Study: Drinking green tea linked to longer, healthier life
By: Team Ifairer | Posted: 17-01-2020
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Drinking green tea at least three times a week is associated with a longer and healthier life, according to a study published. The analysis included 100,902 participants in China with no history of heart attack, stroke, or cancer. "Habitual tea consumption is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death," said Xinyan Wang, from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in China. "The favourable health effects are the most robust for green tea and for long-term habitual tea drinkers," Wang said.
The participants were classified into two groups: habitual tea drinkers (three or more times a week) and never or non-habitual tea drinkers (less than three times a week) and followed-up for a median of 7.3 years. Habitual tea consumption was associated with more healthy years of life and longer life expectancy, according to the study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. 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 said.Compared with never or non-habitual tea drinkers, habitual tea consumers had a 20 per cent lower risk of incident heart disease and stroke, 22 per cent lower risk of fatal heart disease and stroke, and 15 per cent decreased risk of all-cause death, they said.
The potential influence of changes in tea drinking behaviour was analysed in a subset of 14,081 participants. Habitual tea drinkers who maintained their habit in both surveys had a 39 per cent lower risk of incident heart disease and stroke, 56 per cent lower risk of fatal heart disease and stroke, and 29 per cent decreased risk of all-cause death compared to consistent never or non-habitual tea drinkers. "The protective effects of tea were most pronounced among the consistent habitual tea-drinking group," said Dongfeng Gu, from Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.