The traditional Dragon Boat Festival has just passed, and most people probably spent the three-day holiday eating. When it comes to eliminating fats and oils, Tea is undoubtedly a frontrunner. Why not start today with a cup of tea to welcome the new second half of the year.

In Tibet, where the saying goes “three days without food is better than one day without tea,” vegetables are scarce, and high-energy foods like beef, mutton, and dairy products are consumed. Despite this, their health status compares or is even stronger than in other regions. Analysis of their disease patterns and mortality rates reveals that their metabolic immune diseases and cancer mortality rates are lower than the national average. One of the most important reasons for this is the presence of a “detoxifier” and “activator” in their diet: fully Fermented tea.

Research indicates that fermented teas (such as ripe Pu'er tea, border tea, Liubao tea, and dark tea) contain abundant tea brown pigments, which can account for 70-80% of water-soluble substances. These pigments act as surfactants (detoxifiers), strongly binding to fats and increasing their solubility (by 40,000 times), inhibiting absorption and increasing excretion (by over 30%), thus acting as a “barrier.” They also promote fat burning by activating fatty acid oxidase, functioning as an “activator.” This dual action is a unique feature of many plant polyphenols. Common dietary polyphenols include tea polyphenols, apple polyphenols, grape polyphenols, proanthocyanidins (from blueberries), pomegranate polyphenols, citrus polyphenols, capsicum polyphenols, ginkgo flavonoids, soy isoflavones, quercetin, etc. For example, grape polyphenols make up 50-70% of grape seeds and 30-50% of grape skins, while tea contains 20-40% tea polyphenols. Shanxi aged vinegar, commonly found in daily life, has a plant polyphenol content of 2.6 mg/ml, so its “softening blood vessels” effect is similar to that of red wine, both due to the antioxidant and “detoxifying” properties of plant polyphenols.

It has been found that Pu'er tea significantly regulates abnormal lipid metabolism, with tea brown pigment being the primary component responsible for this regulation, accounting for over 80% of the water-soluble components in Pu'er tea. Caffeine is an important component for lowering blood sugar levels; the reason ripe Pu'er tea does not affect sleep is mainly due to the complexation of tea brown pigment with caffeine, which suppresses the stimulating effects of caffeine. Tea brown pigment is a characteristic active factor in ripe Pu'er tea, acting as a “fat scraper” in the intestines and blood by strongly binding to fats, inhibiting absorption, and increasing excretion.

Tea brown pigment has a “fat-burning” effect within the body's tissues, promoting the hydrolysis and oxidation of fats to generate CO2, H2O, and ATP (energy), thereby facilitating fat metabolism and fat consumption, contributing to weight loss. The main component of Pu'er tea, tea brown pigment, has a significant inhibitory effect on certain tumor cells, strongly suppressing the expression of mutated P53 and the activation of notch proteins, showing preventive and therapeutic effects on malignancies such as leukemia and breast cancer, among others.

This article is excerpted from

2025, Say Goodbye to Oils!

Author | Luli

Originally published in Pu'er magazine

If there are any copyright issues, please contact us to remove the content.