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.
