THURSDAY, Jan. 9, 2020 (HealthDay News) — People who love their green tea may also enjoy longer, healthier lives, a large new study suggests.

Researchers found that of more than 100,000 Chinese adults they tracked, those who drank green tea at least three times a week were less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke over the next seven years.

Tea lovers also had a slightly longer life expectancy. At age 50, they could expect to live just over a year longer than their counterparts who were not regular consumers of green tea.

The study is the latest to look at green tea’s potential health effects.

Over the years, many studies have linked the beverage to benefits like healthier cholesterol levels and body weight, and lower risks of heart disease and certain cancers.

Those studies, like the current one, were “observational” — where researchers ask people about their lifestyle habits and other factors, then follow their health outcomes. The limitation is they do not prove that green tea, itself, provides any benefits.

Green-tea drinkers may differ from non-consumers in other ways. Research in the United States has found that tea drinkers (all types of tea) generally have healthier diets than non-drinkers, said Whitney Linsenmeyer, an assistant professor of nutrition at Saint Louis University.

Researchers do try to account for such differences. In the current study, the investigators were able to weigh overall diet, exercise habits, smoking and education level, among other factors.

Still, it’s impossible to control for everything, said Linsenmeyer, who is also a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

That said, a number of studies across different countries have now found health benefits among green-tea drinkers, according to Linsenmeyer.

Plus, there’s some evidence from clinical trials. Linsenmeyer pointed to a recent trial of Iranian women finding that those who drank three cups of green tea a day saw improvements in weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol over eight weeks.

So if you’re a green-tea fan, drink up, advised Linsenmeyer.

“Green tea is calorie-free and antioxidant-rich,” she said. “It’s a healthy beverage to include in your diet if you like the taste.”
For more check https://www.gistfeed.ga