Complementary Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine

44 Alternative Cardiovascular Medicine
ing this result.” The study-specific effect estimates for stroke and CHD
were too heterogeneous to allow for summarization.
The authors clearly point out the limitations of their findings. When
evaluating studies, they found that many failed to precisely identify the
type of tea being used or consumed—studies referring to the test item
simply as tea. This represents a significant problem with evaluating the
evidence, because tea actually represents a heterogeneous group of beverages,
which can include fermented black tea, half fermented oolongs,
unfermented green tea, and sweetened or unsweetened ice tea and other
distinct herbal teas. Also lacking in most studies was a description of
how the tea was prepared, including steeping time and whether milk was
added (98).
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