R esearchers with Curtin University of Technology, Australia have found that long term consumption of green tea can dramatically reduce the risk of ischemic stroke.

Published May 28 in Stroke, the study looked at the green tea consumption of patients who had suffered a stroke in Southern China.

A total of 374 patients with incident ischemic stroke and 464 control subjects (mean age, 69 years) were recruited from 3 hospitals in Foshan. Information on frequency and duration of tea drinking, quantity of dried tea leaves, and types of tea consumed, together with habitual diet and lifestyle characteristics, was obtained from participants using a validated and reliable questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses were performed for tea consumption variables accounting for confounders that affect the ischemic stroke risk.

A significant decrease in ischemic stroke risk was observed for drinking at least one cup of tea weekly when compared with infrequent or nondrinkers, the risk reduction being largest by drinking one to two cups of green or oolong tea daily. Significant inverse dose–response relationships were also found for years of drinking and the amount of dried tea leaves brewed.

Scientists from the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia were involved in the study and they noted that although experimental studies have suggested that tea consumption may reduce the risk of ischemic stroke, available epidemiological evidence is equivocal, mainly due to the lack of accurate measurements on tea exposure. This study, hopefully, makes up for the lacuna and establishes the efficacy of the green tea.