Tea drinking may be good for your heart, researchers in China say
Tea drinking is good for your heart, researchers in China have concluded.
A new study looking at drinking tea and the risk of vascular disease (VD) in 485,934 people in the country found an 11% reduced risk among regular tea-drinkers.
VD can include heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, pulmonary heart disease and peripheral artery disease.
Experts in the UK noted the findings, but said far more work was needed before any recommendations could be made on the optimal dose of tea.
In the study, during a typical follow-up of nine years, there were 14,863 cases of VD among the group.
The findings suggested moderate-strength tea was associated with lower risk, while “burning hot” tea may be associated with higher VD risk.
The lowest estimated risk was approximately six to eight cups per day among weekly tea drinkers (who typically had 2.78 cups per day).
Furthermore, tea consumption combined with not smoking and exercising was associated with the lowest risk.
Dell Stanford, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: “People who regularly drank tea in this study had around an 11% lower relative risk of vascular disease, adding to evidence linking tea drinking with better cardiovascular health.
“But this doesn’t prove that a daily cuppa protects your heart. This was an observational study and other differences in people’s diets and lifestyles could help explain the findings.
“Although the lowest estimated risk was seen at around six to eight cups a day, we shouldn’t treat that as a recommended amount.
“Tea intake was only measured once, cup size wasn’t standardised and the study cannot prove that drinking more tea caused the lower risk.
“Importantly, the findings point to the wider role of healthy lifestyle habits.
“The lowest risk was seen among people who drank tea, did not smoke and were physically active.
“There’s no single food or drink that will transform our heart health; our overall diet and lifestyle matter much more.
“Finally, because this research was carried out in China, we need further evidence before assuming the findings apply in the same way to people in the UK.”
The study was published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.
Published: by Radio NewsHub