8 Teas That Can Help or Harm Your Heart

Soothing, aromatic teas have earned a spot on the approved foods and drinks list for their myriad of mind and body benefits.

By Zachary SmithMedically Reviewed by Anurag Sahu, MD

Reviewed: September 16, 2022

Medically Reviewed

Drinking green tea is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases.

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These days, you can’t walk down your grocery store aisle without seeing tons of teas. Some will keep you up and energized, while others will help you relax and go to sleep. A few can even be good for your heart or reduce your cholesterol.

“There are so many teas,” says Grace Derocha, RD, national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “You can have three cups of tea a day, but sometimes it’s green, sometimes it’s black, sometimes it’s herbal. A lot of these factors come into play.”

What also comes into play is how you prepare your tea, as results can vary in how it is brewed or served.

Guy L. Mintz, MD, director of cardiovascular health and lipidology at the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, warns that no matter which tea you have, make sure to drink it as is.

“A lot of patients will drink fancy tea lattes and what they’re going to get from that is a lot of sugar, calories, and carbs,” says Dr. Mintz. “In that case, you’re doing nothing for yourself.”

So which tea is best for you? Here are eight teas and how they can affect your heart.

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Black Tea: Might be Good for Your Heart but Drink Responsibly

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“Black tea has cardio-protective benefits that can improve blood vessel function and blood flow,” says Mintz.

He also notes this is due to polyphenols and flavonoids, antioxidants found in plants like tea lives, which research suggests can help prevent cell damage, reduce inflammation, and improve cholesterol levels.

Results of a study testing the effects of black tea on rats, published in March 2018 in Lipids in Health and Disease Preventive Medicine, indicated that rats in the test group that ingested a theaflavin-based solution, another antioxidant polyphenol found in black tea, and saw a 10. 39 percent reduction in cholesterol, 10.84 percent reduction in LDL cholesterol, and 6.6 percent reduction in triglycerides.

However, less caffeine does not mean there are no harmful effects associated with black tea. Black tea has the highest amount of caffeine out of any type of tea, with an 8-ounce cup containing 47 milligrams (mg) of caffeine depending on how long it’s brewed, notes Mayo Clinic.

While black tea has less caffeine than coffee, the caffeine level varies depending on the tea, brand, processed, and how long it steeps. People with heart problems and those who are breastfeeding or pregnant should not consume more than 200 mg of caffeine daily, or roughly four cups of black tea daily.

Derocha says that the tannins, a class of polyphenol, may also give people an upset stomach, among other potential side effects.

“Tannins in black tea can also decrease iron absorption from plant-based foods,” Derocha explains. “That’s why there’s tea time. You’re not supposed to have tea with your meals for a reason. ”

Finally, Derocha says that black tea can interfere with mental health drugs, and you should speak to your doctor if you are taking medication or trying a new tea.

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Green Tea: May Lower Your Cholesterol if You’re an Avid Tea Drinker

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For your heart health, it pays to go green.

Powerful antioxidants in green tea — especially one called epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG — can help prevent atherosclerosis and plaque buildup in the arteries.

“Because green tea is a steamed tea leaf and not as processed as black or oolong, you’re going to get a little more of the tea leaves health benefits,” says Derocha. “Steam tea leaves have a higher concentration of EGCG, an antioxidant that helps prevent plaque buildup in our arteries.”

And drinking green tea is also associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, especially in habitual tea drinkers, according to a review published in May 2022 in Food Science and Human Wellness.

The benefits of green tea led researchers to declare that “tea drinkers live longer” in a study published in January 2020 in the European Society of Cardiology. After surveying 101,000 participants in China, scientists found drinking green tea was linked with approximately 25 percent lower risk of living with heart disease or after a stroke, the chance of dying from heart disease and stroke, and general death. Participants were split between two groups: habitual tea drinkers (three times or more a week) or not.

However, it’s worth noting that these benefits are strongest with habitual tea drinkers, and more so for those drinking more than one cup of green tea a day.

This might not be doable for everyone. Derocha says that people with caffeine sensitivity should watch how much green tea they drink, just like black tea. An 8-ounce cup of green tea gives you 28 mg of caffeine depending on how long it’s brewed, notes Mayo Clinic.

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White Tea: Protective Against Cancer, but Not the Heart

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White tea is harvested from the young buds of the tea plant and only briefly processed.

“White tea has the most potent anti-cancer properties compared with some of the more processed teas like black tea or oolong,” says Derocha. “It also has catechins, a polyphenol that can protect us from cell damage, whether that be aging or from a chronic condition.”

A study published in Food Chemistry found that white tea may protect the DNA of normal cells against cell damage from colon cancer, acting as a potential chemotherapeutic agent by inhibiting colon cancer cells.

