How Much Does Green Tea Lower My Cholesterol?
Is green tea a cholesterol medicine? A hot cup of green tea imparts a grassy flavor, gives your body a warm feeling, relaxes you, provides anti-oxidants to prevent damage from free radicals, and now, can even lower your cholesterol.
Research shows that drinking up to 10 cups of green tea a day has a significant impact on your blood cholesterol levels.1 Green tea lowers your bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) while leaving your good cholesterol (HDL)
untouched. But by how much will green tea lower your cholesterol? How much protection does green tea
offer from heart disease?
For every glass of green tea you drink you can expect a reduction of
0.015 milli-mols per liter (mmol/L), or 0.58 milli-grams per deciliter (mg/dL).2 That can be a little hard to grasp, so here is a graph to represent green tea's effect on your blood cholesterol levels:
This chart looks pretty impressive, however, looking at the bigger picture, green tea actually just makes a dent in
our cholesterol numbers, and is in no way "a magic bullet". This graph shows the difference green tea makes in relation to risky cholesterol ranges
set by the American Heart Association.3
The Bottom Line with Green Tea and Cholesterol
While green tea can help lower your cholesterol, it will not so greatly affect your numbers as to quickly pull you out of
the high risk zones. Different foods will have a different affect on everyone. The best way to test if green tea
works for you is to buy a cholesterol test kit
, then
test your cholesterol numbers before and after 1 month of drinking green tea every day.
If you are looking to lower your cholesterol, you should drink green tea in combination with avoiding
high cholesterol foods, and also, adopting some form of daily exercise. For further reading see the article on foods which lower cholesterol.
Comments.| Name: | AJ |
| Subject: | Caffeine |
| I love green tea, but will over consumption be harmful as far as caffeine in concerned? I try to eat healthy, but am wondering how my cholesterol levels are ranking. I didn't even know home testing kits were available. Thanks! |
| Posted on 2011-07-21 02:09:53 |
| Name: | HealthAliciousNess |
| Subject: | RE: Caffeine |
| Hi AJ, thanks for your question. You are right to worry about too much caffeine. Different people react differently to caffeine, some can drink a lot, while others can not tolerate one cup of tea. In general, if you experience frequent headaches, heart palpitations, trouble sleeping, or muscle twitches, you should stop consuming caffeine. Consult your health provider for more information about caffeine and your health. |
| Posted on 2011-07-21 02:15:26 |
| Name: | James Roberts |
| Location: | California |
| Subject: | Green Tea & Cholesterol |
| Nice to know green tea helps at least a little with cholesterol. It has lots of other great benefits, but don't over do it, especially if you have other sources of caffeine.
cheers, James |
| Posted on 2011-08-01 20:42:41 |
| Name: | Nancy |
| Location: | North Carolina |
| Subject: | Green Tea |
| Would white tea have the same benefits as green tea? |
| Posted on 2011-10-03 04:26:17 |
| Name: | HealthAliciousNess |
| Subject: | RE: Green Tea |
| Hi Nancy,
Thanks for a great question. Unfortunately the study referenced in this article focused only on green tea, and there do not appear to be any studies conducted with white tea. The reality is that different teas will have different effects on cholesterol in different people. You could buy a home cholesterol test kit and try a test. Get your initial cholesterol level, then drink 1-3 cups of white tea a day with no other changes in diet, and then test your level again after 1 month and see if you have any change. It is a challenge but it would interesting and you could share your results here! |
| Posted on 2011-10-03 11:20:01 |
| Name: | Shahida |
| Location: | Bangladesh |
| Subject: | Fat Burning??? |
| Hi, I have to stay at office from 8am to 8pm five days a week. Most of my time passes sitting on my chair in front of the PC. That's why my lower part of my body & my lower belly is becoming bulk. I take Organic Green Tea 2 cups daily. Can you please tell me is Green Tea works as Fat Burner?
How many cup should I take daily?? My hight is 5'6'' n weight is 75kg. PLEASE SUGGEST . |
| Posted on 2011-10-10 08:16:47 |
| Name: | HealthAliciousNess |
| Subject: | RE: Fat Burning??? |
| Hi Shahida, thanks for your question and sorry to hear of your long working hours and conditions. Basically, green tea may lower cholesterol, but it is unlikely that tea will cause you to lose pounds of weight or fat. Since you have a long working day it would be best to do some form of muscle building exercise before work. You may not be accustomed to it, but even lifting 5 pound weights, doing squats, sit ups, or other exercises that build muscle will boost your metabolism burning calories even while you are sitting. This muscle building effect can cause you to turn fat into muscle which should slim your figure. As always, avoid high calorie foods, focusing instead on vegetables and fruits. Keep drinking unsweetened tea and/or water as opposed to any sugary juices or sugared teas. Use this BMI Weight Loss Calculator to set weight loss goals and reach them! Hope that helps. |
| Posted on 2011-10-10 09:19:51 |
| Name: | Ron Gavisk |
| Location: | Marysville, CA 95901 |
| Subject: | Bojenmi Tea |
| Over 30-Years past, I failed my medical insurance exam because of my high cholesterol level, 4500, that is correct! A Chinese doctor, aged 90-years, placed me on BOJENMI Tea (No Caffine), within 2-weeks, my cholesterol level dropped to below normal, really down! I passed my insurance test! The Tea BOJENMI has no caffine! You can obtain it at Chiense Food Stores, and it helps lose wieght also! Try it! It helped me greatly! I am a retired electronic engineer! Thank you. |
| Posted on 2012-01-07 14:40:52 |
References
- Original Paper from the Study
- Cholesterol Conversion from Vin.com
- About Cholesterol Levels from the American Heart Association
