Drinking tea could either lower or raise stroke risk depending on temp – study

Drinking tea at least three times a week was linked to an 11.2 per cent lower risk of vascular disease, including stroke, a study suggests.

Regular tea drinkers had a lower risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke than those who drank tea less frequently.

However, the researchers found a contrasting association with temperature. Drinking burning hot tea was linked to a 16 per cent higher risk of vascular disease.

The study followed nearly 500,000 people in China for an average of nine years, tracking their tea consumption and any diseases they developed.

The strongest association was found for ischaemic stroke, which occurs when a blood clot blocks blood flow to part of the brain. Regular tea consumption was linked to a 36.6 per cent lower risk.

Researchers also found a 19.1 per cent lower risk of cerebrovascular disease, a broader term covering conditions affecting blood vessels in the brain.

The type, strength and temperature of tea were associated with differences in vascular health.

Black tea showed the strongest and most consistent association with lower vascular disease risk, followed by green tea.

Researchers suggested this could be related to theaflavins, compounds formed during tea fermentation that have anti-inflammatory and lipid-regulating properties.

Tea also contains polyphenols and flavonoids, naturally occurring compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may help protect the inner lining of blood vessels and support healthy circulation.

Moderately strong tea consumed at a non-scalding temperature was associated with the most favourable combination of findings.

The median intake was between two and three cups a day, although the lowest associated risk of vascular disease was among those consuming six to eight cups daily.

The association between regular tea drinking and lower vascular disease risk was generally consistent across demographic groups, but was significantly stronger among people with obesity.

Despite the findings, the researchers cautioned against treating tea consumption alone as a way to prevent cardiovascular disease.

They suggested it could form part of a broader healthy lifestyle alongside established prevention measures.

Dell Stanford, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in the research, highlighted the study’s limitations.

Stanford said: “This was an observational study and other differences in people’s diets and lifestyles could help explain the findings.”