Black Tea Reduces Cholesterol

BELTSVILLE, Md.--In a new study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), researchers reported tea may lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol. The study appeared in a supplement to the October Journal of Nutrition (133, 10:3298S-3302S, 2003) (www.nutrition.org).

Researchers assessed the effects of black tea (Camellia sinensis) consumption on blood lipid concentrations in adults with mildly high cholesterol. Seven men and eight women were given five servings of black tea per day for three weeks followed by tea-flavored water for another three-week period. In a third study period, caffeine was added to the tea-flavored water in an amount similar to that found in the tea.

"Overall, we found a 6-percent to 10-percent reduction in blood lipids in black tea drinkers in just three weeks" said Joseph T. Judd, Ph.D., the study's lead investigator. The study showed no effect on the body's "good" cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

The researchers concluded drinking black tea, in combination with consuming a diet moderately low in fat, cholesterol and saturated fatty acids, may reduce total and LDL cholesterol by significant amounts, in addition to reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. "These findings illustrate the impact of specific types of health-promoting phytonutrients on the diet," said Ed Knipling, acting administrator for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA's chief scientific research agency.