Regarding heart health, research is limited. Mintz says that while white tea does have antioxidant effects, there aren’t any specific studies exploring the link between the two.

Also, check with your doctor if you’re taking a blood thinner like warfarin (Coumadin) or are sensitive to caffeine. White tea does contain caffeine, which can speed your heart rate or increase your risk for high blood pressure.

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Oolong Tea: Lowers Cholesterol but More Research Is Needed

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Oolong tea is crushed tea leaves that have been oxidized for a period of time and then heated to stop the process.

A clinical study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that oolong tea may help lower cholesterol levels in the study population from Shantou, China. While the results showed that oolong tea was able to increase HDL cholesterol, it was inconsistent with previous studies.

Derocha cautions that oolong has a laxative effect and to be wary about what that can do to the body.

“It’s not a weight loss cure or supplement,” says Derocha. “That’s not how you want to sell anything because it could be dangerous for people.”

If you’re unsure how oolong tea will affect you, Derocha recommends speaking with a doctor. Like other teas, it can contradict medications like blood thinners.

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Chamomile Tea: Enables You to Sleep, but Be Careful

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This herbal tea is notorious for helping people sleep at night because it contains flavanoids, per research.

“Flavanoids help us relax and sleep, and it can also help reduce menstrual cramping and pain,” says Derocha. Sleep is also one of the best tools for dealing with inflammation or healing from an injury, she notes.

Sleep is also vital to heart health, according to the American Heart Association’s recent Life’s “Essential 8” fact sheet measuring a person’s cardiovascular health.

Getting restful sleep is necessary too. A study published in March 2021 in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that poor sleep quality was associated with increased risk of major cardiovascular diseases.

Sometimes the tea works so well that doctors tell patients not to drink chamomile before surgery because it can cause them to be too relaxed and have an adverse effect with anesthesia, says Derocha.

Patients with a coronary artery stent or who are taking aspirin or warfarin blood thinners should consult their doctor before drinking chamomile tea because it may increase the risk for internal bleeding.

“Just like with black tea, pharmacists and doctors want to know what herbal teas you drink,” says Derocha. “Just so they know in case your medication isn’t working.”

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Ginseng Tea: Safer to Drink Than Take in Capsule Form

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Though ginseng has not been officially evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), drinking it may potentially give a boost to your heart. A review in the Journal of Ginseng Research found that ginseng could help with cardiovascular function like increasing blood circulation, but ultimately, more studies need to be done.

“Ginseng is trickier because it can come in tea or capsule form,” says Derocha. “But ginseng is known to help improve overall health by boosting our immune system.”

While ginseng is more popular in Asian counties, it is used as a dietary supplement in the United States for everything from overall health to erectile dysfunction.

A systemic review published in March 2019 in the EPMA Journal found that ginseng supplements may be linked to increased bleeding. However, the results are inconsistent to each other, nor does it exhibit the same qualities as a blood thinner medication.

Derocha warns that ginseng supplements are sometimes touted as “miracle capsules” but with little proof of doing anything miraculous or with the approval of the FDA. If you want ginseng, it is best as tea.

As with most teas, talk to your doctor if you’re taking blood thinners like warfarin or anti-platelet drugs such as clopidogrel (Plavix).

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St. John’s Wort: Risky Combined With Heart Meds

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You may have heard that St. John’s wort can help treat symptoms of depression, but be wary of drinking this tea if you have a heart condition.

For those who take digoxin or ivabradine, taking St. John’s wort can reduce these drugs’ effects, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

The organization also notes that while there has been extensive research on St. John’s wort for depression, the interactions with some medications can be life-threatening.

Derocha says she would rather you drink ginseng tea instead if you are looking for a herbal tea. Black and green tea are also still the best option for heart health.

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Rooibos (Red Tea): Has Potential but Evidence Is Still Iffy

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Red tea is a South African herb that is fermented. While, like chamomile tea, it has plant flavonoids with cancer-fighting properties, medical studies have been limited.

A clinical study of 40 people published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology found that consuming six cups of rooibos tea daily for six weeks decreased LDL cholesterol and boosted HDL cholesterol. Still, the same effects were not seen in healthy people.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t drink it, notes Derocha.

“We talk about [eating] a rainbow of color with fruits and vegetables and getting a little bit of color from everything because there’s a variety of nutrition that you’ll get,” she says. “I feel the same way about tea. I think we should have red, black, white, and green tea because you’ll get different perks.”

Regular tea drinking might help your heart as you age, study suggests

Please note: This article was published more than two years ago, so some information may be outdated. If you have questions about your health, always contact a health care professional.

