The research, conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the US and supported by the UK-based Lipton Institute of Tea, has found that drinking green and black varieties of teas has a significant impact on the risk of stroke. It is published in the peer reviewed journal Stroke.
Using existing data from nine studies and involving 4,378 stroke occurrences, the scientists found that, compared to those who consume less than one cup of green or black tea per day, those drinking three or more cups per day have a 21 per cent lower likelihood of suffering a fatal or non-fatal stroke.
Dr. Lenore Arab, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine and Dept of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, who lead the research program explained, "This Meta analysis suggests that daily increase in consumption to 3 cups of tea per day could lower the risk of ischemic stroke by 21%. These findings relate to black and green teas but not herbal teas. It would be premature to point to a single substance from tea such as theanine or flavonoids or catechins as causal."
Dr Paul Quinlan, Research Director at the Lipton Institute of Tea, added: "In recent years, more and more research from many different sectors, has pointed to significant mental and physical health benefits of regular tea consumption. This new study adds reduced risk of stroke to the list, which already includes hydration, high antioxidant content, cognitive performance and dental health. We are delighted to have helped fund this study and helped further our understanding of the role of tea in physical wellbeing."
Strokes are the second most common cause of death globally as well as a major cause of disability, with up to 20 million strokes occurring annually. This research refers to a reduced risk of suffering an ischemic stroke, where vessels become clogged, rather than a hemorrhagic stroke which is when vessels rupture and cause blood to leak into the brain. Ischemic strokes account for around 83 per cent of all stroke cases, with hemorrhagic being far less common.
A full copy of the research, Green and Black Tea Consumption and Risk of Stroke: A Meta analysis, will be published online in Stroke from 19 February at:
The Lipton Institute of Tea is Unilever's dedicated tea research facility, headquartered at Sharnbrook, just outside London in the UK. It is entirely Unilever funded, and works with both its own in-house experts and external tea researchers to uncover new physical and mental health properties pertaining to tea.
The Lipton Institute of Tea publishes regular academic papers, aimed at uncovering and sharing the physical and mental health benefits of tea. It is responsible for publishing The Lipton Institute of Tea Quarterly Tea Science Review, a quarterly overview of key tea science research developments from both internal and external sources and compiled to share recent studies and findings to a broader, non-specialist audience.
The Lipton Institute of Tea also operates the world's most Northerly tea 'plantation' at its Sharnbrook headquarters. This facility enables tea to be studied in a controlled environment, as representative samples of tea from around the world are grown. Here, the journey from bush to cup - through drying and processing - can be very much shorter than usual.
More information on the Lipton Institute of Tea can be found at: http://www.liptoninstituteoftea.org
The Lipton Institute of Tea