Tea has been consumed for centuries for its relaxing quality and social benefits. However, research increasingly suggests that drinking from childhood to older age offers a range of health and well-being benefits. Who knew (except the many cultures who have consumed the drink enthusiastically since forever)?
Studies show that benefits for health and wellbeing are seen at daily intakes of 2-4 cups – and it doesn’t matter whether you choose regular black tea or green tea, incidentally.
A review, published in Nutrition and Food Technology and commissioned by the Tea Advisory Panel (TAP) reveal strong evidence that regular tea drinking improves cardiovascular health, hydration, cognitive function, and metabolic health, with growing data showing an important role for tea in supporting mental wellbeing, weight management, gut health and bone density.
So, what is it in tea that makes it so healthy? The polyphenol compounds in this beloved drink have attracted the most attention for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, but other compounds in tea are also important.
These include L-theanine and caffeine, which have been proven to influence the brain and cognitive function by improving alertness and helping us to maintain concentration levels. L-theanine has also been studied for its relaxation properties – something we all value when enjoying a tea break, don’t you think?
So, with all that in mind and with the help of the tea experts at TAP, here’s why you should be drinking three cups of tea a day for maximum wellness benefits.
Tea Keeps Us Calm
From the tea gardens of ancient China and Japan, where tea was drunk before meditation practice, to the busy lifestyles of modern Brits, tea is widely seen as a calming drink. And as the new TAP review shows, there is plenty of science to back this up.
A clinical trial of 75 healthy men found that drinking tea daily for 6 weeks reduced cortisol levels in response when a stressful computer task was performed. Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone and can be detected in saliva and blood. Men in the group consuming tea also noted an increase in feelings of relaxation during the post-task recovery period.
The key component responsible for this calming effect is L-theanine – an amino acid unique to tea. In fact, an analysis which combined 49 intervention trials found that L-theanine, caffeine and EGCG (a polyphenol in green tea) can all impact significantly on attention levels, memory, relaxation and suppression of distraction. The effects of tea components have also been confirmed using functional MRI scanning, which have showed that certain areas of the brain ‘light up’ in response to L-theanine and caffeine.
Read: 7 reasons to switch from coffee to tea today
Proven Heart Health Effects
Several major studies now confirm that drinking tea lowers the risk of heart and vascular disease. Yep, tea reduces blood pressure and ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. For example, the UK Bio bank Study found recently that higher tea consumption was associated with lower total and LDL cholesterol, and higher ‘good’ HDL cholesterol[5].
Co-author of the TAP review, Dr Tim Bond, comments: “We know that tea drinking is a marker of reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease – and dying from a stroke or heart attack – but we also understand why. Clinical and laboratory studies show that tea polyphenols limit cholesterol absorption in the gut, and target receptors which regulate blood cholesterol levels.’
‘Tea polyphenols also relax blood vessel smooth muscle and boost nitric oxide levels – both of which help to lower blood pressure. Tea is also a potent antioxidant and can lower inflammation in the body”.
That said, as always with matters of the body, prevention is better than cure, and a proactive, holistic approach to heart health is the best way to keep those life changing problems at bay. Don’t solely rely on a cuppa to get you through! Check out our article on 5 IDEAL tips on keeping your heart healthy.
Benefits Across The Age Divide
Don’t worry if you haven’t been enjoy tea since childhood; it’s never too late to start brewing a fresh cup of the good stuff. Indeed, the TAP review found that different benefits were important at different life stages – for example, tea is a healthier swap for children when parents are trying to cut their sugary drink consumption, while older adults who drink three cups of tea daily reduced their risk of heart disease by nearly a third, and lowered their risk of stroke by a fifth.
Other Benefits Seen In Adults
There are other benefits, too:
- Drinking green tea as part of a weight loss diet results in an extra 3.3 kg (1/2 stone) lost over 12 weeks
- Four cups of tea daily are linked with a 10% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
- Regular tea drinking is associated with a 38% lower risk of osteoporosis – a serious disease which causes bone fractures.
- Tea could help immunity as it can neutralise pathogens found in the upper respiratory tract.
The Bottom Line
Including three cups of tea daily as part of a healthy lifestyle could help to preserve physical and mental health. So what are you waiting for? Put the kettle on!
