Heart Health Benefits of Drinking Green Tea

Green tea has gained credibility as an aid to weight loss recently because of its ability to speed up our metabolism. However, green tea's health benefits are not limited to weight loss!. A chemical in green tea called catechin is a powerful antioxidant that has far reaching health benefits including lowering our risks of developing heart disease/cardiovascular disease.

Green Tea and Heart Disease
Drinking tea has been shown to help protect us from heart disease in several different ways -

1) Improved artery function - A recent study conducted by the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation provided evidence that drinking green tea increases the function of blood vessels. The bronchial artery, which runs from the shoulder to the elbow, was measured 30 minutes after 14 subjects consumed a cup of green tea. The dilation (widening) of the bronchial artery was improved significantly and consequently blood flow was greatly improved.

2) Lowering cholesterol - Many studies provide evidence that drinking green tea has a beneficial effect on lowering overall cholesterol levels. Furthermore, green tea raised the levels of HDL (good) cholesterol helping create a healthier balance between HDL and LDL (bad) cholesterol. One small scale study has shown that drinking green tea significantly lowered blood levels of LDL cholesterol in male smokers.

3) Blood thinning properties - Drinking green tea has a blocking effect on something called thromboxane A2. Thromboxane A2 has a clotting effect, allowing blood platelets to aggregate together to form clots. These clots can attach themselves to artery walls making them narrower and improving the chances of developing thrombosis and heart disease.

Population Study
One study conducted in Japan followed more than 40,000 people for more than 11 years. It was discovered that those who drank 5 cups of green tea or more per day where 16% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those who consumed one or less cups of green tea per day. Green tea appeared to be especially beneficial in reducing stroke related deaths.

If you would like to read more about the benefits of green tea, including cancer prevention, boosting the immune system and weight loss, visit Green Tea Weight Loss.

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