by Barbara Stockton

Created on: September 09, 2008   Last Updated: July 17, 2010

We all would like to find the fountain of youth, whether it's in physical beauty or our overall health. Green tea has been one of the drinks that has been promoted as the elixir of life. It is believed to have many health benefits including heart health. Recent studies show that green tea may protect the arteries by keeping them flexible and relaxed. The importance of this is that the arteries are able to withstand the rising and falling of the blood pressure.

At Athens Medical School in Greece, Studies led by Dr. Nicolaos Alexpoulos have been done comparing the effects of green tea on the heart by comparing the effects in people who drank green tea with those who drank diluted caffeine or hot water.

Scientist believe that green tea works on the lining of blood vessels causing them to relax and be more flexible which made them flow more easily throughout the body. The ingredient in green tea thought to be helpful is the flavonoids. These flavonoids are the antioxidants that are believed to help prevent inflammation and keep the blood vessels pliable. They also believe that this antioxidants protects against the clots that cause heart attacks.

They studied the effects of green tea against diluted caffeine to ensure that it wasn't the caffeine causing the effect. Tests were done with an ultrasound to test the size and pliability of the vessels when the test first starts. The subjects are given instructions on how many cups of green tea they should consume a day, usually 4 to 5. At the end of two week the subjects were retested and the tests showed that indeed the vessels were dilated and more flexible then they were at the beginning of the study, thus this test proved that green tea could be beneficial to the heart. This is only one test but more testing is being done concerning the effects of green tea on overall heart health.

They still warn against thinking that it is green tea that is the wonder drink, but that it wouldn't hurt to add it to your diet. The American Heart Association has not as of yet added green tea to its list of recommended foods that help prevent heart disease. Studies on green tea are also being done on its effects on cancer, diabetes, liver disease, weight loss, and kidney disease to name just a few. The tea can be drunk as a hot or cold beverage and can also be taken as a supplement in pill form. If you don't like tea you can still benefit from the pill form without having to drink the tea.

References: Time Magazine, Sept 8, 2008. issue

Learn more about this author, Barbara Stockton.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.