Study: Drinking black tea may help live longer and healthier

A large study found that the daily habit of drinking black tea can help to live longer and healthier lives, especially if you drink two or more cups.

The risk was lower among people who drank two or more cups of tea per day. The results were published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

Tea is one of the most consumed beverages worldwide. Previous research has suggested an association between tea consumption and low risk of death in the population, where green tea is the most common type of tea.

In contrast, studies published in societies where drinking black tea is more common are limited by inconsistent outcomes.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health conducted a study to assess tea consumption associations with all cause and cause mortality using data from the UK Biobank, where drinking black tea is common.

They also assessed whether the associations differed by using common tea additives (milk and sugar), tea temperature, and genetic variants affecting the rate of caffeine metabolism.

• The United Kingdom's Biobank includes data on half a million men and women

• aged 40 to 69, who completed a basic questionnaire between 2006 and 2010.

• Of these, 85% reported drinking tea regularly, and 89% reported drinking black tea.

• For non-tea drinkers, participants who reported drinking two or more cups each day had a 9 to 13% lower risk of death.

Associations were observed regardless of whether participants also drank coffee, added milk, sugar to tea, their preferred tea temperature or genetic variants related to caffeine metabolism.

According to the researchers, their findings suggest that tea, even when consumed at higher levels, can be part of a healthy diet.

The observational study cannot prove that tea was behind low mortality risk rather than other lifestyle factors.

However, Professor Fernando Artalejo, a public health expert who was not involved in the study, described the results as "significant progress in this area".

Most studies were conducted in Asia, where green tea was more popular, and few studies in the West were "small in size and inconclusive in their results."

Professor Artalejo, of the Autonomous University of Madrid, said: "This article shows that regular consumption of black tea is associated with a slight decrease in total cardiovascular disease deaths, in particular, over 10 years in middle age, mostly white people, and the elderly.

He continued: 

"Studies should be conducted with frequent measurements of tea consumption over time and comparison of the mortality rate of those who do not consume tea on a sustainable basis with those who have started or increased tea consumption over time, and those who have been drinking tea for years.

Black tea is rich in antioxidants associated with improving heart, gut and brain health, low levels of harmful cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar.

1. Tea is a rich source of healthy plant compounds called polyphenols
2. which control the harmful effects of cell-damaging molecules in the body.

These protective compounds have been associated with reducing the risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease and dementia.

It may also contribute to improving brain function, bone density, and mental health and can reduce the risk of premature brain aging.