Tea for Women’s Heart Health
Before we got distracted by our server move last week (my apologies for the lack of updates during that time), I wrote a post about some of the fascinating health benefits of green tea. So, when I came across an article from the Daily Express stating that 3 cups of tea a day might improve a woman’s heart health, I decided that would be a great way to pick up where we left off.
A recent French study of more than 6,500 men and women published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology showed that women who reported drinking 3 or more cups of tea per day were less likely to develop plaques in their carotid arteries. This effect was shown to be independent of medical risk factors and reported eating habits.
The research studied men and women who were 65 years-of -age or older, using ultrasound scans of their carotid arteries. The results were then compared to a younger group of French people. Interestingly, drinking tea held no plaque reducing benefit for older men, or for younger people of either sex.
While this study had interesting results, it’s implications are limited by the fact that it used self reported tea consumption data, and only looked at the carotid arteries in French subjects. The researchers have not done long term follow up to look at the actual occurrence of strokes or heart attacks in the study group. The health benefits of drinking tea, and having fewer carotid artery plaques is theoretical at this point, but for those who enjoy tea, it sounds like it could be well worth it to keep on drinking!
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
March 25th, 2008 at 11:46 am
[...] younger group of French people. Interestingly, drinking tea held no plaque …Original post by Kristie delivered by Medtrials and [...]
March 25th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I love green tea. I don’t understand with all the health benefits, why more people don’t drink it. And with all the unique flavors, there’s gotta be one that everyone will like.