New Studies Prove Tea Provides Profound Health Benefits

Dr. Greenwood, an expert on the relationship between diet, nutrition and brain health, went on to say "the compounds in tea appear to impact virtually every cell in the body in a positive health outcome, which is why the consensus emerging from this symposium is that drinking at least a cup of clear green, black, white or oolong tea a day can contribute significantly to the promotion of public health."

20 Sep 2012 --- Leading nutrition scientists from around the world convened in Washington, DC today at the United States Department of Agriculture to present the latest research supporting the role of tea in benefiting and promoting better health.

As Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, next to water, interest in its potential health benefits has grown exponentially. In just the past five years alone there have been more than 5,600 scientific studies on tea, forming a substantial body of research on this world wide consumed beverage.

"There is now an overwhelming body of research from around the world indicating that drinking tea benefits human health," says Dr. Carol Greenwood, who is a Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, in attendance at the press conference and research presentations in Washington with Louise Roberge, President of the Tea Association of Canada.

Dr. Greenwood, an expert on the relationship between diet, nutrition and brain health, went on to say "the compounds in tea appear to impact virtually every cell in the body in a positive health outcome, which is why the consensus emerging from this symposium is that drinking at least a cup of clear green, black, white or oolong tea a day can contribute significantly to the promotion of public health."

Of particular interest to Dr Greenwood and the medical community was the numerous heart health studies presented that Tea supports heart health and healthy blood pressure, and appears to be associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack.

New research presented by Claudio Ferri, MD, University L'Aquila, Italy, found in 19 normotensive and 19 hypertensive individuals that black tea was able to reduce blood pressure. In the hypertensive patients, black tea appeared to counteract the negative effects of a high-fat meal on blood pressure and arterial blood flow. Hypertensive subjects were instructed to drink a cup of tea after a meal that contained .45 grams fat/lb. body weight. The results suggest that tea prevented the reduction in flow mediated dilation (FMD), the arterial ability to increase blood flow that occurs after a high-fat meal. In a previous study conducted by Ferri, tea improved FMD from 7.8 to 10.3%, and reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure by -2.6 and -2.2 mmHg, respectively, in study participants.

Also of interest among the findings is research suggesting that green tea and caffeine may trigger energy expenditure that may promote weight loss.  Another study illustrates how tea may help counter the adverse effects of high-fat foods on blood vessels, which could possibly reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, the most common cause of death in the North America.