Health Benefits of Pu Erh Tea

Pu Erh Tea is the kind of tea that needs an acquired taste, you either grow to love it or it is just not your cup of Tea. But there’s more to just tasting, there are many health benefits to Pu Erh.

Let’s get intimate with Pu Erh Tea

Pu Erh Tea Types

There are two types of  Pu Erh – raw (sheng) and shou (ripe).

The raw Pu Erh undergoes the classic, traditional fermentation process which was originally first first produced in the town of Pu’er. Many traditional tea drinkers like to drink raw Pu Erh as the fermentation process honors the long-established method of production. After the fermentation process, these raw Pu Erh would be tightly compressed into tea cakes and left to age naturally. Raw Pu Erh tea cakes will be left to age for about 20-40 years till it reaches maturity. Although raw Pu Erh can be drunk before maturity, many tea drinkers will let it age and mature like fine gourmet wine as mature raw Pu Erh brews extraordinary tea like no other.

The ripe Pu Erh undertakes a much more modern and quicker process. The ripe Pu Erh leaves are covered and dampened, which quickens and cuts shorts the fermentation process to months as opposed to the 20-40 years that Raw Pu Erh tea takes to age.

4 Main Health Benefits of Pu Erh tea

Pu Erh Tea has been touted as a healthy fermented tea that is jam-packed with a multitude of health benefits for the body for centuries. And yes, these health benefits have been backed up by research.

1: AIDS DIGESTION AND WEIGHT LOSS

There has been much research on humans, rodents, and cell lines and they have each confirmed that Pu Erh tea indeed displays weight-loss and blood lipid lowering effects. The main bioactive components in Pu Erh tea are theabrownin (TB), polysaccharides, polyphenols, and statins and they down-regulate the biosynthesis of fat and up-regulate the oxidation of fat to cut weight and reduce the content of lipids in blood. So now you know, for maximum weight loss results, Pu Erh tea should be consumed on a regular basis and especially after a heavy oily meal.

2: PACKED WITH ANTI-OXIDANTS

If you think that green tea has the highest level of anti-oxidants, think again. According to this research, Pu Erh tea has been found to ‘inhibit tumor cell growth in rodents’ and drinking Pu Erh on a regular basis would be a natural “anti-tumor agent’ with almost no side effects.

3: GOOD FOR THE HEART

Pu Erh Tea has been the subject on many researchers’ lips as it has been said that it is a natural way to lower bad cholesterol. Indeed, much research has shown that regularly drinking Pu Erh Tea has been known to lower bad cholesterol levels in the body, which keeps the risk of heart disease at bay.

4: HELPS PREVENT DIABETES

In 2015, the Journal Food and Function published a study establishing that Pu Erh Tea was able to ‘lower sugar levels in vitro and in mice.’ This could be the start of progressive research where Pu Erh tea could help with people exhibiting pre-diabetic symptoms or people with type 2 diabetes.

So, which Pu Erh Tea is better?

Based on this research, both ripe and raw pu-erh tea extract are similar in terms of ‘caffine content, enzyme inhibition and antimicrobial activities’ but raw pu-erh has a slightly ‘better antioxidant capacity owing to its higher polyphenol content.’ It is also important to note that there are many fake Pu Erh sellers out there so it is important to purchase from trusted reliable sources. If you have not settled on which Pu Erh tea to try, we recommend browsing through our Pu Erh tea selection here.

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