Women Taking 3 Tea Cups A Day Keep Heart Diseases At Bay

London, Drinking at least three cups of tea a day may help women ward off heart attacks and strokes, research has found.

According to the French study, women taking three tea cups , or more a day are less likely to have plaques - dangerous build-ups of fat and cholesterol - in their arteries, hence reducing the chances of heart diseases.

The study conducted by Institut National de la Sante Et de la Recherche Medicale found that only around one third of women who drank three or more cups of tea a day had plaques in a neck artery, compared with almost half of those who drank no tea, the Daily Mail reported.

However, the study appeared to show that men who were regular tea-drinkers did not reap the same health benefits.

Researchers examined 2,613 men and 3,984 women with an average age of 73, measuring the level of plaque in their carotid artery using ultrasound.

Carotid plaque was found in 45 per cent of women who were not tea-drinkers, in 42.5 per cent of women who drank one or two cups of tea daily and in only 33.7 per cent of those reporting drinking three or more cups a day.

Even women with high blood pressure appeared to gain protection from tea, found the study.

The report said it was unclear why men did not benefit from tea-drinking in terms of lessening plaque build-up.

One theory is that tea might in some way complement oestrogen, the female hormone which is believed to help protect women against heart problems.