Nigeria Health & Lifstyle

Long-Term Tea Drinking May Cut Stroke Risk

There could be good news brewing for tea drinkers: Drinking tea consistently particularly two kinds is linked to a significantly lower risk of stroke, according to a study of people in southern China.

In a study of the tea drinking habits of 838 Chinese men and women, Dr. Andy H. Lee, of Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia, and colleagues found that those who reported drinking at least one cup of tea per week for more than 30 years had a 60 per cent lower risk of ischemic stroke.

Ischemic stroke occurs when. oxygen-delivering . arteries in the brain become partially or completely blocked. It's unclear why tea would protect against stroke, but the authors of the study note that previous research has suggested that tea or its components . might reduce high blood pressure and other risk factors.



Those who drank more than two cups of tea daily had about a 40 per cent lower risk of such' strokes, and the risks were even lower in those who drank two cups daily of particular teas.

Their study in the journal Stroke links drinking green and oolong teas with 72 and 79 per cent lower risk for ischemic stroke, respectively.

"Tea is a safe and healthy beverage," Lee told Reuters Health. To obtain optimal benefits, "long-term tea drinking should be encouraged;' he said.

The people in the study had an average age of 69 years. Of these, 374 had a medically confirmed Ischemic stroke, and 464 (the "control" group) had no history of cardiovascular disease or medical conditions that placed them at increased stroke risk.