Tuesday Nov 25, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) - Drinking tea often may help reduce risk of cardiovascular disease events such as stroke, according to a new review study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Lenore Arab from the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California in Los Angeles, CA and colleagues conducted the study and found high tea consumption was associated with 21% reduced risk for suffering stroke and dying from stroke, compared with low tea consumption.

Drinking 3 or more cups of tea a day was associated with a similar magnitude of reduction in the risk of both incidence and mortality.  

The associations were derived from an analysis of data from previous studies.

Also, the study found a 20% reduction in the risk of stroke and stroke death among those who had the highest intakes of flavonoids, compared with those who have the lowest intakes.

The study concluded "The strength of this evidence supports the hypothesis that tea consumption might lower the risk of stroke." 

Stroke is a major killer in the West. (David Liu, PHD)