Green Tea Extends Life, Reduces CVD and Stroke Up to 62%

A new study published September 2006 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that drinking green tea reduces the risk of all-cause mortality.

The study, which took place in Japan, followed 40,530 adults between the ages of 40 and 79 years who did not have a history of stroke, coronary heart disease, or cancer, for up to 11 years for all-cause mortality and up to 7 years for cause-specific mortality.

Intake of green tea, and other information such as diet, alcohol and tobacco use, weight and physical activity we ascertained from questionaires. Researchers compared those who drank 5 or more cups of green tea a day to those who drank one or few cups a day.

Interestingly, the green tea seemed to have a greater protective effect in women than in men. Women who drank 5 or more cups of green tea a day had a 23 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality, than those who drank just one cup of green tea a day or less. As well, women who drank 5 cups of green tea had a 31 percent lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than those who only drank one cup of green tea a day or less. Stroke mortality for women was reduced by an astounding 62 percent. In men, all-cause mortality was reduced by 12 percent, cardiovascular disease mortality was reduced by 22 percent and stroke mortality was reduced by 42 percent.

Source:

Kuriyama, S., T. Shimazu, et al. (2006). "Green tea consumption and mortality due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes in Japan: the Ohsaki study." JAMA 296(10): 1255-65.

Key concepts: green tea, CVD, cardiovascular disease, stroke, mortality