Green Tea for Weight Loss and Lower Cholesterol

High cholesterol is one of the leading precursors to heart disease. And, research has shown that our diet and lifestyle, combined with our genetics determines whether we have healthy or unhealthy cholesterol levels. To keep your cholesterol levels in check and prevent heart disease, there are several measures you can take.

The first is diet. Cholesterol in food comes from animal products. Meat, eggs and dairy products are all culprits. Reduce the amount of red meat you consume, replacing it with fish or chicken. Use low fat dairy products and reduce the number of egg yolks you eat, or use egg substitutes. Increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet and eat whole grains rather than refined products like white flour.

The second is exercise. Be certain to get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. This will help you shed pounds if you need to, and will also help lower your serum cholesterol. Walking is a very good way to help get your daily dose of exercise.

In addition to making lifestyle and diet changes, many people take supplements to help control their weight and cholesterol levels. There are many supplements available, but one of the best is something you likely have in your cupboard right now. It’s tea – particularly green tea.

Asian cultures have consumed green tea in large quantities for centuries. And, throughout history they have had fewer problems with obesity and lower incidences of heart disease and many forms of cancer. Scientists are beginning to find a link between this high green tea consumption and better health. Much research has been performed on the ability of green tea to slow down the aging process and prevent illness.

The magic potion in tea seems to be its anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants, which are also found in fruits and vegetables, wine, cocoa and coffee, fight our bodies’ free radicals. Free radicals are created as a by product of our digestive process. Free radicals, left unchecked, damage our cells and DNA, leading to aging and disease.

But, anti-oxidants combat anti-oxidants before they can hurt our bodies. This is why it’s so important to have anti-oxidants as part of your every day diet. All tea contains anti-oxidants, but green tea retains more of its anti-oxidants in their original, natural state because it goes through less processing than other types of tea.

In particular, green tea’s anti-oxidants have been shown to be effective at reducing cholesterol levels and helping with weight loss. Tea prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol into plaque, the hard substance that clogs our arteries, making us more susceptible to heart attacks and strokes.

Studies have suggested that even if your LDL cholesterol level is high, drinking tea may prevent it from causing a problem. Tea is also thought to have an anti-inflammatory effect, which helps the heart in its overall function.

In addition, green tea seems to have the ability to help patients lose weight. For overweight patients, losing weight usually means an automatic reduction in cholesterol levels. So, tea has a two fold effect for overweight patients with high cholesterol!

In terms of weight loss, it appears that the combination of the anti-oxidants in green tea and the caffeine speeds up the metabolism and promotes the oxidation of fat. Both of these attributes contribute to weight loss.

In recent years, there have been several studies on green tea’s ability to speed weight loss. One of the most interesting studies was conducted by Osaka University in Japan.

This study evaluated 98 men and 97 women, between the ages of 22 and 65. All subjects were healthy, though some were moderately overweight. The participants were divided into 3 groups. The first group received a placebo drink, the second group a green tea drink with a low dose of tea catechins (anti-oxidants) and the third group a green tea drink with a high dose of tea catechins.

The study was conducted over a 12 week period, during which time participants consumed their study beverage three times a day (at meals). At the end of the twelve week period, participants who received the green tea beverages had lost weight and reduced their body fat and BMI, unlike the group who consumed the placebo drink. The group with the higher dosage of tea catechins reported more success than the low dose group.

This study concludes the way countless others have in recent years: with the suggestion, at least, that drinking green tea can help you lose weight. And, losing weight can help you lower your cholesterol. In addition, other studies have shown that green tea may help lower cholesterol levels even in subjects who did not lose weight.

So, drinking green tea may provide double the results for those patients seeking to lose weight and lower cholesterol levels. Adding green tea to your diet, along with making dietary changes and getting the recommended amount of exercise each week may be all you need to get your cholesterol and your weight under control.

Jon Stout is Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. For more information about tea, black tea and wholesale tea go to www.goldenmoontea.com

By Jon Stout Published: 4/21/2007

6 Foods That Lower Cholesterol Naturally

If you want to lower cholesterol natually, there are a variety of foods that reduce cholesterol, including specific fruits, vegetables and nuts. See which foods researchers have determined are cholesterol-busters.

If you are looking for a way to lower your cholesterol, but want to avoid a high-priced prescription with possible side effects, you have options. Nature has provided a variety of foods that scientists have found can effectively reduce cholesterol levels.

This article looks at 6 foods that lower cholesterol.

1. Blueberries - These tasty superfruits have been shown to reduce cholesterol even more effectively than drugs. In 2004, researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported results of an animal study in which the group that received blueberry skins had cholesterol levels 37 percent lower than the group that received no blueberries.

2. Carrots - Want to drop your cholesterol in 3 weeks? Try adding carrots to your diet. A study conducted in Scotland found that individuals who ate 2 raw carrots every morning for 3 weeks experienced an 11 percent drop in cholesterol. Carrots contain calcium pectate, a soluable fiber that lowers cholesterol by helping the digestive system flush cholesterol out of the body.

3. Avocados - Avocados are often avoided because they are a high-fat food, but they contain a component called sitosterol, which has been shown to lower cholesterol in more than a dozen human studies. Research conducted in Mexico found that after eating avocado daily for one week, participants' total cholesterol dropped 17 percent and their HDL (good) cholesterol increased 11 percent.

4. Grapes - Grapes contain pterostilbene and resveratol, two compounds that have been shown to have a role in reducing cholesterol. In 2008, researchers at Madrid University developed a juice from the skin and seeds of red grapes and asked human volunteers to add the juice to their diet for 16 weeks. Study participants experienced a 14 percent drop in cholesterol levels and a five percent drop in blood pressure readings.

5. Almonds - Almonds not only taste good, they can lower your cholesterol, especially the harmful LDL or bad cholesterol. A 2002 research project asked adult participants with high cholesterol to eat almonds. Study volunteers who ate one handful of almonds a day lowered their bad cholesterol 4.4 percent and those who ate 2 handfuls of almonds saw bad cholesterol drop 9.4 percent.

6. Grapefruit - These citrus fruits have significant amounts of cholesterol-lowering pectin; 60 to 70 percent of the dietary fiber in citrus fruits is pectin. A 2006 study by Israeli researchers found that eating one grapefruit daily for 30 days reduced cholesterol approximately 15 percent. The study found that red grapefruit lowered cholesterol more effectively than white grapefruit.

Additional cholesterol-lowering tips

Start exercising - Becoming more active will help in two ways. Countless reports have proven that being overweight contributes to high cholesterol levels. Exercise can lead to weight loss, which in turn lowers the risk for high cholesterol and heart disease.

At the same time, aerobic exercise will raise your HDL or good cholesterol levels, which is just as important as keeping bad cholesterol numbers in check. Good cholesterol cleans out blood vessels, carrying away excess cholesterol to the liver for processing.

Limit cholesterol intake - The American Heart Association recommends that individuals who want to reduce their cholesterol through diet consume less that 300mg of cholesterol a day.

Adopt a diet low in saturated fat - A low-fat, low-cholesterol diet typically limits meat consumption and avoids red meat. High-fat, high-cholesterol meats to remove from your meal plans include: bacon, bologna, salami, sausage, hot dogs, liver, and kidneys. In general, chicken and turkey are low in saturated fat, especially when the skin is removed.

To see more natural methods for lowering cholesterol and a sample diet to lower cholesterol, visit http://www.foods-that-heal.com.

By Cathy Hickman
Published: 6/24/2009