A new study on the benefits of tea was announced, drinking three cups of tea daily might lead to lower blood pressure. The research has been tried on participants with various ages and the details were published in the News Tribune.
The 95 study participants had systolic blood pressure readings ranging from 115 to 150 and were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group drank three cups a day of regular leaf tea that contained 1,493 milligrams of powdered black tea solids with 429 milligrams of polyphenols and 96 milligrams of caffeine.
The other group drank a placebo that had the same flavor and caffeine content but had no tea solids.
Polyphenols are antioxidants found in foods such as cherries, broccoli, cranberries, red wine and tea.
Antioxidants may prevent cell damage and could help avert certain types of cancer as well as reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Those in the black tea solids group saw a drop of systolic and diastolic blood pressure over six months of between two and three points compared with the placebo group.
The study authors said that when spread over the population this could mean a 10 percent drop in the prevalence of high blood pressure and a 7 percent to 10 percent decrease in the risk of cardiovascular disease.