If you drink tea — even up to 10 cups a day — new research suggests you may live longer.
Drinking two or more cups of black tea a day is associated with a moderate reduction in risk of death, according to new research published Monday in the journal Nature. Annals of Internal Medicine.
Research — collect data from UK BiobankA database that includes genetics and health research – analyzed the tea drinking habits of about half a million men and women between the ages of 40 and 69 between 2006 and 2010.
Previous studies on the potential effects of black tea have been inconsistent due to low intake in the populations studied, says Maki Inoue-Choi, study author and scientist in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the National Institutes of Health, during a press conference.
The entire UK population consumes a lot of tea: 85% of those studied from the Biobank regularly drink tea, and of tea drinkers, 89% drink black tea.
The researchers found that drinking two or more cups of tea per day was associated with a 9% to 13% reduction in the risk of death compared with those who did not drink tea. The study specifically showed that drinking black tea was associated with a reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but found no association with a lower risk of dying from cancer or respiratory disease.
“These findings may provide reassurance for tea drinkers,” said Inoue-Choi. “We were able to assess the association between this population and a high prevalence of black tea consumption at various levels of consumption.”
Tea contains polyphenols, which can help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, she said, which can reduce the risk of heart disease and other fatal health consequences.
Factors like how hot you like your tea, genetic differences related to metabolism, and even how much you stir the milk and sugar, don’t affect the results. Inoue-Choi says people should still follow dietary guidelines to limit sugar and saturated fat.
For regular coffee drinkers, you don’t need to change your tea water in the morning. 78% of the people studied drank coffee, and the researchers controlled for this, Inoue-Choi said.
“We still see the same association that drinking more tea is associated with a lower risk of death,” she noted.
So should you start drinking tea if you haven’t already?
Inoue-Choi said her study results were positive for current tea drinkers but added that more research is needed in different populations to make recommendations for those who don’t. drink tea.
For those who already have or even a few cups in their day, Inoue-Choi says “enjoy your cup of tea.”
