Cholesterol Reduction - Great News for Tea Drinkers

Your chest feels tight. Then a pain begins. You feel short of breath and every movement makes it worse. You are experiencing a coronary. Thankfully you survive and start to think about what went wrong and to find ways of adjusting your lifestyle. You may even require bypass surgery or to be on drugs for the rest of your life. Cholesterol is a major factor leading to coronary thrombosis, one of the biggest killers in western society. Most people have heard about cholesterol and appreciate that it leads to heart disease. But what is cholesterol? Why is it dangerous and how can you reduce its harmful effects?
There are a number of fats in the bloodstream; two of the important ones are cholesterol and triglycerides. There are two main forms of cholesterol, HDP (high density lipoprotein) and LDP (low density lipoprotein). The HDP is sometimes referred to as good cholesterol but most of the cholesterol in your blood will be the more sinister LDP - it is this that needs reducing. High levels of LDP and triglycerides cause thickening, hardening and roughening of the normally elastic walls of the arteries. Where the walls have been roughened, blood cells tend to stick, building up to form a clot. The clot can grow and block the artery or be dislodged and block the blood flow elsewhere. In the brain, it is called a stroke, in the lungs, a pulmonary embolism and in the heart, a coronary. Some of the cholesterol in your blood comes from the food that you eat and some is produced by your liver as it processes the nutrients from your food. There is no simple solution to high cholesterol levels; in fact you could be genetically predisposed to high cholesterol.
It is thought that the caffeine in the tea interacts with the flavonoids in tea to increase the rate of calorie burning. Their findings showed a small increase in daily energy expenditure when compared to a control group. In addition, green tea seems to speed up the metabolism, including fat calorie burning, according to researchers from the University of Geneva in Switzerland. However the fairly high levels of antioxidant flavonoids in black tea are thought to protect against arterial plaques, the fatty deposits that clog arteries, by preventing fat from being deposited on artery walls.

As always with biological research, there may be other contributing factors, the Dutch team acknowledge that people who drink tea generally have a healthier lifestyle and diet. Just one or two cups per day seemed to have a marked effect. A study by the Dutch suggests that tea drinkers, particularly women, may derive some protection against the build up of cholesterol in their arteries.
The British Medical Journal has also reported a Japanese study on the benefits of green tea consumption in preventing cardiovascular disease, liver disorders and possibly cancer. The study, in the 1990s, involved over 100 men aged over 40. Tea consumption was classified as less than 3 cups, between 4 and 9 cups, and over 10 cups per day. It was found that consumption of green tea was significantly associated with lower serum concentrations of lipids and lipoproteins. The study also found that the strong association remained unaltered after age, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and relative body weight were controlled for.
Not only does it taste good, it may protect your heart, reduce your chances of cancer and help to keep your weight down, all by drinking just a few cups per day! So in short, tea drinking is a great habit to develop, especially if it is a good quality, pure organic green tea.
You should seek the assistance of a qualified physician if you require medical advice on any condition mentioned in this article. When pregnant or nursing only small amounts of green tea only and should not be regarded as medical advice in its own right.
Kevin Woodward looks after the In Nature web site at
http://www.in-nature.com/teas/
Memberships are available which entitles you to discounts on the products and a free health consultation based on traditional Chinese medicine. which offers top quality pure organic Chinese teas, including green tea, plus Chinese medicinal herbs for sale securely online.

Reduce Heart Disease, Strokes, and Cancer by Drinking Oolong Tea

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There is a Chinese proverb - A daily cup of tea or more, keeps you out of the pharmacy. As you will shortly see, there is a lot of truth in this proverb. So, what is oolong tea? It is related to green tea and black tea -- they are all produced from the same plant. Green tea is made from the dried leaves, whereas black tea is made by fermentation of the leaves. Oolong tea is made by partly fermenting the leaves prior to drying.
There is also evidence that they may decrease the blood's tendency to form thrombi, or unwanted blood clots. It is thought that the polyphenols in tea inhibit the absorption of cholesterol in the digestive tract, thus decreasing the cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. Studies in several countries have found many kinds of tea have some effect in reducing cholesterol in blood fats, though oolong seems to get the best results. This can lead to several problems including coronary thrombosis (a heart attack) and strokes, so high cholesterol levels are not a good thing.

These are essential for many things in your body but cholesterol also builds up on the wall of the arteries, causing them to narrow and restrict blood flow. Triglycerides and cholesterol are two important fatty substances in the bloodstream.
Obesity is an increasing problem these days, it is well documented that overweight people are more likely to suffer heart problems. In the hustle-bustle of modern living, it is easy to resort to a junk diet. This is bad news for your body because it hangs on to the extra fat and lacks many of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are vital for your well-being. The Chinese claim that tea can actually help reduce the amount of fat in the tissues. Oolong tea seems to get the most publicity here, although any tea probably has some benefits. Chinese sources cite numerous cases of people who have lost weight while regularly drinking two or three cups of oolong a day. Oolong mixed with other herbal ingredients is the basis for a number of teas marketed especially for slimming. A Chinese ad for Slimming Tea claims that drinking it for three months can help you drop up to 15 pounds off your weight. I am not convinced that tea alone can achieve this but it seems that it can contribute as tactic in your weight-loss strategy.
Much research is being carried out on the role of tea drinking in preventing cancer. For example, out of 25 papers related to health presented at the Hangzhou Symposium, almost one third reported on cancer research. Research has found that oolong has some effect against cancer because it inhibits the formation or action of cancer-causing substances. It seems to be the epigallo catechin gallate (EGCC) that reduces the occurrence of uncontrolled DNA replication. Vitamin E is regarded as an excellent antioxidant; EGCC is supposedly 200 times more effective for neutralizing free radicals in the body. Another way oolong tea may help fight cancer is through preventing cell mutation. The antioxidant properties of the polyphenols in oolong tea may inhibit mutation of the DNA in healthy cells, which can cause them to become cancer cells.
Cured meats often contain nitrates which can be converted to nitrosamines in the digestive process. Nitrosamines are known to be carcinogenic. Tea may block the action of nitrosamines which can cause cancer, said Dr. Han Chi, an associate professor at the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene under the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine. In a test of 145 types of tea, she and her colleagues rated green tea highest, with a blocking rate of 90 percent. Oolong and black tea followed in that order as the fermentation process destroys the EGCC. The partial fermentation of the leaves during the production of oolong tea reduces the EGCC level by approximately fifteen percent.
The fluoride in tea can strengthen bones and help ward off osteoporosis in the same way that it strengthens dental enamel. While it is no magic fountain of youth, some of its benefits can be said to contribute to longevity (stimulation of bodily functions, strengthening the immune system, reducing the chance of heart disease and improving stomach functions). Still today, perhaps as an echo of those beliefs, claims are made that tea drinking helps one to live to a ripe old age.

Long ago in China, tea was an ingredient in immortality potions favored by the Taoists.
When pregnant or nursing only small amounts of oolong tea should be used, it can also interfere with MAO inhibitors and blood thinning medication. Also the consumption of oolong tea may interfere with the absorption of medicines. This article is intended to be for information about the nutritional benefits of oolong tea only and should not be regarded as medical advice in its own right. You should seek the assistance of a qualified physician if you require medical advice on any condition mentioned in this article.