Sunday, January 10, 2016

Green Tea and Your Heart

Well, since I'm on a roll about tea and weight loss, I'll just continue this with a post about heart health. It is January, after all, and typically this is the month more people decide to make changes regarding their health. True, most don't even last the month, but this is tea!

A study in China discovered that giving consuming more green tea extract lowered cholesterol and triglycerides. Now, again, this is green tea extract and not the actual tea, so please don't run out and buy pills. Remember how I said a couple of days ago that researchers believe it is the polyphenols, and not the caffeine, that affects metabolism. This usually means, and many doctors suggest as much, that the best way to get the benefits from plants is to consume them as food, not pills.

Everyone knows high cholesterol and high triglycerides can damage the heart. So researchers have also begun to study how tea may improve heart health. A study in Boston found that drinking one cup a day (or more) may reduce the risk of heart attack by 44%. Another study, this one done in the Netherlands, found that people who drank four cups of tea a day had significantly less plaque buildup in their arteries than those that drank two or fewer cups a day. Many population based studies have also indicated that people who drink black tea have lower total cholesterol, lower ldl and higher hdl cholesterol. Some doctors suggest folks should drink at least three cups of tea a day.

Now, please, please, please, I am NOT a doctor, or even a medical professional. I am just a lover of tea. I post these studies as something for you to think about and maybe share with your doctor, but in NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, do I believe you should forgo seeing your health professional to discuss your state of health.

I am ONLY suggesting that you drink more tea because it is delicious. If there really are health benefits associated with this very pleasant pastime, all the better.

In that vein, my daily mug and tea:


Constant Comment. Because it is divine.

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