Once considered a luxury drink popular among English aristocrats, tea consumption has risen over the years, mainly due to the exquisite taste and aroma of this health drink. Recently, a new research suggests that drinking a cup of tea a day could be beneficial for cardiovascular health, another addition to the tea's growing list of proven health benefits.

The research based its finding on an ongoing study composed of 6,000 participants which started back in 2000. Dr. Elliot Miller of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, head of the research team, confirms that all participants were free of heart disease at the beginning of the study.

Researchers than tracked the medical concerns of all participants over the years, noting heart attacks, strokes, chest pains or deaths due to other kinds heart diseases. Calcium deposits in the blood vessels were also measured through the use of CT scans and compared with previous years' results .

So what did the researchers glean from this extensive and long-running research? Dr. Miller points to two major trends observed from all the data gathered over those years, findings that would surely be welcomed by tea lovers:

1. Lesser Incidence of Major Heart Disease - The study showed that tea drinkers are 35 percent less likely to have a heart attack or any cardiovascular disease when compared to non-tea drinkers. A 35 percent reduction in heart disease risk is actually a big and significant number when dealing with the deadly disease, which could sneak without warning.

2. Decline in Arterial Calcium buildup - Another very important and far-reaching finding is that tea drinkers who took one to three cups daily showed a decline in their arterial calcium buildup. According to Dr. Edward R. Rosick in his article for Life Enhancement, calcification or calcium buildup in the artery is a component in the buildup of arterial plaque, which could explain why some people still suffer atherosclerosis or plaque buildup even when their cholesterol levels are under control. It is good to note that tea not only prevents calcium buildup but removes it as well.

Dr. Miller concedes though that more studies have to be done to verify these initial findings. However, these new observation seem agree with other researches done on the benefits of tea, reinforcing its potency as a health drink.

For those planning to take up this healthy drinking habit but are unsure which type of tea to choose, perhaps these short list offered by WebMD might be useful.

1. Green Tea - Contains high concentration of EGCG, could inhibit growth of certain cancers as well as prevent clogging of the arteries, burn fat, reduce stroke, improve cholesterol levels. It may even reduce Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease risks.

2. Black Tea - Known to have the highest caffeine content, may protect lung from damage caused by smoking, reduce stroke risk.

3. White Tea - considered to have the most anticancer properties because it is uncured and unfermented.

4. Oolong Tea - Lowers LDL (bad cholesterol) levels, some are marketed as a weight loss supplement.

5. Pu-erh Tea - Reduced LDL as well as weight gain.

Given these numerous research-backed benefits of tea, it's hard to find an excuse not to drink this amazing health drink. Besides, it's quite delicious too.