If this year has taught us anything, it is that many things in life depend on good health. And while many of the health habits that increase longevity may seem like a chore – long workouts and modest diets, to name a few – other health rituals can be an absolute pleasure. According to a January study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, one of these habits promises a simple way to live a “longer and healthier life”: drinking tea regularly. Read on to learn its amazing benefits and to get more health tips, find out why going to bed beyond this hour is harming your health.
After following a cohort of 100,902 study participants over about seven years, the study found that habitual tea consumption was related to “healthier years of life and longer life expectancy”, explained a press release for the study. In particular, regular tea consumption – defined as drinking tea usually three times a week or more – has been found to be associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease.
When compared to those who drank tea infrequently or never, regular tea drinkers had a 20 percent reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, 22 percent reduced the risk of fatal heart disease and stroke, and 15 percent reduced the risk death from other causes.
The researchers also looked at how changes in habits affected the results by researching a subset of 14,081 participants twice, with an average of 8.2 years apart. They found that regular tea drinkers who maintained the tea habit throughout that period had a “39 percent lower risk of heart disease and stroke incidents, 56 percent less risk of fatal heart disease and stroke and 29 percent less risk everyone’s risk- causes death compared to never or unusual tea drinkers ”, explains the press release.
“The protective effects of tea were more pronounced among the usual tea drinking group,” explained the senior author Dongfeng Gu, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. “Mechanism studies have suggested that the main bioactive compounds in tea, namely polyphenols, are not stored in the body in the long term. So frequent drinking of tea over an extended period may be necessary for the cardioprotective effect, “he added. Do you want to know more about how this relaxing ritual can work wonders for your health? Keep reading for more fascinating study findings and for more on how to maintain good heart health, this is the best thing you can do for your heart health now.
The researchers found that, in particular, green tea produced the most robust health benefits. Although green tea was associated with a 25% lower risk of heart disease and stroke, the team found that black tea had no such associations.
This may be because green tea is rich in polyphenols, which are known to promote good cardiovascular health and alleviate high blood pressure. Black tea has less antioxidant benefits because it is fully fermented, say the researchers.
Another reason why researchers believe that black tea may promote less health benefits is the way it is traditionally served. They noted that previous research has shown that drinking tea with milk, which may be rich in saturated fat, can impair tea’s positive effects on cardiovascular health. And for healthier heart habits, two glasses a day can improve your heart health, the study concluded.
When the researchers controlled sex, they found that men seemed to enjoy much more pronounced health benefits from a regular tea ritual than women.
“One reason may be that 48 percent of men were regular tea users, compared to just 20 percent of women. Second, women had a much lower incidence and mortality from heart disease and stroke. These differences increased the likelihood of statistically significant results among men “, explained Xinyan Wang, another researcher at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
The researchers noted that individuals in the usual tea drinking group did after all, negative health episodes tend to experience them later, on average, than unusual tea drinkers. For example, the team suggested that regular 50-year-old tea drinkers would develop coronary heart disease or suffer a stroke 1.41 years later than those in the non-tea drinking group. They also projected based on their findings that regular tea drinkers would live 1.26 years longer than the control group. And to find out what habits are damaging your heart health, check out This is the worst thing you are doing to your heart right now.