Clinical studies suggest that the risk reduction associated with tea consumption may be due to improvement in some risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including blood vessel function, platelet function and a reduction in oxidative damage.
Drinking black tea helps prevent deadly clogging of arteries and reverses poor arterial functioning that can trigger heart attacks and strokes, major new studies have found.
Tea catechins were reported to reduce arteriosclerosis (a major factor in ischemic cerebrovascular disease) by mitigating reactive oxygen species induced oxidation of low-density lipoprotein which is directly related to its free oxygen radical scavenging ability (Kakuda, Biol Pharm Bull. 2002 Dec;25(12):1513-8).
In a large 10-year study in the Netherlands, men who consumed the amount of antioxidants called "catechins" found in three cups of black tea were 50% less likely to die of ischemic heart disease, caused by narrowed clogged arteries, than were men who consumed only the catechins in half a cup of tea.
In another recent test, Joseph Vita, M.D., of the Boston University School of Medicine, had heart patients drink either plain water or four cups of black tea daily. In a month, impaired blood vessel functioning (a risk factor for heart attack and strokes) improved about 50% in the tea drinkers.
Anthocyanidins help to strengthen capillaries and joints, enhance vision and prevent atherosclerosis, cancer and arterial hypertension. Phenolic acid attributes astringent, cholagogic and anti-inflammatory properties to tea.
Drinking tea could keep your arteries healthy
