New research suggests that drinking three cups of black tea a day, with no milk or sugar, could reduce several risk factors for heart disease.

The study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, found that drinking black tea for 12 weeks reduced triglyceride levels by 39 per cent in men and 29 per cent in women.

Triglycerides are a type of blood fat, which can clog the arteries and increase the risk of heart disease.

“While triglyceride levels did fall significantly for tea drinkers in this study, that aspect of the research needs further investigation as it was a small study,” said Dr Robert Grenfell, Clinical Issues Director at the Heart Foundation.

“A more effective way to reduce your triglyceride levels is to eat oily fish two to three times a week or take fish oil supplements.

The study also found that drinking black tea reduced blood glucose while also increasing HDL or so-called good cholesterol as well as blood levels of antioxidants.

“We already know that there are positive links between tea consumption and heart health due to the high antioxidant content of green and black tea,” Dr Grenfell said.

“When consumed without milk and sugar, tea has virtually no kilojoules, making it a good choice over sweetened drinks.

“If you like milk in your tea, we recommend you choose low or no fat milk instead of full cream as reduced fat milk is lower in unhealthy saturated fat.

“Replacing unhealthy saturated and trans fats with healthier fats is a more effective way of increasing your HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol than drinking tea,” Dr Grenfell added.

For more information, visit heartfoundation.org.au/healthyeating  or call 1300 36 27 87.

For more information please contact: Kerry Kalcher, PR Projects Manager, 0401 672 128 / (02) 9219 2433

• non-AHHA

• Printer-friendly version