Three Cups of Tea a Day Helps Stabilize Blood Pressure

Three Cups of Tea a Day can Help Blood Pressure

A lot of studies have come out lately correlating drinking tea, particularly black tea, to help with heart health and blood pressure but now a prescription of sorts has come out – apparently drinking three cups of tea a day helps stabilize blood pressure.  As Allvoices reports  , according to  researchers in The Netherlands, drinking three to six cups of tea daily is associated with a 45 percent reduced risk of death from heart disease when compared with drinking less than one cup per day.

Prof. Jonathan Hodgson of the University of Western Australia declares,

‘There is already mounting evidence that tea is good for your heart health, but this is an important discovery because it demonstrates a link between tea and a major risk factor for heart disease. We have shown, for the first time to our knowledge, that the consumption of black tea can lower rates of blood pressure variation at night time.”

In the latest study reported by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 111 men and women with systolic blood pressure between 115 and 150 mm Hg were recruited for a randomized but controlled trial designed primarily to assess the effects of black tea consumption on blood pressure variation. The participants were told to drink three cups of powdered black tea daily or a flavonoid-free caffeine-containing beverage for six months. After doing the needful, their rate of blood pressure variation was measured and assessed at three time points, on day one and at three and six months.

In this study  consumption of black tea resulted in 10% lower rates of blood pressure variability at night time than the flavonoid-free drink. These effects were immediate at day one of tea drinking, and even sustained over a period of six months. The effects were independent of the level of blood pressure and heart rate. Besides, the rate of blood pressure did not significantly change during day time. Since the caffeine content of the two beverages used in the trial were the same, the improvement in blood pressure variability would appear to be the result of a component of black tea solids other than caffeine.

According to Dr Tim Bond, from the industry-backed Tea Advisory Panel, it is well known that high blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and total mortality. Since long now a person’s level of blood pressure has been equated with risk. However, the variability of blood pressure is now also believed to contribute to risk.

He goes on to say,

 “Black tea and its constituent flavonoids are increasingly associated with improvement in blood pressure and cardiovascular health. The regular consumption of black tea has been shown to lower blood pressure. With its flavonoids, black tea packs a powerful punch with many health benefits particularly for the heart and recent studies show the flavonoids work their magic whether or not we choose to add milk. Drinking four or more cups of black tea each day is quite simply very good for us,”

So now those three cups of tea day help stabilize your blood pressure, they’re not just an extra indulgence. So drink that extra cup of tea, though you can do loose leaf black tea as opposed to the powdered stuff they had in the study, and you can improve your health.