Regular tea drinking linked to better heart health

The study included data from more than 100,000 Chinese adults who were part of a long-term health study. The participants provided health and behavioral information, including how much tea they drank. The follow-up lasted an average of seven years.

Compared with people who drank fewer than three cups of tea a week, those who drank more had a 20% lower risk of a heart attack or related problem and a 22% lower risk for dying of heart disease.

The findings don’t prove that tea drinking was responsible for those benefits. But both green and black tea are rich in compounds called flavonoids that help dampen inflammation, a culprit in heart disease. Tea drinking has also been linked to lower cholesterol and improved blood vessel function.