Oolong Tea for weight loss??

I currently live in China where tea is drunk constantly. Everyone keeps saying to drink Oolong tea to lose weight. It is supposed to be very effective with aiding weight loss. It is apparently twice as effective as regular Green Tea.

I have looked it up on the internet too, and lots of people keep saying the same thing (apparently Opera swears by it). But none of the people making these claims are actually Doctors, or Nutritionalists, so I don't know if it's really true.

Either way, since I live in China, the tea is in large supply, and very cheap, so I drink it every day. But is it as effective as the claims? Has anyone heard any info on this? What specificlly in this tea is so effective?

Thanks everyone...

I've heard the same thing but havent' started drinking it yet!

let me know how you get on and i might go out and buy some!

I have heard is meant to be very good for you - plus i love opera so i take her word for it!!

i love oolong tea, so this is good news. 

in terms of the science, a recent study found that green tea does have many health benefits including cancer prevention and weight loss.  the catch is that you have to brew 1 - 2 tablespoons of loose leaves in 1 cup of water for five minutes.  this makes for a very strong cup of tea.

i suspect that oolong works in much the same way.  so the teabags you get at the supermarket aren't going to cut it.

 

I might be mistaken, but it is worth looking up (I would but I'm about to go into a meeting).

White, green, black and oolong tea all come from the Camellia sinensis plant (the only plant where "true" teas come, herbal "teas" are tisanes).  They are fermented and processed differently which is why they taste different.  I know that the process that makes black and oolong destroys more of the antioxidants than the process that makes green and white tea.  But, this I really don't know, maybe the process enhances the weightloss properties that are in green tea.  Like I said, I'm no expert, so feel free to do more research.

i know there are some oolong teas and green teas that claim on the box that they will make you lose weight... butt fine print is also extra bowel movements... so if thats the tea you speak of i wouldnt recommend it only b/c its not safe to use any lax for weight loss... but if its not that diet tea then nevermind :)

Puzzling. Some people say it's helpful, some people say it isn't. Which is what I saw on the internet with further research. At all the tea shops here they say it definately is, but they will say anything to get you to buy something from them. I am lucky though that whatever tea you buy will be pure, and very strong. Not like tea bags at the grocery store.

I've been drinking it for 4 days now, so I don't know if it is making a difference. I haven't noticed any more Bowel Movements, but I do go **Number 1** more often. But I think that's attributed to drinking so much extra tea on top of all the water I drink. I'll pay attention to the Bowel Movements though. Definately don't want that!!

One thing I have learned from living in China: with any tea, the first serving off a bag or leaves won't be very good, or have benefits. You must use it, drain what you make, and do it again. The second portion will be really good, and the third will be the best. After that, things wear away. So if your just drinking tea for pleasure it doesn't actually matter. But if it's to lose weight / lower cholesterol, etc, then this is a good idea. It's something that EVERY tea experts here insist on. And these people here definately know their tea. I've been doing that. Again, we'll see the pay off...

Thanks everyone!

andiem - i def heard that the second and third "infussions" with the same tea bag are the best... i like to get all my teas from the chinatown we have here, in fact i may pick  up some oolong and see what happens.

Be a nice benefit, I just picked up some Cherry Festival Sencha Green Tea(GT w/ cherry and rose petals), and some Orange Blossom Oolong tea(w/ orange blossoms ob viously)

wow, andiem.  maybe it's the calories you burn making the tea right that causes you to lose weight!

okay, tell me this: do i have to use loose leaves for three infusions or can i use a tea ball?

I don't know about weight loss, but I definitely think tea is good for you.  I would think that some of the weightloss claimed comes from the fact that instead of drinking something full of calories like soda or even juice, its being replaced by a calorie-free alternative.  I wouldnt think that there is a truly significant difference between the effects of oolong compared to the others, but hey, if you like it and believe it helps I'm all for it! I LOVE tea...check out adagio.com, you can buy sample tins to try all kinds of tea if you're not sure what you like.  I have sooo may kinds now and I love them all :) 

Mariamck:

Any tea is ok. Leaves, balls, bags. As long as you give the ingredients to moisten and release their chemicals. Bags aren't the best, cuz the ingredients aren't as pure, but if it's all that's available, its still better than nothing I think.

