Tea consumption ensures healthy heart
Consumption of tea on a daily basis will ensure a healthy heart, protect against some cancers and even help in stopping bad breath, among other benefits, according to several new studies conducted recently.The studies, including one by Korean universities, were published in "Planters' Chronicle", the journal of the United Planters' Association of South India (UPASI) here.The study conducted by universities in South Korea corroborated an earlier study that found that drinking at least one cup of tea a day could cut the risk of cancer in gallbladder and bile ducts by about 40 per cent.The researchers led by Ann Hsing from the US National Cancer Institute, assessed the demographic, medical and dietary history of 627 people with bile tract cancers, 1,037 with bile stones and 959 randomly selected healthy people.Specifically, women tea drinkers had associated reduced risks of gallbladder cancer, bile duct cancer and bile stones of 44, 35 and 37 per cent respectively.Another study conducted by the University of Newcastle said tea could help in improving memory and protect against age-related diseases like Alzheimer.Tea has long been believed to possess blood pressure lowering effects in popular Chinese medicine.Scientists from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan examined the effect of tea drinking on hypertension in 1,507 subjects aged 20 or older and confirmed this, it said.
Research also showed that five servings of black tea per day reduced LDL Cholesterol, the bad cholesterol, by 11.1 per cent and total cholesterol by 6.5 per cent.This was substantiated by another study in Saudi Arabia that found people who drank more than six cups of black tea daily lowered the risk of coronary heart diseases by more than half, compared to those who were not regular tea drinkers.Compounds found in tea are said to also stop growth of bacterial that caused bad breath, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.Findings had shown that black tea suppressed the growth of bacterial in dental plaque and even the act of rinsing the mouth with black tea can help to reduce plaque formation and the production of acids that caused tooth decay, it said.
Bones were not left out either. Long term consumption of black, green or oolong tea can help strengthen bones, researchers from Cheng Kung University Hospital, claimed.People who drank an average of nearly two cups a day of these three tea varieties over a six-year period were shown to have a significant higher bone density than people who did not drink tea, or who drank it in smaller quantities.Even those who want to protect themselves from the effect of smoking, researchers, who had studied the effect of tea on 143 heavy smokers for four months, concluded that it may also protect against damages from smoking, the article claimed.
Similarly, tea drinkers stood to have their immune system primed to fight infection and chronic diseases because its antioxidant contents helped the body destroy free radicals.In an experiment, people who drank five to six small cups of black tea daily for two weeks were better able to fight off bacterial infections, the study claimed.The studies were originally published in the "Nigeria Tribune".
