Reduce Heart Disease, Strokes, and Cancer by Drinking Oolong Tea

By [http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kevin_Woodward/20289] Kevin Woodward

There is a Chinese proverb - A daily cup of tea or more, keeps you out of the pharmacy. As you will shortly see, there is a lot of truth in this proverb. So, what is oolong tea? It is related to green tea and black tea -- they are all produced from the same plant. Green tea is made from the dried leaves, whereas black tea is made by fermentation of the leaves. Oolong tea is made by partly fermenting the leaves prior to drying.

Triglycerides and cholesterol are two important fatty substances in the bloodstream. These are essential for many things in your body but cholesterol also builds up on the wall of the arteries, causing them to narrow and restrict blood flow. This can lead to several problems including coronary thrombosis (a heart attack) and strokes, so high cholesterol levels are not a good thing. Studies in several countries have found many kinds of tea have some effect in reducing cholesterol in blood fats, though oolong seems to get the best results. It is thought that the polyphenols in tea inhibit the absorption of cholesterol in the digestive tract, thus decreasing the cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. There is also evidence that they may decrease the blood's tendency to form thrombi, or unwanted blood clots.

The Health Benefits of Green Tea

By [http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Lorraine_Bevan/3625]Lorraine Bevan

The Chinese have known about Green tea as a powerful medication for at least 4000 years. According to legend, tea was discovered by a Chinese emperor called Shen Nung.  Some tea leaves accidentally fell into boiling water, and he tried it and found it invigorating. Green tea became part of the Chinese diet and many important health benefits were attributed to it. Now recent medical studies in both asia and the west are providing a scientific basis for the claim that drinking green tea has very significant health benefits.