Green tea lowers 'bad' cholesterol in study
A US study suggests that green tea may reduce LDL, or "bad" cholesterol by a few points. It shows that green tea catechins, taken in a capsule or drunk in the form of tea, may trim 5 to 6 points more from people's total cholesterol and "bad" LDL cholesterol levels. Brewed green tea was more effective than capsules, though the benefits overall were fairly small. The drink did not show any effectiveness in boosting "good" HDL cholesterol, or cut triglycerides, another type of blood fat. The trials that lasted between three weeks and six months involved over 1400 adults who were randomly assigned to either use green tea every day, as a beverage or capsule, or be part of "control" groups that used placebo capsules or liquids.