Straight Tea Best for Heart
January 9, 2007 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
My favorite English black tea is Yorkshire Gold. Before moving to London, I usually drank it straight but now I’ve taken to adding milk to my tea. Bad idea.
A very small study of 16 post-menopausal women published in the European Heart Journal has found that black tea with its high concentration of flavonoids was better for cardiovascular health and cancer prevention than tea laced with milk. Straight black tea improved flow-mediated dilation (the ability of the blood vessel to expand with increased blood flow) while tea with milk had a far weaker effect.
Cardiac nurse June Davison injects a bit of common sense:
Leaving milk out of your tea is far less likely to help protect your heart health than other measures, such as taking regular exercise, avoiding smoking and eating a healthy, balanced diet.
More info on the health benefits of tea at the Linus Pauling Institute.
Times Online, January 9, 2007
Tags: milk, tea, black tea, english tea, drinks, heart, heart disease, cardiovascular disease
