Green Tea Top Cholesterol Lowering Drink
Is it any wonder that teas have been cherished for their healing properties since ancient times? Now that science can delve more in-depth, we can confirm that green tea, is one of the best drinks to lower cholesterol. Green tea a loaded with beneficial antioxidants such as catechins.
Unlike other teas, green tea doesnt go through extensive processing. Thats why many of its antioxidants like catechins, are preserved. Many studies suggest antioxidants like catechins in green tea can lower LDL cholesterol significantly, plus it helps with regulating blood pressure.
When choosing green tea, though, you must find minimally processed ones to reap the benefits. Hibiscus tea has also been noted for high antioxidants, which halt free radical damage and help the heart and body heal.
Green Tea Lowers Cholesterol But Only A Little
By Eric Schultz, Reuters Health
3 Min Read
NEW YORK – Drinking green tea seems to cut bad cholesterol, according to a fresh look at the medical evidence.
A woman pours hot water to make green tea at a traditional tea house in Boseong, south of Seoul, in this September 23, 2007 file photo. REUTERS/Han Jae-Ho
The finding may help explain why green tea has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease, the leading killer worldwide, Xin-Xin Zheng and colleagues from Peking Union Medical College in Beijing report.
Because few people in the U.S. drink green tea, encouraging Americans to down more of the brew could have significant health benefits, the researchers write in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Still, one U.S. expert cautioned the drink shouldnt be used as medicine for high cholesterol, as the effect found in the Chinese study was small.
The new report pools the results of 14 previous trials. In each of those studies, researchers randomly divided participants into two groups: one that drank green tea or took an extract for periods ranging from three weeks to three months, and one that got an inactive preparation.
On average, those who got green tea ended up with total cholesterol levels that were 7.2 milligrams per deciliter lower than in the comparison group. Their LDL, or bad, cholesterol dropped 2.2 mg/dL — a decrease of slightly less than two percent.
There was no difference in HDL, or good, cholesterol between the two groups.
White Tea: Good For Circulation
White tea is harvested from the young buds of the tea plant and only briefly processed. This is probably the purest tea, and I recommend it for overall heart health, says Steinbaum. The flavonoids are good for the heart and help dilate the arteries,” she explains, by thinning the blood, lowering blood pressure, and reducing bad cholesterol. White tea may help protect not just your heart, but also the entire circulatory system.
But double-check with your doctor if youre taking a blood thinner like Coumadin or are sensitive to caffeine. White tea does contain caffeine, which can speed your heart rate or increase your risk for high blood pressure.
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Tea Can Lower Your Cholesterol
The antioxidants found in tea can help lower your LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The liver uses the antioxidants to make LDL cholesterol less likely to be deposited into your arteries.
On top of that, antioxidants help protect you from heart disease and , two things that make it easier for your body to fight off illnesses.
Different Types Of Tea
Tea is derived from the Camellia sinensis plant and is classified into three major categories:
- Green tea
- Oolong tea
- Black tea
Of these types of tea, green tea is the most well-known, since it has been used in ancient medicine to cure ailments such as bleeding and digestive disorders.
Green tea is different from other types of tea because it has undergone less processing. Since it does not undergo the extensive fermentation process like other teas, many of its antioxidants, particularly catechins, are preserved. The antioxidant activity of catechins has been known for a variety of health benefits, including cancer prevention, promotion of oral health, easing rheumatoid arthritis, and antibacterial activity. Green tea is also gaining fame for reducing cholesterol.
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Final Thoughts On Teas For Cholesterol
Following a healthy diet has a major impact on reducing dangerously high cholesterol levels, and tea consumption can play a role in your diet as part of a healthy lifestyle.
In this article, we reviewed what could be the best teas to lower cholesterol, according to scientific evidence. Effective herbal teas to lower cholesterol may include ginger tea, bitter melon tea, rooibos tea, jasmine tea, hibiscus tea, peppermint tea, and dandelion tea.
If you prefer a traditional tea for cholesterol effects, black tea, green tea, oolong tea, or pu-erh teaalso called Chinese black teamay each work well.
How do you make tea to potentially lower cholesterol? Steeping green tea will take only two to three minutes steeping any longer will cause the tea to release tannins that make it bitter. Other teas will take three to five minutes to steep.
It is also a good idea to combine a healthy diet and tea consumption with exercise that consists of weight training and burst training. This can boost human growth hormone levels, which may naturally lower serum LDL cholesterol and increase serum HDL cholesterol.
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Drink Hibiscus Tea For Heart Health Lower Cholesterol And More
I first discovered the joys of hibiscus tea while traveling through Mexico and Central America late last year. After the first sip, I was instantly in love. The deep ruby hues of the drink itself, followed by the rich, natural sweetness and slightly sour aftertaste made for a wonderfully refreshing drink amidst the sweaty crowds of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico or the colonial chaos of Antigua, Guatemala.
