Tea and Cardiovascular Organs

Cardiovascular organs include the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins. Blood is pumped from the heart through arteries and capillaries, then returns to the heart via veins, circulating continuously. This is medically known as systemic and pulmonary circulation. The heart acts like a "power pump," with heart valves (mitral, tricuspid) and arterial valves (aortic and pulmonary) functioning like pump valves. Under systemic and pulmonary circulation, they open with blood flow and close against it, ensuring directional blood flow through the heart chambers. Impairment of cardiovascular organs can lead to dangerous conditions like arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease due to obstructed blood circulation. Modern medical research shows that active substances in tea, such as tea polyphenols (like catechins and their derivatives), help maintain vascular elasticity, prevent arterial spasms, relax blood vessel walls, increase effective vascular diameter, dilate blood vessels, and lower blood pressure. Tea polyphenols can neutralize chemicals in the blood that may cause heart disease and cancer. Thus, experts suggest that drinking one or two cups of green tea daily can help reduce the risk of heart disease. Additionally, caffeine and theophylline in tea stimulate the myocardium, dilate coronary and peripheral blood vessels, and promote blood circulation.

Domestic medical expert Chen Zuxuan, in his article "Drinking Tea and Coffee Can Reduce the Incidence and Mortality of Coronary Heart Disease," cited a European study surveying 37,514 residents over 13 years. The retrospective survey found that those who drank 2-3 cups of black tea daily reduced coronary heart disease mortality by 50%. Studies in Europe on hypertensive patients or postmenopausal women have also indicated that increased tea consumption can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Furthermore, Academician Chen Zongmao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported an epidemiological study in the Netherlands showing that high tea consumption reduced the risk of coronary heart disease by 45%. The polyphenolic compounds in tea were even more effective at reducing blood viscosity than the Western medicine aspirin. Xia Xuejun from the PLA Clinical Nutrition Center, through epidemiological surveys and clinical verification, stated in "Drinking Tea to Prevent Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases" that tea has preventive and therapeutic effects on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and regular consumption is beneficial.

Ye Yousong from the Tea Pigment Promotion Center of the Chinese Medical Association's "Key Promotion Project," in "Discussion on the Mechanism of Tea Pigment in Ischemic Cerebrovascular Diseases," concluded through clinical efficacy and experimental research on tea pigment (TP): "Due to its broad pharmacological effects, TP can achieve the combined application of drugs acting on different targets. Especially today, when cerebrovascular disease mortality ranks first among causes of death, TP may become a shining traditional Chinese medicine in the new century." Yang Xiufang and others from the Tea Science Department of Zhejiang University emphasized in "Free Radical Damage to Cardiovascular System and the Therapeutic Protective Effect of Tea Polyphenols": "Clinical trials show that TP effectively reduces plasma fibrinogen, has anticoagulant properties, and improves hemorheology."

Traditional Chinese medicine expert Lin Qianliang stated in "Tea Virtue and Tea Longevity": "Clinical studies have confirmed that drinking tea and taking various effective components of tea (from tea pigments, tea polyphenols to catechins, etc.) can effectively prevent and treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the number one killer of humanity today."

Black tea contains flavonoids, which act as hardening preventatives. Drinking three to four cups of black tea daily can improve the function of arterial walls, thereby preventing heart disease. Another substance in tea is theaflavin, a type of polyphenolic compound with a theaflavin structure. This golden-yellow pigment in black tea accounts for 0.5-2.0% of dry tea weight (depending on the processing method) and is a fermentation product. Theaflavin helps regulate blood lipids and prevent cardiovascular diseases. Additionally, black tea prevents blood clots and vascular inflammation [11]. A study by Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, showed that for people with aortic atherosclerosis, drinking one or two cups of tea daily reduced the risk by up to 69%.

Because tea contains tea polyphenols and vitamin C, which counteract the adverse effects of caffeine, excessive coffee consumption can lead to arteriosclerosis, while tea drinking inhibits it. The caffeine and theophylline in tea stimulate the myocardium, dilate coronary and peripheral blood vessels, and promote blood circulation. Tannins in tea have nicotinic acid-like activity, maintaining capillary tension, increasing vascular elasticity, and enhancing cardiovascular function [12].

Studies in Europe on hypertensive patients or postmenopausal women have shown that increased tea consumption reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, further proving tea's protective effect on the heart. A Deutsche Presse-Agentur report on July 30, 2001, mentioned a study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association, which found that the flavonoids in black tea act as hardening preventatives. Drinking four cups daily improves arterial wall function, thus preventing heart disease [13].

Regarding interferon, the body's "chemical defense" against infection, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that Dr. Bukowski from Harvard Medical School discovered that drinking tea can increase the secretion of interferon by immune cells in the blood fivefold. This is due to theanine in tea, which is broken down in the liver to ethylamine. Ethylamine activates "gamma-delta T cells" in the blood, promoting interferon secretion and significantly enhancing the body's ability to resist external invasions.

Tea saponin also has hemolytic and anti-inflammatory functions and can be used as an emulsifier or dispersant. Tea saponin is a derivative of pentacyclic triterpenoid compounds, a complex organic substance composed of sapogenin, glycosides, and organic acids. Tea saponin is found in the roots, stems, leaves, and seeds of the tea plant, with higher concentrations in roots and seeds and lower levels in fresh leaves [14]. Other studies indicate that vitamins in tea, along with lecithin, choline, and pantothenic acid, also help prevent vascular atherosclerosis.