Rooibos tea and cardiovascular diseases
Posted in Rooibos tea health on 11/25/2008 11:18 am by admin
The benefits of Rooibos tea are well known to the peoples in South Africa where the tea has been consumed for ages. But despite folk wisdom up to this date there is little empirical evidence that Rooibos tea can have an impact on human health. All the tests and studies are conducted in vitro or on mice at best.
A first ever study on humans has been conducted lately in South Africa. The focus of the trial was on the possible role of Rooibos tea on alleviating and possibly preventing some cardiovascular diseased. Those being the major cause of death in the western world.
The study was conducted in South Africa’s Oxidative Stress Research Centre at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town. It comprised 40 individuals aged betweed 30 and 60 years. Each individual had some cardiovascular disease related factors ( smoking, increased cholesterol, increased blood pressure, increased body-mass index,…).
The participants ingested 6 cups of Rooibos tea per day. The cup of tea was standardized to deliver the exact amount of beneficial substances. To keep the trial conditions under control the participants were required to follow a strict diet to reduce significant antioxidant intake from other food sources.
The preliminary results of the trial are encouraging. The participants had an average 21% decrease in lipid peroxidation products, substances that accumulate in the human body as a result of oxidation of fats. Those substances are directly related to the rise of vascular diseases.
The full report will be released sometime at the end of this year but the first results show that Rooibos tea might have an important role in keeping cardiovascular health in check.
Source:
herbalgram.org