The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reports, “Drinking three cups of black tea daily over months may help lower blood pressure,” according to research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
In the study, “black tea was tested against a placebo to see whether drinking the beverage over time had any effect on lowering blood pressure in male and female test subjects, ages 35 to 75.”
HeartWire reports, “Daily consumption of the tea resulted in a significantly lower 24-hour systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared with the control arm.”
Researchers found that “the net-effect difference in systolic blood pressure at three and six months was -2.7 mm Hg and -2.0 mm Hg, respectively (p=0.006 at three months, p=0.05 at six months).”
Meanwhile, “diastolic blood pressure was reduced 2.3 mm Hg and 2.1 mm Hg at three and six months, respectively (p<0.001 at three months, p=0.003 at six months).”
However, the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database says, “Several small studies in normotensive and hypertensive patients suggest that consuming black tea has no effect on blood pressure.”
Therefore, the experts at the NMCD conclude, there is “INSUFFICIENT RELIABLE EVIDENCE to RATE” the use of black tea for hypertension, at least at the present time.