Green Tea and Oolong Tea – What is the Difference and Do They Aid Weight Loss?

You may have heard about green tea / oolong tea and their amazing weight loss abilities. When I first heard that people were using green tea to lose weight I was very very sceptical (as I am always). Then I got talking to a Chinese friend and she was adamant that oolong tea aids weight loss. Hmmm, so not just commercial pharma companies peddling snake oil then?

I did some more research and found several peer reviewed papers (scientific journals) that have concluded that oolong tea does aid weight loss. Specifically poluphenols in oolong tea help with breaking down dietary fat and help it pass through the system. Polyphenols simply help your body to excrete dietary fat rather than store it.

So this led me to then ask 2 more questions:

1. If oolong tea contains polyphenols, why do people sell expensive “green tea pills”?
2. What is the difference between oolong tea and green tea? As I have also heard that green tea aids weight loss, but the studies made it clear that green tea is not as effective as oolong tea.

Green Tea / Oolong Tea Pills

In short – they are pointless. Chinese people have been drinking tea for centuries and have reported the weight loss effect for many years. Nobody ever decided that taking tea in pill form would be better until commercial businesses started thinking up new ways to exploit people.

So, if you want to lose weight with oolong tea, buy a tin (loose leaf is tastier and better quality) and make tea. Drink around 4 cups a day.

Green Tea or Oolong Tea? What is the Difference?

Wuyi Green tea is one type of tea that people claim to aid weight loss. Wuyi tea is a specific type of green tea, and is actually oolong tea. So it does aid weight loss due to the polyphenols.

But be warned! Not all green teas are wuyi / oolong.Just because something says “Wuyi tea” or “green tea” on a label does not mean it is pure Wuyi tea. Many green teas contain less polyphenols, and often manufacturers blend teas which sees the richness of polyphenols reduced to the point that there is not enough to aid weight loss.

So, the key is to buy Oolong Tea or Wuyi Tea, and look for quality unblended teas. They are generally a little more, but it is worth it.

Any Health Risks of Drinking Green Tea?

If you drink too much green tea then there are some health risks that you must be aware of. These include, but are not limited to;

• Possible risk of birth defects
• Kidney damage

But, the biggest problems is with supplements / green tea pills. Researchers concluded that drinking 10 cups of green tea a day is totally fine. But taking pills that often contain 50 times more polyphenol as a single cup of tea does pose health risks.

Our advice is to buy some loose leaf oolong tea, brew it for about 5 minutes in boiled water and then drink it. Add nothing to it, a good tea needs no additional flavouring – certainly not sugar or milk!

Is it Green Oolong Tea worth it?

Our advice is simple – if you like oolong tea and can afford the good quality tea, then drink it, it will help a little. Especially if it means you drink it instead of lattes and other high calorie drinks.

If you do not like it though, don’t drink it. The increase in metabolism is not huge. It does aid weight loss, but so does running 2 miles or doing 20 minutes of circuit training. Plus you still have to eat a sensible low calorie diet. It is certainly not a miracle cure for weight problems.