The latest study on the coffee alternative suggests at least a cup a day may help your body cling to heart-helping “good cholesterol” as you age.

Previous research has suggested more tea may significantly lower the risk of heart disease and stroke by reducing low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, the “bad” cholesterol that can build up in arteries.

What’s uncertain is tea’s effect on high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, the healthy cholesterol that helps eliminate LDL. Some studies found that tea significantly increased HDL, while others found no consequence at all.

But tea appears to slow the natural decrease in HDL that occurs during aging, according to the new study published Monday(link opens in new window) in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The study monitored more than 80,000 people from the Kailuan community of Tangshan, China, over a six-year period. It found regular tea drinkers had a slower age-related decrease in HDL levels. That decline was linked to an eventual 8 percent decrease in cardiovascular risk among those in the study.

Green tea had a slightly stronger effect than black tea, but both are full of polyphenols and catechins, two antioxidant compounds recognized for their anti-inflammatory properties. The researchers did not collect data on coffee, which is not popular in that area of China.

The link between greater tea consumption and slower HDL decreases appeared the most pronounced in men and in people age 60 and older who typically had higher heart disease risk factors such as tobacco use, larger body mass index and low physical activity levels.

“We still observed a significant association in these people, which suggests that the observed association cannot be totally interpreted by someone’s overall healthy lifestyle,” said Dr. Xiang Gao, the senior author of the study’s report and the director of the Nutritional Epidemiology Lab at Pennsylvania State University.

There were several limitations to the study, though.

For example, findings were based on self-reported information about weekly or monthly tea consumption and did not reflect whether people drank more than one cup a day. The study also lacked key dietary information, including details about intake of fruits, vegetables, meat and whole grains.

In addition, the study examined people from a specific community in China that isn’t representative of the nation’s population at large.

“However, the results represent a large cohort of individuals living in China who have a wide range of tea intakes and a low intake of coffee,” the study’s authors noted.

Getting a similar sampling of tea drinkers elsewhere would be difficult, said Judith Wylie-Rosett, a professor and division head for health promotion and nutrition research in the department of epidemiology and population health department at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Wylie-Rosett, who wasn’t associated with the study, credited it for taking “a cautious approach to endorsing the benefits” of tea consumption, as well as examining the impact on HDL levels.

“We don’t tend to talk much about the decline in HDL cholesterol with age, and our main lifestyle strategies for trying to increase it are vigorous physical activity and losing weight,” she said.

Overall, Wylie-Rosett described the study as “one of those nice stories that people who drink tea feel good about, but it doesn’t really change a whole lot of anything other than help researchers think about the next study they need to do.”

Because of inconclusive results in tea studies, neither the American Heart Association nor the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans make recommendations about how much to consume.

If you have questions or comments about this story, please email [email protected].

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Drinks that are good for the heart and blood vessels: 8 best options – June 12, 2022

Green tea is the perfect drink to start the day. It helps to wake up, tones up, increases efficiency

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“Doctor Peter” tells what drinks should be included in the diet. Studies show that they can lower heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and improve overall health.

It is important to understand that they will NOT replace medication if you have a health problem.

Green tea is rich in heart-healthy catechins and polyphenolic compounds that can reduce inflammation in the body. Tea promotes the expansion of cerebral vessels, improves its nutrition, oxygen supply, thereby reducing pressure, reducing the risk of stroke, heart attack, and atherosclerosis.

Women who drank 1-6 cups of green tea a day had fewer cardiovascular diseases, according to a study of 80,000 health data published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health. The same lovers of green tea, whose cause of death is vascular and heart disease, died on average 13 years later than those who preferred other drinks instead of tea.

Researchers have also found that drinking green tea may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in men.

It not only has a tart and bright taste, but is also good for the heart. Scientists have found that two cups of hibiscus tea a day can normalize blood pressure – both systolic and diastolic. Tea contains flavonoids, which have antibacterial properties and help to cope with diseases. Hibiscus flowers contain a large amount of vitamin C, as well as vitamin A and B vitamins (B1, B2 and B9).

There are only 5 kcal per 100 ml of finished hibiscus tea. It does not contain caffeine and has almost no contraindications.

A Japanese study found that drinking one cup of unsalted tomato juice a day can improve heart health. This drink is able to regulate blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels – especially low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels – by about 3%.

Tomato juice with added salt should be avoided. Excess sodium can lead to high blood pressure, which is associated with a rapid heart rate.

Moderate consumption of cocoa (natural) may improve heart health. A Danish study found that drinking this drink at least 1-3 times per month was associated with a 10% lower risk of developing atrial fibrillation.

