Black tea lowers blood pressure

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

In a world-first, scientists at The University of Western Australia and Unilever have discovered that black tea can significantly lower blood pressure. Their research is published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Lead author Research Professor Jonathan Hodgson of UWA's School of Medicine and Pharmacology said high blood pressure could significantly increase people's risk of heart disease. "There is already mounting evidence that tea is good for your heart health, but this is an important discovery because it demonstrates a link between tea and a major risk factor for heart disease," he said. In the study, 95 Australian participants aged between 35 and 75 were recruited to drink either three cups of black tea or a placebo with the same flavour and caffeine content, but not derived from tea. After six months, the researchers found that compared with the placebo, participants who drank black tea had a lower 24-hour systolic and diastolic blood pressure of between 2 and 3 mmHg. Systolic blood pressure is the blood pressure when the heart beats (contracts) to push blood through the body. Diastolic blood pressure measures the amount of pressure in between beats, when the heart is at rest. Professor Hodgson said more research is required to better understand how tea may reduce blood pressure, although earlier studies reported a link between tea drinking and the improved health of people's blood vessels. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.