…according to an article at Annals of Internal Medicine. The study was done in a U.K. population over decade of observation. The 10% or more reduction in all-cause mortality was seen at a habitual consumption level of two or more cups of black tea daily. Most prior similar studies I’ve seen focus on green tea.
Steve Parker, M.D.
Most to the green teas I’ve purchased are brown
Green tea consumption is linked to reduce incidence of cardiovascular disease. The meta-analysis at hand suggests that the benefits are related to reduced total and LDL cholesterol. I suspect it’s more complicated than that.
Collectively, consumption of green tea lowers LDL cholesterol and TC, but not HDL cholesterol or triglycerides in both normal weight subjects and those who were overweight/obese; however, additional well-designed studies that include more diverse populations and longer duration are warranted.
Steve Parker, M.D.
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One of my favorite green teas
For years we’ve been hearing about the potential longevity and cardiovascular benefits of green tea. If memory serves, most of the data comes from Japanese studies. Now a Chinese observational study finds 15–20% reductions in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and death, compared to non-tea drinkers. Most of the participants drank green tea, and they did so at least thrice weekly.
From the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology:
Using large prospective cohorts among general Chinese adults, we have provided novel evidence on the protective role of tea consumption on ASCVD events and all-cause mortality, especially among those who kept the habit all along. The current study indicates that tea might be a healthy beverage for primary prevention against ASCVD and premature death.
The researchers point out that results may not apply to non-Chinese populations.
Steve Parker, M.D.
h/t to Jan at The Low Carb Diabetic (click link for more details about the study)
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Most of the green teas I’ve tried aren’t green colored
From her letter to the editor at American Family Physician:
A rigorously scientific analysis of all the green tea research can be best interpreted as telling us there is no good evidence to support its use for conditions such as cancer, weight loss, or cardiovascular disease. The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, a resource for evidence-based, clinical information on natural medicines, rates green tea as only “possibly effective.” This rating is below their ratings of “effective” and “probably effective.”3 It raises a number of concerns about safety and interactions with other drugs, laboratory tests, and diseases. Additional concerns are that the dosage from brewed tea is variable, and commercial green tea extracts are classified as “diet supplements” under the Diet Supplement Health and Education Act and are not regulated for safety, purity, and content. Contamination and inconsistency of such products is common. In my opinion, we should not recommend green tea to our patients unless more convincing evidence is found.
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Green tea isn’t always green
From P.D. Mangan’s new book “Best Supplements for Men“:
Green tea, which is commonly drunk in China and Japan, is associated with lower rates of cancer, about 30% lower in those who drank the highest amounts of green tea compared to the lowest. Deaths from cardiovascular disease were about 25% lower in the highest consumption group versus the lowest. This is of course epidemiological evidence, meaning that it can’t show whether green tea actually prevented disease, or that there’s some other connection such as that heather people drank more green tea.
Laboratory and other evidence, however, provides some good reasons to think that green tea is the real deal when it comes to sides prevention.
A recent study of the elderly in Singapore found tea consumption linked to much lower risk of neurocognitive decline in women and carriers of the “dementia gene” APOE ε4.
P.D. suggests that the health-promoting dose of tea is 3 to 5 cups a day, and black tea may be just as good as green.
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Posted in Cancer, green tea, Heart Disease, Longevity
Yes!
My wife found this “matcha LOVE™” Japanese green tea at Sprouts market. A worker said it’s a favorite of their Japanese ethnic patrons.
I don’t know what she paid for it; at Amazon.com you can get 10 teabags for $12 something (USD). So it’s expensive. Some of the other teas I’ve reviewed here are 18 cents a cup.
The flavor is fine, a bit stronger than many “green” teas I’ve tried. That’s not bad. A nice esthetic bonus is that the brewed tea stayed green to the last drop. Several other green teas I’ve tried turn tan after a few minutes.
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This one is Yamamotoyam Sushi Bar Style Green Tea.
Yamamotoyama sushi bar style green tea
For $18 USD I got a pack of 90 individual teabags. So, just 20 cents a serving. “Best before” date is September 2018, so I’m assuming it’s relatively fresh, but who knows?
I’ll admit there’s a slight green tint to this drink that is predominantly yellow. Thirty seconds after I removed the teabag, it was simply light tan. Taste is fine.
My recollection of the reviews at Amazon several months ago was that this was going to be a green green tea. I’ll not go through those reviews AGAIN.
PS: I was at a sushi bar four months ago, but drank warm sake instead of tea.
Update December 9, 2016:
I’ve brewed a few more of these teabags and note a distinct greenish tinge to the tea in the cup. After a few minutes it fades to tan. I dissected a teabag and found green tea, indeed.
The dissected bag
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Green tea from Carrington Company out of Paramus, New Jersey
I had some hopes for this one since the 20 bags were packed in an air-sealed bag. But alas….
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Green tea
The healthful component of tea and apples seems to be epicatechins. Bix, the Fanatic Cook, writes:
“Other good sources of epicatechins, besides apples and tea, include blackberries, broad beans, cherries, black grapes, pears, raspberries, and chocolate. Red wine also contains epicatechins….”
Source: New Study: Tea And Apples Are Good For The Heart | Fanatic Cook
Bix worries about the alcohol in wine causing cancer. Keep your consumption low to moderate and cancer shouldn’t be a problem.
TeaGuardian.com says green and white teas have the most catechins (same as epicatechins, I assume for now).
The study at hand involved Dutch men, so we don’t know if results apply to women. It’s an observational study. The men with the highest epicatechin consumption had a 38% lower risk of death from coronary heart disease compared to the lowest consumers. Perhaps because it was a relatively small study involving only Dutch men, the researcher write that “More studies are needed before conclusions can be drawn.”
Steve Parker, M.D.
PS: Have you heard that the Mediterranean diet is also good for your heart?
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Posted in green tea, Heart Disease
Tagged catechins, coronary heart disease, epicatechins, green tea
“I have friends who attend matcha tea ceremonies, hire doulas, and go to shaman-led sweat lodges in Tulum.”
Source: American Digest
PS: “Match tea” is a term I ran across in my quest for green tea that’s actually green.
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Advanced Mediterranean Diet 