Drink Tea and Live a Longer and Healthier Life
Don’t pass up that cup of tea, it may just lead a longer and healthier life, say Chinese researchers.
“Habitual tea consumption is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death,” said first author Dr. Xinyan Wang, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China, in a study published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). “The favorable health effects are the most robust for green tea and for long-term habitual tea drinkers,” notes Wang.
Photo Credit: Census Bureau
The analysis, detailed the Jan. 09th published article, included 100,902 participants of the China-PAR project with no history of heart attack, stroke, or cancer. Participants in this project were classified into two groups: habitual tea drinkers (three or more times a week) and those who never drank tea or were non-habitual tea drinkers (less than three times a week) and followed-up for a median of 7.3 years.
According to the researchers, habitual tea consumption was associated with more healthy years of life and longer life expectancy. They noted that the analyses estimated that 50-year-old habitual tea drinkers would develop coronary heart disease and stroke 1.41 years later and live 1.26 years longer than those who never or seldom drank tea.
The researchers say when compared with never or non-habitual tea drinkers, habitual tea consumers had a 2 percent lower risk of incident heart disease and stroke, 22 percent lower risk of fatal heart disease and stroke, and 15 percent decreased risk of all-cause death.
The potential influence of changes in tea drinking behavior were analyzed in a subset of 14,081 participants with assessments at two time points, note the researchers. The average duration between the two surveys was 8.2 years, and the median follow-up after the second survey was 5.3 years, they say.
Tea Drinking and Cardiac Health
The study’s findings indicated that habitual tea drinkers who maintained their habit in both surveys had a 39 percent lower risk of incident heart disease and stroke, 56 percent lower risk of fatal heart disease and stroke, and 29 percent decreased risk of all-cause death compared to consistent never or non-habitual tea drinkers.
Senior author Dr. Dongfeng Gu, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said: “The protective effects of tea were most pronounced among the consistent habitual tea drinking group. Mechanism studies have suggested that the main bioactive compounds in tea, namely polyphenols, are not stored in the body long-term. Thus, frequent tea intake over an extended period may be necessary for the cardioprotective effect.”
In a subanalysis by type of tea, it was found that drinking green tea was linked with approximately 25 percent lower risks for incident heart disease and stroke, fatal heart disease and stroke, and all-cause death. However, no significant associations were observed for black tea.
“In our study population, 49% of habitual tea drinkers consumed green tea most frequently, while only 8% preferred black tea. The small proportion of habitual black tea drinkers might make it more difficult to observe robust associations, but our findings hint at a differential effect between tea types,” said Dr. Gu, noting that a preference for green tea is unique to East Asia.
Green Tea and Your Heart
The researchers say that two factors may be at play in the positive impact on a person’s health. First, green tea is a rich source of polyphenols which protect against cardiovascular disease and its risk factors including high blood pressure and dyslipidaemia. Black tea is fully fermented and during this process polyphenols are oxidised into pigments and may lose their antioxidant effects. Second, black tea is often served with milk, which previous research has shown may counteract the favorable health effects of tea on vascular function.
When looking at gender, the protective effects of habitual tea consumption were pronounced and robust across different outcomes for men, but only modest for women. Dr. Wang noted: “One reason might be that 48 percent of men were habitual tea consumers compared to just 20 percent of women. Secondly, women had much lower incidence of, and mortality from, heart disease and stroke. These differences made it more likely to find statistically significant results among men.”
Wang added: “The China-PAR project is ongoing, and with more person-years of follow-up among women the associations may become more pronounced.”
The authors call for randomized trials are warranted to confirm the findings and provide evidence for dietary guidelines and lifestyle recommendations.