Milk cancels out tea's heart-healthy benefits

I was reading through my June issue of Shape magazine and found an entry in the Eat Right News section where they say that adding milk to English Breakfast tea can cancel out the tea's heart-healthy benefits. This is according to a study by Verena Stangl, MD.

Shape magazine quoted the European Heart Journal as the source of their information, so I went on a search and located the article online to check what it says myself.

The article, which appeared in the European Heart Journal, was first received by the Journal in September of 2006 and Published in January 2007.

The study is credited to: Mario Lorenz, Nicoline Jochmann, Amélie von Krosigk, Peter Martus, Gert Baumann, Karl Stangl and Verena Stangl. With Stangel listed as the corresponding author.

The study included 16 women who drank either freshly brewed black tea, black tea with 10% skimmed milk, or boiled water as control.

The flow-mediated dilation* was found to be significantly improved when black tea was consumed as compared to plain boiled water, however the "addition of milk completely blunted the effects of tea".

Additional tests supported the findings, leaving the conclusion that milk counteracts tea's health effects on vascular function.

The study determined the cause was the caseins in the milk, which they determined likely formed complexes with the catechins in the tea.


Source:
Mario Lorenz , Nicoline Jochmann , Amélie von Krosigk , Peter Martus , Gert Baumann , Karl Stangl , and Verena Stangl
Addition of milk prevents vascular protective effects of tea
European Heart Journal Advance Access published on January 2, 2007, DOI 10.1093/eurheartj/ehl442.
Eur Heart J 28: 219-223.
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*I assume that meaning the flow of blood through the blood vessels??? I'm not a doctor, so not sure.