A cup a day keeps the doctor away: Tea drinkers less likely to suffer from heart disease, says study

• Habitual tea drinkers may have a longer life expectancy than those who don't drink tea often.
• Researchers analysed a group of over 100 000 healthy participants with no history of heart disease, stroke or cancer over a period of seven years.
• People who consumed tea three or more times a week were found to have a lower risk of suffering from heart disease or stroke. 

A study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found a link between drinking tea and living longer.

Chinese researchers analysed a group of over 100 000 healthy participants with no history of heart disease, stroke or cancer over a period of seven years.

Habitual tea drinkers (people who consume tea three or more times a week) were found to have a 20 per cent lower risk of suffering from heart disease or stroke. They were also observed to have a 22 per cent lower risk of dying from heart disease and stroke.

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After an additional five years, those who continued to drink tea regularly had a 39 per cent lower risk of heart disease and stroke and a 56 per cent lower risk of dying from heart disease and stroke.

About the study, senior author Dr Dongfeng Gu said: "The protective effects of tea were most pronounced among the consistent habitual tea drinking group. Mechanism studies have suggested that the main bioactive compounds in tea, namely polyphenols, are not stored in the body long-term. Thus, frequent tea intake over an extended period may be necessary for the cardioprotective effect."

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Although 49 per cent of tea drinkers in the study preferred green tea, which is believed to offer health benefits, it is not definite that it is "responsible" for the study results, according to Dr Jenna Macciochi of the University of Sussex.

"This study strengthens the body of evidence that habitual tea drinking is associated with lower rates of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, though it cannot prove that it's definitely the tea that's responsible," Dr Macciochi told CNN, according to Cover Media.