Beat stress, drink tea

October 4, 2006 10:59:44 AM PST

Regular cups of tea can help speed recovery from stress, researchers from University College London (UCL) said on Wednesday. en !ho drank "lack tea four times a day for si# !eeks !ere found to have lo!er levels of the stress hormone cortisol than a control group !ho drank a fake tea su"stitute, the researchers said in a study pu"lished in the $ournal %sychopharmacology. &he tea drinkers also reported a greater feeling of rela#ation after performing tasks designed to raise stress levels. 'ndre! (teptoe, of UCL)s department of *pidemiology and %u"lic +ealth, and one of the report)s authors, said the findings could have important health implications. ,(lo! recovery follo!ing acute stress has "een associated !ith a greater risk of chronic illness such as coronary heart disease. ,'lthough it does not appear to reduce the actual levels of stress !e e#perience, tea does seem to have a greater effect in "ringing stress hormone levels "ack to normal., -n the study, ./ tea0drinking men !ere split into t!o groups, all giving up their normal tea, coffee and caffeinated drinks. +alf !ere given a fruit0flavored caffeinated tea mi#ture made up of the usual constituents of a cup of "lack tea. &he others !ere given a caffeinated su"stitute, identical in taste "ut !ithout the active tea ingredients. 1either the participants or the researchers kne! !ho !as drinking real or false tea. 't the end of si# !eeks the participants !ere given a series of tests designed to raise their stress levels, including "eing given five minutes to prepare and deliver a presentation. &he researchers found that stress levels, "lood pressure and heart rate rose similar amounts in "oth groups. But /2 minutes after the tasks cortisol levels had fallen an average of 3. percent among the tea drinkers, compared to 4. percent in the fake tea group. (teptoe said it !as not kno!n !hich ingredients in tea !ere responsi"le for the effects found in the study.