Put the kettle on: How black tea (and other favorites) may help your health later in life

Medical Xpress / Edith Cowan University / Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology ^ | Nov. 22, 2022 | Benjamin H. Parmenter et al,

[ConservativeMind]

A daily cup of tea could help you to enjoy better health late in life. However, if you're not a tea drinker, there are other things you can add to your diet.

The key is flavonoids, which are naturally occurring substances found in many common foods and beverages such as black and green tea, apples, nuts, citrus fruit, berries and more.

A study of 881 elderly women (median age of 80) has found that the participants were far less likely to have extensive buildup of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) if they consumed a high level of flavonoids in their diet.

"The main contributors are usually black or green tea, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, red wine, apples, raisins/grapes and dark chocolate."

There are many different types of flavonoids, such as flavan-3-ols and flavonols, which the study indicated appear to also have a relationship with AAC.

Study participants who had a higher intake of total flavonoids, flavan-3-ols and flavonols were 36-39 percent less likely to have extensive AAC. Black tea was the study cohort's main source of total flavonoids and was also associated with significantly lower odds of extensive AAC.

Compared with respondents who didn't drink tea, participants who had two to six cups per day had 16-42 percent less chance of having extensive AAC. However, some other dietary sources of flavonoids, such as fruit juice, red wine and chocolate, did not show a significant beneficial association with AAC.

Parmenter said people could still benefit from flavonoids without putting the kettle on.

"Out of the women who don't drink black tea, higher total non-tea flavonoid intake also appears to protect against extensive calcification of the arteries," he said. "This implies flavonoids from sources other than black tea may be protective against AAC when tea is not consumed."

[Cecily]

Extra virgin olive oil is also supposed to be good for cardiovascular health. I eat a small amount (have to watch my calories too) every day.

[Seaplaner]

There are ways to reverse this build up.

Absolutely.

Supplementing with vitamins D3, K2, and magnesium comes to mind.