Cocoa also protects the heart during times of stress, scientists at the University of Birmingham found, according to the journal Nutrients. It can improve the condition of blood vessels – especially during times of mental stress. It has also been proven that cocoa is a natural antidepressant, since it contains phenylethylamine.

Cocoa is a high-calorie drink, so you should be careful with it, especially if you add sugar and milk to it.

It is important that if you drink cocoa in combination with milk, you will not benefit from milk – the oxalic acid contained in cocoa beans blocks the absorption of calcium.

Berries are a natural medicine for the heart. They are rich in beneficial antioxidants that reduce the risk of vascular and heart diseases. Especially useful are blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, black currants.

There is a very old proverb: “Where they eat blueberries and strawberries, doctors have nothing to do!”

Research has shown that eating 200 grams (about one cup) of blueberries every day can normalize blood pressure and improve blood vessel function. Blueberries are one of the few berries that, after heat treatment, remain as healthy as fresh ones.

For the most nutritious berry juice, choose fresh or frozen berries and avoid added sugar.

Beets are rich in fiber, manganese, iron, vitamins A and C, calcium, phosphorus, which can lower blood pressure and improve heart function.

This vegetable has a beneficial effect on our blood vessels, heart and nervous system. Beets contain beneficial nitrates, which are converted inside the arteries into nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels, improves blood circulation and reduces blood pressure.

Beet juice should be diluted with water in a ratio of one to one.

Plum juice is rich in potassium, which is essential for heart health. This mineral is necessary for the proper functioning of nerve and muscle cells – after all, the heart is a muscular organ.

By the way, freshly squeezed orange juice is also considered the record holder for the amount of potassium – it contains 9% of the daily requirement of potassium per 1 glass. These figures are even greater than those of a banana.

It must be remembered that the absorption of potassium is facilitated by vitamin B6, while alcohol makes it difficult.

Drinking water infused with any citrus fruit is a great way to increase your daily water intake, which is very important for protecting your heart. Citrus fruits are also rich in vitamin C.

Maintaining the correct water balance and drinking regime is the key to heart health. When the body does not have enough fluid, the heart can work with a load, the pulse quickens. It is known that a large glass of ordinary water can slightly reduce blood pressure and heart rate – however, this effect is temporary and does not last long.

If your heart rate is high, there are drinks that can make it worse. They should be avoided:

• energy drinks,
• alcohol,
• caffeine in large quantities.

Important

Your resting heart rate is one of the indicators of the health of your heart. If it rises at the slightest physical exertion and then cannot return to normal for a long time, your cardiovascular system is not at all ready for stress, it needs to be trained and strengthened, otherwise the risk of chronic diseases and negative health consequences is high.

A simple test on how to assess the state of the heart and blood vessels by pulse: go HERE.

Heart can’t take it? Experts explained how much tea you can drink per day

“Roskontrol” tested large-leaf black tea. Some samples contained mold and pesticides. According to the results of the study, experts determined how many cups of tea you can drink per day so as not to die from a heart attack.

Experts checked tea from Strong Traditions, AKBAR, Tess, Riston, Almanac, Lipton, Beta tea brands. The cheapest samples are Strong Traditions and Almanac, the most expensive are Riston and Beta tea. The samples were studied according to 50 parameters.

A tasting was carried out in the laboratory. Unfortunately, not all samples passed this test with honor. Tea “Strong Traditions” caused complaints. Its taste is not tart and rich enough. There are a lot of coarse petioles in the tea itself. According to the totality of organoleptic indicators, this tea does not belong to the declared highest grade, but to the second. In addition, “Strong Traditions” has a weak aroma, the tea leaf is rough, not even enough and twisted.

Lipton tea was not large leaf as stated by the manufacturer. The size of tea leaves is medium. In addition, the sample does not comply with GOST in terms of organoleptic indicators: the tea is not even enough, twisted, with a large number of petioles.

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Tess, Riston, “Almanac”, Beta tea showed the best results, according to teatester.

How much tea can you drink?

Black tea is quite high in caffeine and tannin. Elena Menyachikhina, specialist of the Expert Center of the Union of Consumers, noted that the Strong Traditions brand has the least caffeine – only 2.2%, and according to reference data, it should be at least 3%.

– The remaining samples showed approximately the same results above 3%. Most caffeine in tea “Almanac” – 3.5%, – adds an expert.

Tannin, which has antioxidant activity, is most found in Akbar, Riston, Almanac and Lipton teas.

Caffeine has a negative effect on the heart – the pulse quickens, blood pressure rises. Because of this, blood vessels wear out, which can subsequently lead to a heart attack and stroke. According to cardiologists, the maximum amount of black tea, not too strong, is four to five cups a day. If you prefer a rich, tart drink, you should not drink more than two or three cups per day.