Black Tea improving heart conditions
Drinking three cups of black tea each day could improve health conditions of the heart, says a study.
According to results from a clinical trial in a study, nine grams of the black tea infusate each day were associated with a 36% decrease in triglyceride levels and an improvement in the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol of about 17%.
The research team, from Mauritius, Scotland and the USA, said: “Moderate intake of black tea improves the levels of independent risk factors of cardiovascular disease and antioxidant defences in plasma.
“The effects seem to be ascribed primarily to the synergistic effects of the tea phenolics and most probably with other antioxidant elements not characterised in this study”.
Green tea contains between thirty to forty per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidised by fermentation) contains between three and ten per cent. Oolong tea is semi-fermented tea and is somewhere between green and black tea.
The researchers added: “Although the underlying biological mechanisms for these effects and the exact role of phenolics warrant an extensive study, tea may provide an important source of dietary antioxidants in many individuals”.
87 people aged between 25 and 60 participated in the study’s clinical trial and the concluding results showed that consuming black tea was linked with an 18.4% decrease in fasting blood sugar levels, and a 36% reduction in triglyceride levels.
In addition, black tea consumption was associated to a 17% significant decrease in the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol ratio, and there was an trend towards increased HDL cholesterol levels.
The researchers explained: “The putative role of polyphenolics as effective in vitro antioxidants has been emphasised to explain tea effects.
“High levels of polyphenolics, including thearubigins and theaflavins in tea can protect cells and tissues from oxidate damage by scavenging oxygen-free radicals. Tea phenolics may therefore be active antioxidants in the digestive tract and in other tissues after uptake”.
