Drinking black tea may keep you calm after an upsetting experience, suggests a new report from University College London.

Researchers asked 75 adults to drink either real or fake tea four times a day for 6 weeks. Then the study leaders put them through a stressful encounter (volunteers were accused of shoplifting or told they could be laid off, for example). The tea drinkers’ cortisol levels remained 20 percent lower than those of people who consumed the faux tea.

To reap the same benefits, drink black tea, derived from the evergreen shrub Camellia sinensis–not herbal or other varieties. Also to reap the heart-healthy benefits of black tea, choose lemon over milk as a condiment. A group of flavonoids in tea called catechins can help arteries contract and expand with each heartbeat–resulting in healthier blood pressure. But milk protein renders them ineffective, says lead researcher Mario Lorenz, PhD.

Source: Prevention Magazine.


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