What is Oolong tea, you ask? We’ll you’ve probably had it already and don’t even know it. If you’ve ever had the tea at Chinese restaurants, they most likely served you oolong tea. Don’t worry, not all oolong teas taste like what you had. They serve a mass-produced, watered down versions. When you make the tea yourself, you’ll see that it’s just as delicious as the green tea or white tea that you’re used to, and it’s just as rich with antioxidant properties and health benefits. Are you ready to expand your tea horizons? Glad to hear it!
Oolong tea dates back about 400 years to its widespread use in China and is believed to be one of the most beneficial types of tea. It uses the same leaves as green tea and black tea and it combines both fermentation processes, which packs double the health benefits into one delicious cup of tea!
Natural oolong tea is packed with a laundry list of vitamins and minerals. It has Vitamin A, B, C, E and K along with calcium, manganese, copper, carotin, selenium potassium, folic acid and niacin amide. All of those properties combine to make oolong tea a weight managing, cancer-fighting, diabetes beating, relaxing cup of tea.
Weight management
Oolong tea has natural compounds that help control the metabolism of fat. Because it activates enzymes that enhance fat cell functions, it is commonly believed to reduce the risk for obesity.
Diabetes
People who suffer from type-2 diabetes regularly drink oolong tea because it helps regulate the amount of blood sugar and insulin that is in the blood stream. This is a good way to prevent the violent dips and spikes in blood sugar that plagues diabetic patients. In fact, a 2003 study showed that when combined with normal diabetes medication, oolong tea provided more blood sugar balance and prevented sudden spikes is nearly every single person in the study. Wow!
Cancer-fighting
Lots of people know that drinking tea helps fight cancer, but do you know why? Well, a compound in tea, specifically oolong tea, promotes apoptosis in cells related to cancer. In English, it means tea helps kill cells that can lead to cancer. Because of this, people drink tea as a preventative measure to ward off carcinogenic cells. It’s a simple and delicious way to help maintain a long and healthy life!
With health benefits like this, what is stopping you from having your daily cup of tea? There aren’t many things in life that are good AND good for you. Oolong tea is one of them. Make sure you take advantage of it.
