Researchers found that this low-oxidized tea increased fat breakdown, even during sleep.
Losing weight while you sleep, do we all dream of it? This dream could come true according to researchers at the University of Tsukuba in Japan who have shown that drinking two cups a day of a tea that we all know favored breaking down fats…even during sleep. This tea, nicknamed “blue tea” because its leaves have bluish reflections, has the particularity of being slightly oxidized, which gives it a taste between green tea (an unoxidized tea, with a rather grassy taste) and black tea (a very oxidized tea, with a rather bitter taste). Thanks to its partial oxidation, this tea is particularly rich in catechinsantioxidants known to be incredible “fat burners” having “effects on energy expenditure“, according to the researchers. And “like all teas, it contains caffeinewhich has an impact on energy metabolism by increasing our heart rate and promoting the breakdown of fats“, they explain in the review Nutrients.
20% less fat in volunteers
To show this “fat-burning” effect, researchers followed 12 healthy people for 14 days which were divided into three groups. Every day, the volunteers in the first group consumed a cup of oolong tea (the famous “blue tea”) (100 mg) at breakfast and a second at lunch. The volunteers in the second group consumed a cup of pure coffee (100 mg) at breakfast and a second at lunch and the volunteers in the third group took a placebo. At the end of 14 days, calorimetry was carried out in order to measure the energy expenditure of each person. Thanks to this examination, the researchers realized that consumption of oolong tea and pure coffee increased the breakdown of fats by approximately 20% in participants in the first two groups compared to the “placebo” group. But above all, they were able to show thanks to a sleep recording that oolong tea continued to have a “fat-burning” effect while the participants slept, without having had negative impact on the time it takes to fall asleep or the quality of sleep. This continued action in sleep was not observed in coffee drinkers.
Any hope for losing weight faster?
“The stimulating effects of oolong tea on fat breakdown during sleep could have real clinical relevance to control body weight. However, we need to determine whether the effects we observed during the 2-week study translate into actual body fat loss over an extended period of time.” temper the authors of the study in a statement. In addition, they wish to test decaffeinated oolong tea For better distinguish the effects of caffeine from other components of teawhich will help them understand exactly how oolong participates in the breakdown of fats.