Tea Helps Hearts Heal

[Guest guest]

Mon May 6,11:56 PM ET

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthScoutNews Reporter

 

MONDAY, May 6 (HealthScoutNews) -- Heavy tea drinkers -- whether

they like it black, green, hot or cold -- are more likely to survive

a heart attack than those who don't sip the healthy brew.

 

That's the finding of the latest study on a beverage that has been

in the research limelight lately.

 

Scientists from Boston interviewed 1,900 people after their heart

attacks, asking them to recall their consumption of caffeinated tea

during the year before the attack.

 

" The more tea people drank, the lower the death rate, " says lead

author Dr. Kenneth Mukamal, an assistant professor of medicine at

Harvard Medical School (news - web sites). The findings appear in

tomorrow's issue of Circulation.

 

Moderate tea consumption, defined in the study as two cups a week,

was associated with a 28 percent lower death rate when compared to

the death rate of non-drinkers.

 

Heavy tea drinkers, who averaged 19 cups a week, fared even better:

They had a 44 percent lower death rate than non-drinkers during the

four-year follow- up. The average age of the heavy drinkers was 63,

while the moderate and non-drinkers' average age was 61.

 

The most recent study follows a report, published last month in the

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (news - web sites), in which

Dutch researchers found people who drank more than three cups of

black tea a day had half the risk of having a heart attack when

compared to non-drinkers -- and a third the risk of dying from a

heart attack if they did suffer one.

 

In the latest study, tea drinkers had a lower death rate after their

heart attacks, Mukamal says, regardless of their gender, age,

smoking status or whether they had high blood pressure, were obese

or had had a previous heart attack. The researchers took into

account green or black tea, drunk hot or cold, but not herbal tea,

he says.

 

They are certain it was not the caffeine in the tea that made the

difference because they evaluated caffeine consumption from other

foods and drinks consumed by the people, but found no effect on

death rates from heart attacks.

 

How does tea help?

 

Mukamal suspects the tea's flavonoids, powerful antioxidants, help

improve the blood vessels' ability to relax. Flavonoids also prevent

the so-called bad cholesterol, or " LDL, " from oxidizing, which

experts believe may promote hardening of the arteries. The

substances may also keep blood from clotting too much.

 

" A study like ours alone is not enough to advise people to change

their [dietary] habits, " Mukamal says. However, he also says he

would not discourage anyone from drinking tea.

 

" There are no downsides. There is very good evidence that asking

people to drink tea improves their blood vessels' ability to

function normally, including the ability to relax, " he says.

 

Other studies have shown that poor blood vessel function is

associated with a higher risk for having a subsequent heart attack,

he adds.

 

" I think it's a terrific study, " says Jeffrey Blumberg, a professor

of nutrition and chief of the Antioxidants Research Lab at the Jean

Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston.

 

Already, he says, " we have a body of evidence saying people who

drink tea are less likely to get heart disease. " Mukamal's study

suggests people who already have heart disease can reap tea's

benefits, too.

 

" Adding tea to your diet is certainly not harmful, " Blumberg

says. " It's got no calories, and it's got all those flavonoids. And

it can be a [healthier] substitute for other beverages that we know

do not have those compounds -- such as coffee or soda. "

 

However, he adds that heart patients shouldn't think they can sip

tea and skip other aspects of their diet. " It's not a panacea, " he

says.

 

" With each study like this, I become a little more confident that

the effects of tea are real, " he says.

[Guest guest]

I can't believe Lipton's would have this effect -- a truly anemic

brew. I drink Twinings English Breakfast teabags; not the very best,

but good enough for my 3-4 mugs a day habit.

 

BTW, isn't there a copyright issue with posting Kathleen Doheny's

article verbatim?

 

Rory

--

[Guest guest]

Interestingly, there has previously been a story about a new

roasting process for coffee that preserves its antioxidents; making

it more beneficial. Again, the benefit probably depends on the

source and processing of the tea.

 

It's quoted from a news service. The release has been published

throughout the media. It would be a copyright problem not to give

her credit for her version of it.

 

Jim Ramholz

 

 

 

 

, Rory Kerr <rorykerr@w...> wrote:

> I can't believe Lipton's would have this effect -- a truly anemic

> brew. I drink Twinings English Breakfast teabags; not the very

best, but good enough for my 3-4 mugs a day habit.

>

> BTW, isn't there a copyright issue with posting Kathleen Doheny's

> article verbatim?

>

> Rory

> --

[Guest guest]

, Rory Kerr <rorykerr@w...>

wrote:

 

>

> BTW, isn't there a copyright issue with posting Kathleen

Doheny's

> article verbatim?

 

Passages from articles can be copied and quoted with citations.

entire articles should not be pasted here. With the whole

napster debacle, the law is beginning to establish certain

parameters on the internet. thus, copying articles such as this is

not considered private sharing or just copying for personal use.

It is considered distribution. The way around this is to send the

group a link instead of a verbatim copy. By driving viewers to the

article owner's website, the copyright issue is moot. It is like

sending someone to the library to look something up.

 

[Guest guest]

, " jramholz " <jramholz>

wrote:

 

>

> It's quoted from a news service. The release has been

published

> throughout the media. It would be a copyright problem not to

give

> her credit for her version of it.

 

Anyone who has published this article would have to pay

royalties unless it is in the public domain. Journalists just won a

lawsuit to prevent publication of their work on the internet without

their express permission and payment of royalties. Unless one

knows for sure that an article is public domain, just send a link

instead. thank-you.

 

[Guest guest]

Tea may be good for most but not for everyone. Like chocolate and

ginseng, it puts my guts in spasm and causes insomnia.

[Guest guest]

, dgcor@w... wrote:

> Tea may be good for most but not for everyone. Like chocolate

and

> ginseng, it puts my guts in spasm and causes insomnia.

 

Dana

 

good point. studies do not predict for individuals, but for

populations. it is still up to the clinician to make the right

recommendation for any given patient. However, this does

suggest that a high % of people, the vast majority, stand to

benefit. but who are they?

 

I also got to wondering about tea's diuretic effect. You hear a lot

of talk about drinking enough water. Yet there seems to be

healthful benefits to a substance that dries you out. Have there

ever been long term studies on the effects of drinking 8 glasses

per water per day. I wonder how advised that is. All the studies

on tea seem to say the more you drink, the better. One study of

japanese showed that those who drank 9 cups per day of green

tea were the most healthy in the population.

 

As to the effects on the heart, consider the amino acid called

theanine, found only in tea. the best quality teas have high

amounts of this amino. theanine completely offsets the negative

efects of caffeine on heartrate, which is why good green tea is

usually not a problem for most people. Even though it is usually

quite high in caffeine. theanine's effects on calming the mind

(and thus partially relieving the effects of stress) may be another

factor in tea's benefits. I am sure the flavonoids play a major

role. But don't rule out caffeine as a factor also. Caffeine has

some beneficial effects on fat and cholesterol metabolism and

relieves mental depression.