20th August, 2008: Is Green Tea Heart Healthy?
A recent Time article poses the question ‘Does Green Tea Help the Heart?’ Something many new and long-time tea aficionados are interested in knowing in light of the flurry of recent health claims. Dr. Nikolaos Alexopoulos of the Athens Medical School in Greece and his team answer with a new study. “The study…was a randomized trial involving the diameter measurement (dilatation) of the brachial artery of healthy volunteers on three separate occasions - after taking green tea, caffeine, and hot water (for a placebo effect). The measurements were taken at 30, 90, and 120 minutes after consumption. Dilatation of the brachial artery as a result of increased blood flow (following a brief period of ischaemia of the upper limb) is related to endothelial function and is known to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk.
“Results showed that endothelium-dependent brachial artery dilatation increased significantly after drinking green tea, with a peak increase of 3.9 per cent 30 minutes after consumption. The effect of caffeine consumption (or hot water) was not significant.”
More simply, arteries were kept flexible and relaxed allowing better blood flow and providing protection against changes in blood pressure.
“The American Heart Association does not yet include the beverage in its dietary recommendations, however, more studies like this one” and other insights provided by experts, like the information previously presented in this Bigelow® post or this Bigelow® post with videos may change that. But why wait? Be proactive. Think tea, drink green.
Posted by Ruth at 6:00 am |
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My family has been invited over for dinner Saturday night and I’ve been trying to figure out a really nice hostess gift. Wine won’t work in this case. So, I’ve been racking my brain for something really nice and a little different. It hasn’t been easy because these people have everything and then it hit me as I was making a cup of tea this morning….I’ll bring a nice assortment of Tea. A gift I can feel really good about giving. Something I really enjoy and I know is very healthy. Why didn’t I think of it sooner???
Comment by Michelle Walker — August 22, 2008 @ 7:39 am
Flowering teas are my favorite gift!
Comment by Stephen — September 3, 2008 @ 4:51 pm