A new study out of Taiwan suggests drinking tea may keep your blood pressure under control. Researchers say they have now discovered that people who drank between 120 milliliters and 599 milliliters of green or oolong tea a day for a year had a 46-percent decreased risk of developing hypertension than those who did not drink tea regularly. People who consumed more than 600 milliliters a day saw even better results. They reduced their risk of getting high blood pressure by 65 percent.
Researchers offered a couple of possible explanations as to how tea could affect blood pressure. First, they point out that tea contains theanine, a substance found to significantly reduce blood pressure in hypertensive rats. Second, they note tea also contains polyphenols, which are known to reduce oxidative stress and have beneficial effects on the vascular system.Given the high number of people around the world who regularly drink tea researchers believe the findings in their study could have a significant public health benefit.
