Green tea and stroke prevention: emerging evidence.

BACKGROUND

Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in many countries. Green tea is a simple and inexpensive beverage that is showing promise in the prevention of several diseases, including stroke. However, epidemiological studies examining the preventive effects of tea on stroke have generated inconsistent results.

OBJECTIVE

To review the emerging evidence for green tea in stroke prevention.

METHODS

Published articles were located by searching the PubMed, ProQuest, CINAHL and other databases, using the keywords 'tea' and 'stroke' with no restriction on publication date. Reference lists of identified articles were also searched for relevant publications.

RESULTS

Two published epidemiological studies on green tea reported positive findings. A large number of studies have also proposed biological mechanisms by which tea or tea components may reduce the stroke risk. Additional studies are required from a variety of populations, assessing duration and different types of tea consumption on subtypes of stroke to provide further evidence.

CONCLUSIONS

Green tea is a safe and cheap beverage. Its consumption should be encouraged because it could potentially serve as a practical method for stroke prevention.