Does losing weight while you sleep sound too good to be true? According to a study from the University of Tsukuba, it seems that drinking oolong tea might help you do precisely that.
While all tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, the level of oxidation, a chemical reaction that turns tea leaves black, defines its specific type. By way of instance, green tea is unoxidized and mild in flavor, while the distinctive color of black tea comes from complete oxidation. Oolong tea, being only partially oxidized, is located somewhere in between and displays features of both black and green tea. But while green tea is famous for its health benefits, oolong tea stays more of the unknown.
“Like all teas, oolong contains caffeine, which impacts energy metabolism by increasing our heart rate. However, studies suggest that tea consumption may also increase the breakdown of fat, independent of the effects of caffeine,” explains senior author of the study Professor Kumpei Tokuyama. “We therefore wanted to examine the effects of oolong consumption versus caffeine alone on energy and fat metabolism among a group of healthy volunteers.”
Publishing their results in a current issue of the journal Nutrients, The researchers found both oolong tea and pure caffeine improved fat breakdown by roughly 20% in the healthy volunteers compared with the placebo, and that oolong tea continued to have a direct influence while the participants were asleep. Interestingly, neither therapy caused an increase in energy expenditure, suggesting that the volunteers developed a tolerance to the stimulatory effects of caffeine over the 2-week research period.
Because a lack of sleep can affect energy metabolism, also since c”The stimulatory effects of oolong tea on fat breakdown during sleep could have real clinical relevance for controlling body weight. However, we need to determine whether the effects we observed in the 2-week study translate into actual body fat loss over a prolonged period. In addition, we want to trial a decaffeinated oolong tea to better distinguish the effects of caffeine from other components of tea, which will help us understand exactly how oolong helps with fat breakdown.”
Caffeine is known to inhibit sleep, the investigators also studied the sleeping patterns of the volunteers. Significantly, there was no noticeable difference in sleeping patterns or the time it took participants to fall asleep between the treatment and placebo groups, suggesting that drinking oolong tea is unlikely to keep you from getting a fantastic night’s rest.
So should we be downing copious cups of oolong tea to counteract the indulgences of this festive season?
Based on Professor Tokuyama, the solution is possibly.
“The stimulatory effects of oolong tea on fat breakdown through sleep may have actual clinical significance for controlling body weight. But, we need to determine whether the effects we found from the 2-week study translate into real body fat loss on a prolonged period. Additionally, we need to test a decaffeinated freshwater tea to Better distinguish the consequences of caffeine from other elements of tea, Which can help us understand precisely how oolong helps with fat breakdown.”
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