Earl Grey....

[Chipchopper]

I remember reading somewhere that its good for lowering cholesterol.

Is there any evidence to support this, where perhaps trials have been done ?
and is there lower cholesterol counts in Canada where Earl Grey is very popular ?

[Buenchico]

One of the things that I love about the NHS website is that the people who put it together watch out for health reports in the popular press and then provide a scientific response to each of them.

Here's what they wrote about the report in the Daily Telegraph (which was widely reproduced elsewhere) regarding Earl Grey & Cholesterol:
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/04April/Pages/Earl-Grey-unproven-as-replacement-for-statins.aspx

[Chipchopper]

Thank's Buenchico, very interesting!

I find it amazing that they used lab rats instead of Humans

[boxtops]

Green tea is best of all for lowering cholesterol - without milk. I don't like Earl Grey, don't like the scent.

[sandyRoe]

Did I read somewhere that porridge can reduce cholesterol. I wonder is that another of these food myths that keep popping up?

[Sqad]

Bergamot seems to be the active ingredients in Earl Grey tea and all the studies are animal studies as you rightly point out.

I can find no scientific studies in man.

It is likely that you would have to drink gallons of the stuff to have any effect on your cholesterol levels.

Statins seem to be the answer at the moment to lower cholesterol but if, for any reason , you get unacceptable side effects, then Ezetrol tablets are a satisfactory replacement.

You may have got a more varied reply from AB if you had inserted your question in Body and Soul.

[Sqad]

So they say Sandy........

[woofgang]

boxy have you got any proof for your green tea statement?

[Peter Pedant]

sandy - your idea about porridge has more scientific basis

altho sqad will have clear memories of doing glucose tolerance test on an empty stomach

the other side of the coin was less clear - that other things in the diet may affect asborption of glucose - or anything else

and indeed it was shown in 1976 that dietary fibre blunted the peak of glucose after a meal. To do this the young ressearcher had to do 50 000 glucose estimations or perhaps it was 500 000. Think lots. we all went oooo!

so yeah it would not surprise me if porridge affected absorption of cholesterol. The only thing is that you need to get the whole of Dartmoor to agree.....

[sandyRoe]

A healthy diet, plenty of exercise breaking rocks in the Dartmoor quarry, the inmates down there get it fat too easy.

[sandyRoe]

far, rather than fat ^

[janbee]

Don't know whether or not it's true but I drink EG and my chol is 3.4. Make of that what you will.xx