I'm glad so many of us drink tea now. Weight loss or not, it's so much better for you than a coke.

I thought that even hot water had some benefits...decreases the absorption of fat after a meal, which is the key point.  Unfortunately, it also decreases iron absorption...

Look at it this way, if you don't hear it blasting over the airwaves on the national news and on the headlines of the newspapers, then it's likely not worth it. Drinking tea for it's health benefits is one thing, but looking for it to aid in weight loss is likely time wasted. But yes, drink tea it's great!

I think these ideas about tea come up because Asian people are generally slim and they are known to drink a lot of green tea, oolong/ wulong etc.

Living in Japan I think that the lower rate of obesity here has a lot more to do with habits like small portions, less red meat and dairy consumed and lots of walking than the consumption of green tea. Certainly I drink plenty of green tea and sometimes oolong and am not overweight, but I don't think the two things are related.

Drink the teas if you like, they have plenty of beneficial nutrients in them and are a thousand times better for you than sodas, but healthy eating and exercise are going to be the main factors in weight loss every time.

Hey everyone. I continued drinking the Oolong tea for a few months, but didn't notice any real difference.

Another girl here gave me this "Weight loss tea" which she likes. I can't remember what exactly it was made of (Hawk something), but it was things I have never heard before. I drank a few cups and almost immediately had to run into the bathroom. I stopped drinking the tea, but the extra bowel movements lasted a week. After only a few cups! The girl said she never had any extra bowel movements though.

I looked the ingredients up (luckily there was English on the box). All of them are banned in North America because they haven't been able to see the long term effects yet. Plus, they increase your heart rate, but at unhealthy levels.

I'm writing this because what I did was actually kind of dangerous. I just don't want anyone else to be as silly as I was. It could have been a much bigger problem than it was. Check out the side effects first, drink second.

It sounds good, doesn't it? Especially if you love to drink tea anyway. I've done some research on this and, like with any other diet or weight-loss scheme, going the oolong route is effective when accompanied by exercise (a recommended 30 minute walk, 3 or more times a week), not eating after 7:30 or 8:00 pm, and drinking your usual 6-8 glasses of water a day. While probably not your "miracle weight-loss results" like some websites are claiming, it certainly will add to a healthy lifestyle and will help you to not gain weight, anyway.

 

Oolong is a type of green tea.

There are many kinds of green tea out there just like blacktea and white tea.

I love all types of green tea and I personally drink them after meal.

Basically, green tea is advertised as a kind of drink just like how "coffee" is advertised so it's just easier to generalize. The same concept in different kinds of coffee beans, origin, how you roast it etc...

Bear in mind that green tea are dried leaves from trees. And there are many kind of trees that produces "green leaves".

Hope this helps.

milazer:  I think you are referring to teas that contain senna, which are typically found at oriental markets and market as Diet Tea.  And I agree with you that using that consistently is bad for the reason you stated.

As for oolong tea in general, I have read that oolong is not as good for boosting metabolism as green tea and it does have fewer antioxidants due to the curing process.  It is still better than black tea (which is the basis for many English and American teas), but not as good as green tea.

I think that the tea that the person who started this thread is thinking of is the Wu Loong tea, which is supposedly a very high quality oolong tea that has special weight loss benefits.  This is the one the Oprah touts.  You are supposed to drink too cups per day and after reviewing their website and the claims on it, I think it is mainly a scam to get you to subscribe to their tea sales service (which is quite expensive).

In order of preference, I would recommend green tea, oolong tea, then lastly, black tea.  I think that all teas are useful to people trying to lose weight because they all boost metabolism to some degree and at least for me, they help curb appetite (especially when you drink it hot).

 

what i have read is that the green tea is most effective (but the articles all quote one study) - but oolong is great as a no calorie drink, and for the antioxidants. so i would say drink it but do not expect miracles:)