. Oolong tea contains a lot of useful antioxidants that can effectively lower blood sugar and insulin level, as well as increase insulin sensitivity, including polyphenol. These benefits can help to prevent diabetes. Studies also revealed that drinking Oolong tea daily can benefit you with a higher control of blood sugar level and thus, reducing the risk of developing a type II diabetes.
Benefit 2: Oolong Tea is good for your heart
Besides diabetes and high cholesterol level, heart disease is also a very commonly seen disease among modern societies. Many have ignore the importance of heart health until it is too late. Therefore, act now and try consuming Oolong tea regularly and your heart would definitely benefit from this practice. Studies have found that consuming antioxidants in tea can benefit one’s heart health. Regular Oolong tea drinkers usually have a lower level of blood pressure and cholesterol compared to those who seldom drink tea. These could lead to a significantly reduced risk of suffering from heart disease.
Benefit 3: Oolong tea can wake you up in the morning
It has become a very common morning routine for office workers to grab a cup of coffee before they go to work. However, a high dosage of caffeine might not actually be beneficial to one’s health, some may even develop a caffeine addiction over the years. Now with Oolong tea, you have a healthier alternative.
Oolong tea is proven to have the benefit of improving mental alertness and concentration. There is a low but significant amount of caffeine in Oolong tea, while at the same time, the minerals in Oolong tea can help to promote brain health, so that you can benefit from the alertness as well as protecting yourself from caffeine overdose.
Benefit 4: Oolong tea can help you lose weight
The benefit of losing weight by drinking Oolong tea is a well known fact among the weight loss community. Some studies found out that Oolong tea contains polyphenols, that might be effective in boosting one’s metabolism and help to reduce the level of fat absorbed by the body. Moreover, polyphenol might be able to activate particular enzymes in order for the body to use stored fat instead of the fat consumed from food. Some also believe that drinking Oolong tea daily can help to burn a few more extra calories. Black Oolong tea is especially known for this benefit.
Benefit 5: Oolong tea may help to prevent cancer
Cancer is still the number one killer disease of the world. The good news is, the anti-oxidants inside Oolong tea have the benefits to prevent cell mutation and tumour growth, two important factors that would lead to the growth and spread of cancer cells inside the body.
Polyphenols in Oolong tea have the benefit of slowing down the rate of cancer cell division. Oolong tea is especially useful when dealing with ovarian cancer. Some studies have provide that women who regularly drink Oolong tea benefit from a lower chance of getting ovarian cancer compared to those female non-tea drinkers.
Benefit 6: Oolong tea keeps your teeth and bones strong
Loosening of teeth and weakened bones are problems feared by many when it comes to aging. However, Oolong tea has some benefits that can deal with this problem. Oolong tea contains minerals like fluoride, manganese, potassium, sodium and magnesium. These minerals can help to keep your bones and teeth strong. Studies have found that regular Oolong tea drinkers can benefit from higher bone and teeth density, which can help them to stay strong and healthy even at an old age, greatly lowering the risk of bone fractures and fallen teeth.
Benefit 7: Oolong tea can help with digestion
Sometimes a cup of Oolong tea is what you need after a full and oily meal. Oolong tea has the benefit of promoting digestion. Since it is alkaline, it can neutralize the acidity of the digestive tract, lowering the chance of acid reflux and ulcer problems. You can also benefit from the mild antiseptic properties of Oolong tea as it can destroy the harmful bacteria you might have consumed from food. That is why it is a tradition in some Chinese areas to have a small cup of Oolong tea after dinner, that is called “Kong Fu Tea” in order to help with the digestion.
Benefit 8: Oolong tea gives you pretty hair
Besides health benefits, Oolong tea also has some beauty benefit. We all understand the importance of having bright and dark hair. The high amount of antioxidants in Oolong tea can give you smooth and dark hair. To treat severe hair loss, some people might even use Oolong tea to rinse their hair so that the scalp can directly absorb and benefit from the nutrients of Oolong tea, thus giving you shiny and thick hair. It can also soften your hair and add volume to it.
Benefit 9: Oolong tea improves your skin condition
Again, the antioxidants in Oolong tea have beauty benefits. These marvelous antioxidants can help to stop allergic reactions by combating free radicals. This is exceptionally useful for those who suffer from eczema because it usually occurs along with allergies to food or the environment. Even if you do not suffer from eczema or skin allergies, you can still benefit from Oolong tea because its anti-oxidizing property can help you to maintain a youthful look and smooth skin. Antioxidants can also slow down the agonizing aging-process, so sip up!
Side effects of Drinking Oolong Tea
Although Oolong tea has countless benefits, drinking too much Oolong tea could be unsafe to some. If you are drinking more than three cups of Oolong tea a day, you may suffer from symptoms of caffeine overdose, like headache, nervousness, insomnia, nausea, irregular heartbeat, tremor and dizziness. Please note that if you are pregnant, you should not drink more than 2 cups of Oolong tea a day, because that could possibly lead to miscarriage and premature delivery.
For breast feeding women, consuming more than 2 cups of Oolong tea a day might cause the baby to be more irritable and possible diarrhoea. For those who are sensitive to caffeine, you should also pay attention to the amount of consumption when it comes to Oolong tea. You should be extra cautious when it comes to Oolong tea consumption, because the dosage could affect how you can benefit from it.
As one of the most popular tea among different countries, Oolong tea has a lot of amazing health benefits like the reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, lower blood sugar and cholesterol level and improved brain function.
On the other hand, it also has some beauty benefits like maintaining pretty hair and smooth skin. The most important thing is its fresh aroma, full tea body and complex flavors. With all these benefits, you should definitely check out amazon.com to purchase some Oolong tea leaves so that you can enjoy some of these every day.
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