Green Tea and Cholesterol

The health benefits of green tea are known for centuries, but only in recent years its medicinal properties have been researched scientifically. Studies show that drinking 4 to 6 cups of tea can help get rid of several cancers, help lose weight, cardiovascular disease, infection and many other things.

Research indicates, drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, and improves the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Tea's health benefits are largely due to its high content of antioxidants. It is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant.

The antioxidants in green tea can help block the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol, increase HDL (good) cholesterol and improve artery function.

The only negative side effect from drinking green tea is insomnia as it contains caffeine. However, caffeine content of green tea is less than coffee.