Drinking Green Tea Three Times a Week Improves Heart Health

Tea garden workers pluck tea leaves inside Aideobarie Tea
Estate in Jorhat in Assam, India, April 21, 2015. — Reuters.
Tea garden workers pluck tea leaves inside Aideobarie Tea Estate in Jorhat in Assam, India, April 21, 2015. — Reuters.
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Drinking Green Tea Three Times a Week Improves Heart Health

Tea garden workers pluck tea leaves inside Aideobarie Tea
Estate in Jorhat in Assam, India, April 21, 2015. — Reuters.
Tea garden workers pluck tea leaves inside Aideobarie Tea Estate in Jorhat in Assam, India, April 21, 2015. — Reuters.

Drinking tea at least three times a week is linked to a longer and healthier life, according to a Chinese study published on Thursday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

First author Dr. Xinyan Wang, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said in the report: "Habitual tea consumption is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death. The health effects are the most robust for green tea."

The analysis included 100,902 participants of the China-PAR project2, who were classified into two groups: habitual tea drinkers (three or more times a week) and never or non-habitual tea drinkers (less than three times a week) and followed-up for an average of three to seven years.

The study found that compared with never or non-habitual tea drinkers, habitual tea consumers had a 20% lower risk of incident heart disease and stroke, 22% lower risk of fatal heart disease and stroke, and 15% decreased risk of all-cause death.

The potential influence of changes in tea drinking behavior was analyzed in a subset of 14,081 participants. Habitual tea drinkers who maintained their habit in both surveys had a 39% lower risk of incident heart disease and stroke, 56% lower risk of fatal heart disease and stroke, and 29% decreased risk of all-cause death.

Senior author Dr. Dongfeng Gu from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said: "The protective effects of tea were most pronounced among the consistent habitual tea drinking group. Mechanism studies have suggested that the main bioactive compounds in tea, namely polyphenols, are not stored in the body for a long term. Thus, frequent tea intake over an extended period may be necessary for the cardioprotective effect."

The distinction of green tea comes from the fact that it is a rich source of polyphenols which protects against cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, including high blood pressure and dyslipidemia.

Black tea is fully fermented and during this process polyphenols are oxidized into pigments and may lose their antioxidant effects. Black tea is also often served with milk, which previous research has shown may counteract the favorable health effects of tea on vascular function.



Faint Glow in Saturn… Did a Mystery Object Crash into the Gas Giant on Saturday?

New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
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Faint Glow in Saturn… Did a Mystery Object Crash into the Gas Giant on Saturday?

New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA

Astronomers have called for help to identify a mystery object that may have hit Saturn on Saturday in what could be the first recorded instance of a space object crashing on to the gas giant.

Studies suggest large objects- measuring over a kilometer across – strike Saturn once every 3,125 years on an average, according to The Independent.

Although data shows seven or eight small space rocks hit the planet every year, none have been spotted in the act by astronomers so far.

Compared to rocky planets where cosmic collisions leave impact craters, gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn don’t reveal such signs.

But a new image captured by a Nasa employee and amateur astronomer Mario Rana appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time.

Since gas giants have outer layers made of hydrogen and helium, strikes by asteroids or comets can quickly fade out.

Rana is part of the DeTeCt project, which analyzes images of Jupiter and Saturn using computer software. Videos taken of Saturn by the astronomer last Saturday show a faint glow in the left side of the footage, which seems like an impact event.

The Planetary Virtual Observatory and Laboratory, or PVOL, a consortium of professional and amateur astronomers, has called for experts in the field to attempt to confirm or refute the potential impact on Saturn.

“Marc Delcroix reports a potential impact in Saturn captured in a few frames in a video observation obtained by Mario Rana. The potential impact would be very faint and is unconfirmed,” PVOL said in a statement.

“The very short impact flash occurred on Saturn on 5 July 2025, between 9am and 9.15am UT. It is very important to get other videos of Saturn taken during that time frame.”

PVOL has urged astronomers who may have also captured observations from this time to contact Delcroix and submit their data.

Leigh N Fletcher, a planetary science professor at the University of Leicester, also called for amateur space observers to share any potential videos they may have of the impact.

“Amplifying the call from Marc Delcroix and co over the weekend: the team are looking to verify/refute a potential impact on Saturn on 5 July, 9am to 9.15am UT,” Dr Fletcher wrote on BlueSky.

“Videos taken by amateur observers at that time might hold the key.”