Green Tea helps lower cholesterol
Green tea reduces LDL and total cholesterol, a new study says. This could explain the reasoning behind green tea’s apparent reduction to the risk of heart disease, acording to the article by Xin-Xin Zheng in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Xin-Xin Zheng and his colleagues from Peking Union Medical College pooled the results of 14 previous trials that looked at the consumption of green tea. The researchers divided participants up into one group that had either consumed green tea or taken green tea supplements for up to at least three months and another group which had been given placebos.
In looking at the results, participants who had consumed green tea saw an average reduction in total cholesterol levels of 7.2mg/dL when compared to the control group. LDL cholesterol showed an average reduction of 2.2mg/dL. There was no change reported in the levels of HDL, or good cholesterol.
Green tea contains catechin which is a flavonoid with antioxidant properties. Researchers believe it is these catechins that decrease the absorption of cholesterol in the body and help reduce cholesterol levels.
These catechins have also been shown in previous studies to demonstrate other heart-healthy benefits. They seem to work as a natural blood thinner and anticoagulant as well as reducing inflammation in the blood vessels.
While the reduction of cholesterol in green tea has been shown, it is only a small reduction and researcher’s stress that green tea should not be used in place of standard cholesterol-reducing treatments. Green tea may however be a useful addition to a traditional heart-healthy diet.
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