People who drink four cups of tea or coffee a day have lower blood pressure than those who drink none, a new 10-year study has found. French scientists in the long-term study found heavy tea drinkers had lower blood pressure, pulse pressure and heart rate than lighter drinkers.

The research analysed 176,437 men and women aged between 16 to 95 years. The participants answered how much coffee or tea they drank per day in a questionnaire. Based on the consumption of these beverages, individuals were classified into three groups: those who drank no coffee/tea, those who drank one to four cups, and those who drank more than four cups.

Researchers found that heavy coffee drinkers were found to have slightly higher blood pressure than normal but non-drinkers had the highest readings, the 'Daily Express' reported. Study author Bruno Pannier, from the Preventive and Clinical Investigations Centre in Paris, said it was possible that the flavonoids in tea had a relaxing effect on blood vessels.

"The vasorelaxing compounds included in these beverages might be involved in these results, something that has been suggested by the experimental data," he said. The study was presented to the European Society of Hypertension in Milan.

Sources: The Indian Express