Enjoy a cuppa -- it may cut heart risk
Heart disease rates could be reduced by 10pc if everyone took to drinking large amounts of tea, a study suggests.
Researchers found that consuming the equivalent of around eight cups of black tea a day led to a significant lowering of blood pressure.
They estimated that in the general population this would result in a 10pc reduction in high blood pressure prevalence and a 7pc to 10pc reduction in the risk of heart disease.
A group of 95 men and women aged 35 to 75 were given three cups of powdered black tea solids each day for six months, or a flavour-matched non-tea 'placebo' drink.
Each tea drink contained 429 milligrams of polyphenols, plant chemicals that are said to have health benefits.
A regular cup of black leaf tea contains up to 150mg of polyphenols, so the total dose consumed by the volunteers was equivalent to 8.58 cups of tea a day. Participants had normal to high blood pressure readings at the start of the study. After six months, their blood pressure levels had reduced by up to 10pc.
The findings, from a team led by Dr Jonathan Hodgson, from the University of Western Australia, appear in the journal 'Archives of Internal Medicine'.
Dr Tim Bond, from the UK Tea Advisory Panel, said: "This is great news for tea drinkers for whom black tea is a very popular beverage."
Tracy Parker, dietician at the British Heart Foundation, said: "It is important to understand that a cuppa won't cancel out a poor diet or lifestyle. Eating more fruit and vegetables, and keeping physically active are all well-established ways of lowering your blood pressure."
- John von Radowitz
Irish Independent