Despite its seeming innocence and wondrously refreshing taste, experience has taught me to automatically distrust any food or drink I know nothing about, and this new red drink was no exception. While I could see that the bright, iridescent hummingbirds gave a big thumbs up to the hibiscus flower , the question was whether or not it was fit for human consumption.
After some preliminary research, however, I was delighted to find that hibiscus tea, in its purest form, has a wide range of health benefits. Some store-bought varieties of hibiscus tea may have added sweeteners. Instead, buy the straight powdered form of this nutritious flower, or even the whole dried flowers themselves, to work real wonders on your health.
If the boiled extract from one specific plant can achieve such global appreciation, clearly its something worth drinking. Here are a few of the reasons why you should jump on the bandwagon.
1. Treat high blood pressure
2. Lower cholesterol
3. Protect the liver
4. Relieve anxiety and depression
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Green Tea: Lower Lipids Less Plaque
For your heart health, it pays to go green. With green tea, the leaves have been harvested and allowed to wither, and then steamed. There is no oxidation, says Brill. She recommends choosing green tea as often as possible if you’re a tea drinker. Just dont ruin it with sugar, says Brill. Clinical studies on drinking green tea have found that it helps lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides good news for your heart. And drinking green tea is also associated with a lower risk of heart disease and death from heart attack or stroke, according to a study of more than 90,000 Japanese participants published in the March 2015 Annals of Epidemiology.
An 8 ounce cup of green tea gives you from 24 to 45 mg caffeine depending on how long its brewed, notes the Mayo Clinic. Powerful antioxidants in green tea especially one called epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG can help prevent atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque in the arteries. The EGCG can help boost metabolism, helping to make it easier to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. In addition, green tea helps improve the function of endothelial cells in blood vessels, says Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, who works with heart patients and is also the author of Belly Fat for Dummies.
Reading The Tea Leaves
Among the studies Maron would like to see are a similar trial evaluating green tea extract without theaflavins, one looking at more diverse populations, and a trial combining statins with the tea extract.
He says there are plenty of apparent health benefits to drinking green or black tea, but drinking a few cups a day probably won’t impact cholesterol levels.
Researcher Mohsen Meydani, DVM, PhD, who is studying the anti-cancer properties of tea, says there is growing clinical evidence that drinking moderate amounts of tea can protect the heart. He cites a study from Boston University that concluded that drinking four cups of black tea a day can reverse abnormal blood vessel functioning that leads to heart attack and stroke.
“At this point, I think it is most prudent to recommend drinking tea rather than taking tea extract supplements to get the benefits, because we are still very early in these studies,” says Meydani, who is a professor of nutrition at Tuft University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
“Drinking tea is an enjoyable thing, and just about everyone can drink a few cups a day.”
Archives of Internal Medicine
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Vitamin And Phytonutrient Supplements
You may have heard that antioxidant vitamins counteract the oxidative damage to cells caused by oxygen-containing free-radical molecules that increase your risk for a host of chronic illnesses, from obesity to cardiovascular disease. Part of how they work against heart disease is by helping to lower cholesterol, says Trista Best, MS, RD, a registered dietitian at Balance One Supplements. “Antioxidants are plant compounds that stimulate the immune system and are also responsible for reducing inflammation by preventing clumping of blood platelets,” says Best. “If this damage persists, cholesterol rises, and the sticky substance can adhere to the walls of the arteries.” Best recommends people with high cholesterol try supplementing with antioxidant-specific supplements, such as NOW’s Super Antioxidants.
Cholesterol Lowering Tea Top 10 Choices
When most people think about consumables that lower cholesterol, one single edible comes to mind oatmeal. The breakfast staple has certainly earned its ranking as a heart healthy food, however may not always be at the top of everyones favorite things to eat list. What if you could lower cholesterol with a piping hot beverage? Or, pour yourself a glass of cholesterol lowering tea instead? Thanks to a wide variety of exciting and beneficial compounds found in nature not unlike those found in familiar oatmeal, drinking your way to heart health may be a real possibility.
When most people think about high cholesterol, what they are really thinking about is low density lipoproteins or, LDL cholesterol. This is commonly referred to as the bad type of blood fat, and the one responsible for clogging arteries and leading to serious health complications like heart attacks. Cholesterol is necessary for the body to carry out important physiological processes like building cells, but too much LDL cholesterol can greatly increase the risk of heart related disease and illness. Many times, high cholesterol levels are treated with medications in conjunction with lifestyle and dietary changes. However, considering cholesterol lowering tea before LDL levels get too out of whack may possibly be able to contribute to better heart health and a reduced risk of coronary related illnesses.
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St John’s Wort: Risky Combined With Heart Meds
You may have heard that the St. Johns Wort herb can help treat symptoms of depression, but be wary of drinking this tea if you have a heart condition. My biggest concern is that its not good with cardiac medications, says Steinbaum. She says the ingredient is “epically dangerous” if youre taking blood thinners or cardiac medications for heart failure, like digoxin, or if you require a stent or have atrial fibrillation.
