Nutrition Noteworthy

Green tea contains antioxidants which have been implicated to contribute to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. This may be explained in part by the green tea's antioxidant properties. Green tea is a rich source of flavonoids with high antioxidant activity both in vitro and in vivo. This includes the ability of green tea to lower the oxidizability of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in vitro. In vivo lipid oxidation as measure by plasma lipid peroxides and LDL oxidizability are significantly decreased by green tea. Green tea consumption tends to reduce aortic lesion formation by 31%. In addition, green tea induces a prolongation of the lag phase with a corresponding diminution of oxidation rate. This also reduces the probability of red blood cell hemolysis. However, conflicting results also exist that nullify the antioxidant benefits of green tea in vivo.