AS THEY TAKETH AWAY, II: Anyone for green tea?

Regular drinking of green tea can reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol levels. It’s been tested on 240 patients with high cholesterol who were already on a low-fat diet, and LDL cholesterol levels fell by as much as 16 per cent.

The participants, who were selected from among patients at six urban hospitals in China, were given either a 375 mg capsule containing the aflavin-enriched green tea extract or a placebo. LDL cholesterol levels did not fall in the placebo group.

(Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2003; 163: 1448-53).