Issue 162 Item 7 Consumption of Tea Products Lowers Cholesterol Levels

Consumption of Tea Products Lowers Cholesterol Levels

Flavonoid use has been shown to lower cholesterol levels in animal studies. There is also evidence from epidemiologic studies that tea consumption can lower such levels and protect against myocardial infarction. Still, the current study is the first human trial to show a cholesterol-lowering effect for tea products.

Lead author Dr. David J. Maron, from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said that he expected, if anything, a very slight cholesterol-lowering effect. But what we saw was a 16% reduction in LDL cholesterol.

The findings are based on a study of 240 subjects with mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia who were randomized to receive a daily capsule containing theaflavins and catechins or placebo for 12 weeks. All of the subjects were on a low-fat diet.

Treatment with the tea extracts was tied to a 11.3% and 16.4% drop in total and LDL cholesterol levels, respectively, compared with baseline values (p = 0.01 for both). Tea extract use was also associated with a nonsignificant rise in HDL cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels. No significant change in any of these levels was noted in the placebo group.

The incidence of adverse events was comparable in each group and no serious adverse events occurred in either group, the researchers point out.

“Based on these results, we recommend larger and longer-term randomized controlled trials to confirm our findings in a more diverse population and to study the effect of this extract on other risk factors for atherosclerosis,” the authors conclude.
Arch Intern Med 2003;163:1448-1453




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