Is there a tea that helps lower blood pressure? The answer is yes, and it is a type of oolong tea, similar to green tea. Not only that, this tea improves mood, counteracts insomnia, anxiety, headaches caused by stress and muscle tension. Let’s take a closer look at the properties of this tea, what exactly it is and how to prepare it.
A type of tea can help when it comes to reducing blood pressure and counteracting anxiety. Let’s try to better understand which tea it is and its benefits by analyzing the results of a very recent research published in the journal Foods by a team of scientists from Taiwan (Lin et al, Foods, 2023).
Green tea, black tea and oolong tea
There are different varieties of tea, obtained from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, but processed differently. This is how unfermented tea, or green tea, fermented tea whose leaves have undergone oxidation, or black tea, and partially fermented tea, or oolong tea, are born. We are precisely interested in the latter. In fact, if oolong tea is subjected to a particular process, discovered by chance a few decades ago, this tea, in addition to the antioxidants present in its leaves, develops a substance called GABA, which is a neurotransmitter amino acid that, in our body, has the power to calm. Precisely to understand the benefits of oolong tea with GABA, Taiwanese scientists have developed the research we are talking about today.
Oolong tea with GABA, properties
The research is small but significant. The study involved 38 volunteers, all adults between 40 and 85 years old, half of whom had pre-hypertension. The volunteers were asked to drink, twice a day for 1 month, a cup of tea prepared by infusing 4 grams of oolong tea with GABA in 200 ml of boiling water. What emerged is that, in people with pre-hypertension, after 3 weeks it was possible to observe a reduction in systolic blood pressure and after 4 weeks in diastolic blood pressure. In particular, the systolic pressure, at the end of the treatment, decreased by 11.8 mmHg and the diastolic by 8.4 mmHg. Not only that, tea with GABA made it possible to increase the alpha waves of the brain, connected to states of relaxation, allowing a generalized improvement in the quality of life, which was in turn assessed through a questionnaire that included questions on mood and sleep quality, concentration, the possible presence of muscle tension and whether the person suffered from headache attacks. The intake of oolong tea with GABA allowed us to observe improvements in all these indices.
Conclusions
As indicated, the study is small and more research will need to be done. However, the results are remarkable and highlight that the oolong tea variety with GABA has beneficial effects on health thanks to the synergy between tea antioxidants and the neurotransmitter GABA, developed following special processing. In particular, this tea calms the mood, counteracts anxiety and improves the quality of life by making you experience fewer symptoms related to nervous tension such as headaches, insomnia, poor concentration and muscle stiffness. Not only that, in people with high blood pressure it helps to bring blood pressure back within acceptable limits. Oolong tea with GABA is easily found on the market in specialized shops. Examples of oolong teas with GABA are Gabalong or Gabacha. Given the ease with which this tea can also be purchased online, make sure that the product is of quality and with the appropriate certifications. Oolong tea with GABA is prepared by bringing the water to 85-90° C. Add the tea, 4 grams per 200 ml of water, and leave to infuse for 2-3 minutes. Ask your doctor for advice if you are taking any medications to avoid interactions.