Study: Green tea prevents heart disease

A Japanese study has suggested that green tea consumption can reduce the risk of heart disease.

Researchers at the Tohoku University School of Public Policy in Sendai, Japan, said drinking five or more 3.4-ounce cups of green tea daily reduces the risk of heart disease by 31 percent in women and by 22 percent in men, WebMD reported Wednesday. The scientists said the reduced risk was compared to people who consume one or fewer 3.4-ounce cups of the beverage daily.

"Green tea may prolong your life through reducing heart disease and stroke," said researcher Shinichi Kuriyama. "Our findings might explain the differences in mortality profile between Japan and the United States. The Japanese age-adjusted rate of mortality due to (heart disease and stroke) is about 30 percent lower than that of the United States."

For the study, published in the Sept. 13 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers analyzed data collected from 40,000 healthy Japanese people aged 40 to 79 since 1994. More than 86 percent of the subjects were studied over the course of 11 years.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International