High blood pressure relates to the force of blood pushing against the walls of your blood vessels. When this force is too high, it can damage the delicate tissues in your arteries. This process can eventually lead to heart attack and stroke. Fortunately, eating a healthy diet can provide a buffer against high blood pressure by reversing a high reading.
Black tea has been shown to lower high blood pressure and relax arterial stiffness – a casualty of hypertension.
What’s more, this effect has been shown to kick in within one hour of consumption.
Researchers investigated the effects of black tea on blood pressure in hypertensive patients.
For the study, published in the journal Nutrients, 19 patients were assigned to consume black tea or placebo twice a day for eight days.
READ MORE: High blood pressure: The hot drink that could slash your risk of the silent killer by 65%
Getting tested
High blood pressure does not usually have any symptoms, so the only way to find out if you have it is to get your blood pressure checked.
In the UK, healthy adults aged over 40 are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least once every five years.
“If you’re at an increased risk of high blood pressure, you should have your blood pressure checked more often, ideally once a year,” advises the NHS.
“Having this done is easy and could save your life.”
