Green Tea to Trim Cholesterol
Green tea may help reduce the extra cholesterol if taken in either capsule form or drunk directly in a cup. It cuts the “bad” cholesterol from the body according to a study made in the US based on more than a thousand people. These data were published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association and it clearly showed that green tea was capable of cutting down 5 to 6 points from one’s total bad LDL cholesterol levels as compared to any other capsule or treatment available for it.
The trials found that green tea or any other capsule having catechins, the green tea component; decrease the cholesterol absorption in the gut. Green tea was found to be very effective as compared to any capsule form. Though the benefits were comparatively small as was noted by senior researcher Olivia Phung, an assistant professor of pharmacy at Western University of Health.
According to her because of these small benefits one should not skip or alter their medication with the green tea or its products either in the capsule or in the beverage form. She just said that inclusion of green tea could help improve the cholesterol numbers. Researchers have found no such data showing any improvement in the good HDL cholesterol, or cut triglycerides, a different type of blood fat. The members of her research were randomly assigned to take green tea either as a beverage or as a capsule intake or were allotted to be part of control groups that were taking placebo capsules. These three to six weeks of trial showed a minimal benefit in the people who had a history of high cholesterol.
Overall the green tea was found to be more useful and effective as compared to the capsules. Phung however found no data to be sure of the beverage’s benefits over the extract form. A number of such trials comparing the green tea and its extracts have often led to a variety of results, not moving to any particular conclusion. Also most of such trials have been on a small scale so making them all the more unreliable. Even the correct dosage of catechin is yet unknown.
Also there can be some side effects as well like the reports suggesting liver problems in people with regular intake of green tea and also the presence of caffeine in it which some may have to avoid.
