The Chinese Tea Wonders

Chinese Tea was originally served as a medicine before it became a largely consumed beverage. It can be traced from the early Chinese medicine and botany. The tea plant was originally grown in southern China.

 Chinese Tea can relieve fatigue, delight the soul, strengthen the will, and repair the eyesight. It was not only applied as an internal drug but also administered externally in the form of paste used in alleviating pains caused by rheumatism. The Buddhists extensively consumed tea in keeping them alert during long hours of deep meditation. The Taoists regarded tea as a substantial component
 of immortality.

 Oolong Tea is produced by allowing the tea leaves to oxidize for a short time after picking. Oxidation is the process which makes the leaves turn dark on exposure to oxygen. Oolong is semi-oxidized; black tea is fully oxidized; and green tea is un-oxidized.

 Fresh tea leaves are high in catechins. Processing the tea reduces these levels, so the more the tea is oxidized the lower the catechin levels. This means that white tea has the highest levels of catechins closely followed by green tea.

 Catechins are the media darling of green tea promoters and usually receive the most coverage when discussing the health benefits of Chinese Tea. There is one point, however, which is often overlooked: As the levels of catechins decrease during oxidation, the levels of theaflavins and thearubigins increase.

 It is safe to say that all tea is good for you, but since we are particularly interested in oolong, let's see what the medical literature has to say.

 * Diabetes - Oolong Tea may be an effective adjunct to oral hypoglycemic agents in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

 * Eczema - Japanese researchers reported that patients with a form of eczema improved after drinking a liter of oolong tea daily.

 * Allergies - Two catechin derivatives (C-1 and C-2) with potent antiallergic activity were isolated from Taiwanese oolong tea.

 * Bacterial infections - Oolong Tea polyphenols strongly inhibited the enzyme activities of some types of streptococci.

 * Cavities - Oolong tea polyphenolic compounds could be useful for controlling dental caries.

 * Obesity - Consumption of Oolong Tea stimulates both EE and fat oxidation in normal weight men.

 * Cancer - Chinese Oolong tea extract has a chemopreventive action against hepatocarcinogenesis.

 Great stuff! Drinking oolong tea will make you healthier, live longer, be more beautiful and have great teeth!