This Is the Healthiest Way To Drink Tea: 4 Tips To Protect Your Heart With Every Sip
Find out which brews are best, how much you need to sip and the common mistake many of us make
Key Takeaways
- A study linked habitual tea drinking to an 11 percent lower risk of vascular disease.
- Experts say drinking two to three cups of black or green tea daily may offer benefits.
- The temperature of your tea and how long you steep it may affect its benefits.
Whether you prefer a cup of matcha for morning energy or chamomile to relax before bed, tea is a key part of many of our days. And even better news: Research suggests tea may also support heart health. But the type of tea you drink, when you drink it and how much you have can make a difference. So what’s the healthiest way to drink tea? We asked the experts!
Why healthy blood vessels mean better heart health
“If you think of the veins and arteries as expressways or rivers, when there are traffic jams, road construction or dam breaks, trouble ensues,” explains William Shutze, MD, vice president of the Society for Vascular Surgery and vascular surgeon at Texas Vascular Associates. “Undiagnosed or untreated vascular disease can lead to life-threatening or life-changing consequences, like heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism or even limb loss. In most cases, vascular conditions are highly treatable, often without surgery if treated by a vascular surgeon.”
When the vascular system isn’t functioning as it should, you can develop vascular disease. “Vascular disease is an umbrella of conditions that affect the vascular system by slowing circulation and impacting the way the body functions,” adds Dr. Shutze. “Up to 40 million Americans have a vascular disease, yet many have never heard of common conditions like peripheral artery disease (PAD), carotid artery disease (CAD) and abdominal aortic aneurysm.”
“Vascular disease is most often caused by a buildup of plaque, cholesterol or other substances in the blood vessels, which can narrow or block blood flow,” explains Dr. Shutze. Factors that can increase risk include:
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Smoking
- High blood pressure or cholesterol
- Aging
New research on tea and heart health
In a Journal of Internal Medicine study, researchers followed nearly 486,000 adults in China for an average of nine years. They found that those who “habitually” drank tea had an 11 percent lower risk of vascular disease compared to those who didn’t. Researchers also found that drinking six to eight cups of tea daily was associated with the lowest vascular disease risk among people who drank tea weekly. And black tea also showed a more consistent association with lower vascular disease risk than green tea. (More on the “why” behind this later.)
What might explain these results? “Tea is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant,” explains Erin Duffy Stokes, ND. “Tea leaves contain a high amount of polyphenols, mainly flavonoids, with one of the most prevalent being catechins. It is widely recognized that catechins are supportive of vascular health.”
“Another explanation could be that habitual tea drinkers may have overall healthier habits such as being more active or making more balanced plate decisions for meals,” adds Leah Murnane, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN, owner of Lettuce Eat Dessert. “These behaviors lead to better heart health.”
The healthiest ways to drink tea: 4 pro tips
If you want to upgrade your tea-drinking habit from a warm cup of comfort to a powerhouse for supporting your vascular health, we asked our experts for their best advice:
1. Drink the right amount of tea
So do you have to drink six to eight cups of tea a day to get the health benefits seen in the study? Not necessarily. “Although the highest benefit was shown with the highest amount of tea intake, you can still benefit from two to three cups of black or green tea each day,” says Stokes.
2. Try this type
Both black and green tea were linked to a lower risk of vascular disease, but black tea showed this association across more types of blood vessel disease, explains Dr. Shutze. “Black tea leaves are left to darken in the air before drying, which creates different natural substances that may affect blood vessels in their own way.” Still, Dr. Schutze says more research is needed before recommending one over the other, so feel free to enjoy both.
3. Pick the right temperature
If you usually heat water for your tea without ever thinking about the temperature, you may want to start doing so. Stokes says drinking tea at a non-scalding temperature was one of the habits associated with a lower risk of vascular disease. But the ideal temperature for steeping tea depends on the type you’re having. “Green tea, in particular, is sensitive to being steeped in boiling water and is actually best steeped in 160 to 185 degrees, while black tea can tolerate near boiling (around 200 degrees),” says Stokes. “Be sure to let both green and black tea cool slightly before consuming.”
4. Steep it this way
It’s easy to drop your tea bag in your mug and not give it another thought, but it’s worth paying attention to how long you leave it in. “Remember not to oversteep your tea—longer is not better here,” says Stokes. “If you steep your tea beyond the recommended two to three minutes for green tea and three to four minutes for black tea, it can actually degrade the beneficial compounds found in the tea leaves.”
The bottom line on the best way to drink tea for your heart health
Tea lovers can celebrate the news that the warm cup of goodness you love can also do so much more for your health! So the next time you’re in the mood for tea and want to support your health in the process, consider giving our experts’ advice a try. Your heart will thank you!
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