Drinking tea lowers heart risk in women

NEW YORK, Feb 16: Women who drink tea may be protecting themselves
from a build-up of artery-clogging plaque, so lowering their risk for
heart disease and stroke, findings from a French study suggest.

Dr Mahmoud Zureik and colleagues found that older women who reported
drinking at least three cups of tea a day were less likely to have
plaque in the carotid arteries in their neck than those drinking less
tea.

The investigators, all with INSERM, France's national institute for
medical research, report their findings in the journal
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

Zureik's team analysed ultrasound measures of carotid artery plaque
among 2,613 men and 3,984 women, aged about 73 years old on average,
in relation to tea drinking and other dietary habits, and medical and
personal history obtained during in-person interviews from 1999 to
2001.

Carotid plaques were evident in 44 per cent of female non-tea-
drinkers, in 42.5 per cent of women who reported drinking 1 to 2 cups
of tea daily, and in only 33.7 per cent of those who reported drinking
3 or more cups per day.

The association between fewer instances of carotid plaques and
increased daily tea consumption was independent of other dietary
habits, major vascular risk factors, age, area of residence, and
education, the investigators note.

"There was no association of tea consumption with carotid plaques in
men," the team found..--Reuters