Study: Moderate-strength tea may lower vascular disease risk by 11%

Drinking tea regularly may lower the risk of vascular disease by 11%, according to an observational study conducted in China. The nine-year study tracked 485,934 people to examine how habitual tea consumption affects conditions like heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease.

Daily Tea Intake Correlates with Vascular Disease Risk

During a typical follow-up period of nine years, researchers recorded 14,863 cases of vascular disease among the nearly half-million participants. The data showed that moderate-strength tea correlated with a decreased risk, whereas consuming “burning hot” tea potentially raised it. Participants who drank tea weekly typically consumed 2.78 cups per day, while the lowest estimated risk appeared among those drinking approximately six to eight cups daily. Combining tea drinking with avoiding smoking and staying physically active yielded the lowest overall risk in the cohort.

Despite the numbers, experts urge caution before translating these findings into daily habits. Dell Stanford, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said:

People who regularly drank tea in this study had around an 11% lower relative risk of vascular disease, adding to evidence linking tea drinking with better cardiovascular health.
British Heart Foundation

Stanford also emphasized the limitations of the data:

But this doesn’t prove that a daily cuppa protects your heart. This was an observational study and other differences in people’s diets and lifestyles could help explain the findings.
British Heart Foundation

Study Limitations Require Further Evidence for UK Populations

The research, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, leaves several questions open regarding cup sizes and regional health factors. Stanford pointed out that tea intake was measured only once, cup sizes lacked standardization, and the study cannot establish direct causation. Because the research took place entirely in China, experts noted that further evidence is required before applying the conclusions to populations in the UK. Stanford noted:

There’s no single food or drink that will transform our heart health; our overall diet and lifestyle matter much more.
British Heart Foundation