In the continual search for health and longevity, drinking green tea is always mentioned in the long list of potentials.

One study pertaining to this fact is called the Tea Consumption and the Risk of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality: The China-PAR project, released in earl 2020.

The study found consistent green tea drinkers lived on average around 15 months longer than non-tea drinkers. Green tea drinkers were also found to have about 20 percent less vascular disease such as heart disease or stroke.

The main bioactive compounds in tea that are given credit for this are called polyphenols. Polyphenols are very short lived in the human body, so their benefit is one over time.

Frequent green tea drinking, in the above-mentioned study that means at least three times a week over years, is likely necessary to get health and longevity benefits.

That is of course if they are related to polyphenols. I bring that up as all too often the forest is seldom seen through the trees.

The role of lifestyle factors that are common in tea drinkers may be the secret behind green tea’s longevity and health benefits.

All too often, we give drugs, medications and medical interventions credit, when the real power of a purported healthy thing is what is attached to it — the activity of it, the lifestyle it takes to do it.

Green tea, for example, involves taking the time to brew it, allowing it to steep appropriately, then taking the time to drink it slowly over time.

I believe this part of drinking tea is what increases longevity. Lowering stress, increasing the calm in your life.

I highly encourage drinking green tea, but more so, I suggest you examine your lifestyle and find ways to increase the calm. That is the secret to better health and longevity.

Dr. Warren Willey is a Pocatello physician. Visit his website at drwilley.com.