If you’re considering drinking St. Johns Wort tea for depression, talk to your doctor instead, Steinbaum says. Theres such a close association between depression and heart disease. Its the kind of thing I wouldnt want anyone to treat on their own.
Tea Can Boost Your Metabolism
Caffeine, the primary ingredient in tea, helps boost your metabolism. The caffeine gives you a little pick-me-up in the morning and can get your body running at 100%.
Caffeine is also found in coffee but if youre not a coffee lover, then drinking tea in the morning is perfect for you. Tea has less caffeine than coffee but more than enough for your morning boost of energy.
Teas that are high in caffeine include black tea, green tea, white tea, and matcha tea. If youre not a fan of tea, there are other options like matcha powder in Australia that have the same caffeine effects.
You can add the powder to your morning shake or mix it in with warm almond milk.
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Is Tea Bad For Cholesterol
You might well be wondering whether there is a catch. Does Tea raise cholesterol under certain circumstances? Or is it all good news? The reality is that research is ongoing, so we dont yet have all of the answers. Despite most findings so far being immensely positive, we await further evidence before endorsing it outright. Be sure to trust the advice of medical experts above all else.
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Best Supplements For High Cholesterol According To Nutritionists
Your diet impacts your cholesterol levels in a big way.
“The research is rock solid,” says , medical director of the Center for Advanced Medicine. “Eating too many calories and too much unhealthy saturated fats along with too much sugar and starch will cause elevated unbalanced cholesterol levels in most people.”
Let’s say, however, that you’ve already tried eating oatmeal and other high-fiber foods, plus fish and flaxseeds for their beneficial omega-3s, you’ve limited saturated fats and cut out trans fats, and that you exercise daily. Maybe you’ve even lost weight, which can improve your lipids, the technical term for cholesterol or blood fats. And now your doctor recommends a statin drug to lower your cholesterol. But you don’t want to take another prescription medicine.
What next to try before signing up for statins? An over-the-counter dietary supplement.
We asked registered dietitians and other nutritionists for supplements that they recommend to their clients for high cholesterol and found a variety available at your supermarket or pharmacy that you can try. And for more on over-the-counter nutritional pills, check out The Best Supplements for People Over 50.
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Tea Can Boost Your Immunity
The different antioxidants found in tea strengthen your immune system and make it easier for you to fight off viruses. Black tea, for example, is a great source of the antioxidants catechins, which help prevent infections.
Green tea has a compound that studies have shown to be extremely beneficial to the body in preventing viruses like flu and colds. Other teas high in this substance include white tea, matcha, and oolong tea.
Lower Your Cholesterol In Five Minutes Or Less
In the time it takes to reach for olive oil instead of butter, you can help lower your cholesterol.
Your high cholesterol numbers may be intimidating, but dont let them get the best of you. Luckily, there are some simple, and even easy, changes you can make to help lower your cholesterol. You dont need to go to extremes, like choosing to be a vegan to avoid saturated fat, says Joan Salge Blake, RD, a clinical associate professor at Boston University and author of Nutrition and You. Instead, she tells her clients the small steps they can take to lower their cholesterol. For instance, she says, At every meal, ask yourself, What can I do?
Attention to detail leads to success.
A Canadian study of 351 people with high cholesterol, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that participants lowered their LDL, or low-density lipoprotein levels , by about 13 percent from eating a diet rich in foods known for their cholesterol-lowering ability, such as soy, fiber, and nuts, rather than following a general low-fat diet. Taking a comprehensive approach also neednt be time-consuming it takes only a few seconds to make smarter choices to lower cholesterol quick. Heres how.
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Pack Walnuts With Lunch
A snack that helps lower cholesterol can still be satisfying. About 1.5 ounces of nuts per day are part of a heart-healthy diet, says Blake. Nuts can take the edge off hunger when you might otherwise end up snacking on unhealthy options that wont improve cholesterol. The same Spanish study that demonstrated the benefits of olive oil found that replacing 40 percent of your daily saturated fat with about this amount of walnuts or almonds lowered LDL cholesterol by 10.8 and 13.4 percent, respectively.
Make Red Wine Your Only Alcohol Choice
Red Wine is different than other alcoholic beverages due to its strong antioxidant properties making it the only alcoholic drink on this list. Studies suggest that moderate consumption of red wine can not only lower LDL cholesterol but also prevent coronary heart diseases and prevent blood clots.
Red Wine contains a large number of polyphenolic compounds like resveratrol, anthocyanins, and catechins. Resveratrol, in particular, is the most effective compound which has shown to significantly lower LDL cholesterol because of its antioxidant properties.
Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to several chronic diseases. So drink a certain amount every day to get the benefits and cut the risk to develop other diseases.
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