Tea May Help Keep Blood Flowing After Fatty Meal

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Tea May Help Keep Blood Flowing After Fatty Meal

Tue Feb 26, 1:15 PM ET

By Stenson

SAN DIEGO (Reuters Health) - An after-dinner cup of tea might help

counteract some of the harmful effects of a fatty meal, a preliminary

report suggests.

When people consume a high-fat meal, their blood lipid levels can become

elevated. This in turn can trigger the production of damaging

oxygen-free radicals, which may cause blood vessels to temporarily

stiffen and constrict, particularly in people who already have

cardiovascular disease.

But antioxidants in tea may help mop up these free radicals, thereby

keeping the blood vessels supple and promoting healthy blood flow,

according to Yoshikazu Takanami, a researcher at Tokyo Medical

University in Japan.

In a small study, Takanami and colleagues evaluated the effects of two

high-fat meals in 10 healthy volunteers aged 21 to 38. The meals

contained equal amounts of fat (79%) but during one meal participants

drank black tea, while during the other they drank water.

Results showed that forearm blood flow was strongest following the meal

that included the tea, suggesting that the antioxidants in tea helped to

keep blood vessels functioning properly, Takanami told Reuters Health.

As further evidence of this notion, tests revealed that the antioxidant

capacity of the participants' blood was greatest after they had consumed

the meal that included tea, according to study findings presented here

Monday at a nutrition conference organized by the American Society for

Clinical Nutrition and other medical groups.

Takanami noted that in people with heart disease, a single fatty meal

can be the trigger for a heart attack. And in healthy people, regular

consumption of fatty meals contributes to the development of hardening

of the arteries.

So finding effective ways to counteract the stress on blood vessels that

can result from fat intake is important and more studies are needed, he

said.