Many health benefits come from green tea and cholesterol reduction is claimed to be one of them. But does green tea really help lower cholesterol?
Scientists theorize that the powerful antioxidants (polyphenols) found in green tea destroy the free radicals that run through your body contributing to heart disease.
Below you will find the real studies that show the facts behind the theories and whether green tea helps lower cholesterol.
Green Tea and Cholesterol Studies
Because green tea is used in traditional medicine, modern-day scientists investigate how green tea helps the body. In studies specifically focused on green tea and cholesterol-lowering, scientists revealed encouraging results.
Researchers at Queen Margaret University investigated how green tea consumed over a short period affected cholesterol and other health factors in students ages 19 through 37.
Participants did not change their eating habits but did consume green tea daily at a rate of four cups a day for two weeks. The students showed a reduction in their total cholesterol count demonstrating a connection between green tea and cholesterol reduction. The students also reduced their blood pressure, weight, and body fat.
Another scientific study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association went on to confirm the positive connection between green tea and cholesterol reduction.
In this study, participants were followed for 11 years. Participants who drank five or more cups of green tea a day lowered their risk of heart disease by 26 percent compared to participants who drank less than a cup a day.
Green Tea and Cholesterol Lowering – How Does It Work?
Few people would dispute that green tea is a healthy drink, but how does this simple beverage of steeped tea leaves heal the body?
Green tea contains the highest levels of polyphenols, the antioxidants credited with the most powerful health benefits.
The polyphenols found in green tea are the components responsible for reducing cholesterol. Scientists theorize that polyphenols block the absorption of cholesterol in the digestive tract. Your body excreted the unabsorbed cholesterol as waste.
Green Tea and Cholesterol – The Bottom Line
You can improve your health and more specifically your heart health by including green tea in your daily beverage consumption. The people of the world consume more tea than any other drink and many research studies demonstrate its healing benefits.
If you do not currently drink green tea, you can start by adding a cup of tea a day, and then increase your consumption to approximately four cups a day. But don’t confuse drinking green tea with sugar, since high cholesterol and sugar are related. Plain tea without sugar is recommended
Leave green tea and cholesterol and find out more about cholestrol and foods
Or Go to All About Lowering Cholesterol homepage to learn more about lowering cholesterol naturally.
References:(1) Effects of green tea consumption on blood pressure, total cholesterol, body weight and fat in healthy volunteers. – http://www.endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/0020/ea0020P470.htm (2) Green Tea Consumption and Mortality Due to Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, and All Causes in Japan – http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/296/10/1255.long
