Hibiscus tea, an herbal infusion made from the calyces of the Hibiscus sabdariffa flower, has actually been shown to lower blood pressure as reported throughout the years by people who practice traditional medicine or herbal medicine. There is also evidence that it helps in the efforts to lower cholesterol. Such evidence makes it clear that its daily consumption is beneficial to ones health.
Hibiscus is also known as sorrel, roselle, karkade and flor de Jamaica, depending on the region. In early 2008 there was a study that showed hibiscus tea actually reduces blood pressure almost equal to some prescription strength medications; the "how" it works is not quite clear. It was clear however that Hibiscus tea certainly appeared to beneficially lower the blood pressure in people with pre-hypertension or mild hypertension.
In another study, hibiscus tea was compared with black tea in relation to blood pressure; it was really no surprise that hibiscus tea came out the winner. One very interesting result is that the group that drank black tea actually had an increase in blood pressure.
I found a study on how Hibiscus tea also affects cholesterol which was published by the Journal of alternative and complementary medicine; this one appears to be quite valid. The study consisted of 60 patients with type II diabetes which were randomly divided into two groups. One group was provided black tea and the other hibiscus tea. The participants were told to drink one glass equal to 1 tea bag steeped for 20-30 minutes twice a day for 30 days. The hibiscus test group realized several improvements to their cholesterol levels. The total cholesterol count went down from 236.2 to 218.6 mg/dL. HDL (your good cholesterol) increased from 48.2 to 56.1 mg/dL, while LDL (your bad cholesterol) decreased from 137.5 to 128 mg/dL. Triglycerides - a type of lipid (fat) circulating in the blood which accounts for almost 95% of the fat in the body went down rather dramatically from 246.1 to 209.2 mg/dL. A count less than 150mg/dL is considered normal but was not expected to be achieved in this study because of the existence of the diabetes. Also within this study the reference to other studies were made depicting similar results in humans and even animals. One study consisted of a group of healthy men and women taking a Hibiscus extract. This group also showed a reduction in LDL cholesterol levels with no significant differences notated between each sex. This comparison between the diabetes group and healthy subject group provide for a sound premise that consuming Hibiscus tea is beneficial whether you are seemingly healthy or are a diabetic patient.
The group which consumed the black tea did not show any significant improvement in any of the measured parameters. None of the changes in total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides and lipoprotein were statistically significant to notate.
Hibiscus flowers have a lot of different fido chemicals which provides the dark red color; they also have a lot of antioxidants thus they may have some other health benefits like preventing certain forms of cancer. They also help with your overall health including cardiac functions, your blood flow and blood vessel flexibility to mention a few.
The conclusion here is that the healthy benefits of herbal teas is no longer just a theory. Evidence is clear that all this data showing the blood pressure lowering effects and the cholesterol improving abilities of hibiscus tea supports the benefits of its daily enjoyment. Who thought some efforts to maintain a healthy being could actually taste so good and be as easy as having a cool glass of Hibiscus tea!
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