This partially oxidized tea is a popular pick with a bolder flavor than green tea, yet one that is milder than black.
Oolong contains a mixture of polyphenols that give green and black tea their claim to fame: catechins (green tea) and theaflavins (black tea), according to a past review. Like these other tea varieties, oolong also provides caffeine and may promote weight loss.
For example, a study published in February 2018 in Nutrients found that oolong tea extract helped increase fat burning in mice.
Other research suggests these benefits may be true in humans, too, though larger studies are still needed. A small study involving 12 participants that was published in December 2020 in Nutrients found that men without obesity who drank oolong tea at breakfast and lunch saw a 20 percent boost in post-meal fat burn after 14 days. Men who drank an experimental caffeine beverage saw similar results. Still, they didn’t burn as much fat during sleep as the oolong group, suggesting that the tea’s caffeine content isn’t solely responsible for its effects.
The fat-burning effects of oolong tea may lead directly to weight loss by aiding lipid metabolism, some researchers theorize. For example, a past study found that drinking four cups of oolong tea per day helped adults who were overweight or obese lose weight. In fact, roughly 70 percent of the subjects with severe obesity (those with a body mass index higher than 35) lost more than 2.2 pounds by the end of six weeks, and 22 percent lost more than 6 pounds.
But while some studies show promise, more research is needed to determine if and how oolong tea helps with weight loss, Koszyk notes.
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