Difference between green tea and oolong tea
All tea, whether they are called black tea, white tea, green tea or oolong tea, are made from the leaves of the same plant called the Camellia sinensis or the tea plant. While all tea plants originated from the same plant species, local growing conditions such as altitude, climate, and soils conditions, can result in distinctive leaves. But the differences between the types of tea come from the different ways the leaves are processed that gives the individual characteristics of each of the four tea: green, white, black and oolong.
The process of fermentation or oxidation produces the different types of tea. Green tea is from un-oxidized tea leaves; black tea is fully oxidized leaves; and oolong is semi-oxidized leaves. Oxidation makes the tea leaves turn dark when exposed to the air. Oolong tea is fermented anywhere from 10% to about 75%.
Fresh tea leaves are high in catechins, powerful antioxidant compounds. Processing the tea reduces these levels, so the more the tea is oxidized the lower the catechin levels. This means that green tea has higher levels of catechins that oolong tea. In addition, as the levels of catechins decrease during oxidation, the levels of other beneficial chemicals such as theaflavins and thearubigins increase.
Benefits of green tea
Green tea health benefits
Green tea is the second most consumed beverage, after water, in the world and its numerous health benefits from regular consumption is well known. Because green tea leaves are not oxidized, the polyphenols, antioxidant compounds that are responsible for the recognized health benefits of tea are left intact.
Green tea has antioxidants that reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. It may also protect against heart disease, and decrease the incidence of many types of cancer, including prostate and breast cancers. Green tea is loaded with a potent catechin, or antioxidant, called Epigallocatechin 3-gallate or Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is believed to account for most of the green tea benefits.
Recent study also found that drinking a cup of green tea after meals helps reduce incidents of cavities and gum disease because the polyphenols kill the bacteria responsible.
Green tea and weight loss
The green tea weight loss diet is widely used and is a natural and one of the safest weight loss aides available today to help you lose weight. Green tea is often called a weight loss tea. The tea is known for its thermogenics properties. Thermogenic helps the body to oxidize and burn fat. Thermogenics boost the body's metabolism and make the body burn more fuel. Supplemented with a low carbohydrate diet, the energy to fuel the higher metabolism caused by green tea will come from fats due to the limited ready carbohydrates as fuel.
A major component in green tea is EGCG, or Epigallocatechin gallete, which is responsible for green tea’s thermogenic properties. It can also help reduce your appetite, and in turn reduce the craving to over eat. In addition to be a fat burner, green tea also appears to inhibit the storage of excess fat into fat cells. Research data suggests that an average person need to drink five cups of green tea a day to burn an extra 70 extra calories per day from the effect of the thermogenics.
