To live longer, it would be advantageous to minimise your risk of stroke and heart disease – two of the leading causes of death in the United States.
A new study published in the Journal of the European Society of Cardiology sheds light on a potentially life-saving beverage.
According to the researchers, one drink was associated with a 25 percent reduction in the chance of developing heart disease or having a stroke.
What’s this powerful, health-boosting drink?
The answer is green tea.
Senior author, Dr Dongfeng Gu, stated:
“The protective effects of tea were most pronounced among the consistent habitual tea drinking group.”
For the research, the health of 100,902 volunteers was analyzed.
None of them had history of heart attack, stroke, or cancer.
They were divided into two groups: habitual tea drinkers who would consume 3 or more drinks per day and non-habitual tea drinkers, who would drink less than 3.
During the seven-year follow-up, tea drinkers had a greater life expectancy.
For example, a 50-year-old tea consumer would acquire heart disease roughly two years later than a non-tea drinker.
The same was true for stroke risk, suggesting tea drinkers lived nearly two years longer.
Dr Xinyan Wang, another author, described the findings.
“Habitual tea consumption is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death.
“The favourable health effects are the most robust for green tea and for long-term habitual tea drinkers.”
Tea’s polyphenol content is considered to protect the heart.
However, the bioactive molecule is expected to be short-lived in the body.
So keep drinking tea to reap the health benefits.
“Frequent tea intake over an extended period may be necessary for the cardioprotective effect,” Dr Gu emphasised.
Serving tea with milk has been shown to “counteract the favourable health effects of tea on vascular function”.
So, if you want to live longer, you may have to give up the builder’s brew.
Rather, get into the habit of drinking green tea.
Image Credit: GEtty