Do Tea Drinkers Live Longer?

Do Tea Drinkers Live Longer?

Are you looking for a way to stay healthy and live longer? Well, there are numerous healthy lifestyles that you can embrace to achieve your goal to live longer in fantastic health. Most times, the things we need to stay healthy are all around us, and we should not always depend on medication for our wellness.

There are several herbs that you can incorporate into your daily lifestyles in addition to eating healthy. You should consider pouring yourself a cup of tea now and then.

Association between habitual tea consumption life expectancy

Several pieces of research have revealed that tea drinkers are less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases than non-tea drinkers. The European Journal of Preventive Cardiology suggests that people who drink tea three or more times are more likely to live longer than their non-drinking counterparts.

Chinese researchers tracked tea consumption while monitoring the cardiovascular health of over 100,000 Chinese adults with no history of cancer, stroke, or heart disease.

"Habitual tea consumption is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death," said Dr Xinyan Wang, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China. "The favourable health effects are the most robust for green tea and long-term habitual tea drinkers."

Participants of the China-PAR were classified into two groups: non-habitual tea drinkers (less than 3 times a week) and habitual tea drinkers (3 or more times a week). The participants were observed for more than 7 years.

The research revealed an association between habitual tea consumption and a longer life expectancy. Habitual tea drinkers in both surveys were found to have a 56% lower risk of developing fatal heart disease and stroke, and 29% reduced risk of all-cause death, according to the report.

Senior author Dr Dongfeng Gu, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said: "The protective effects of tea were most pronounced among the consistent habitual tea drinking group. Mechanism studies have suggested that the main bioactive compounds in tea, namely polyphenols, are not stored in the body long-term. Thus, frequent tea intake over an extended period may be necessary for the cardioprotective effect."

Green tea is better

Further analysis was carried out based on the type of tea, and green tea drinkers were found to have 25% lower risks of fatal heart disease and stroke, and all-cause death. As for black tea, there were no significant observations made.

Dr Gu suggested that people East Asia preferred green tea. "In our study population, 49% of habitual tea drinkers consumed green tea most frequently, while only 8% preferred black tea. The small proportion of habitual black tea drinkers might make it more difficult to observe robust associations, but our findings hint at a differential effect between tea types."

Two factors may be at play here. Firstly, green tea is packed with polyphenols, a compound that is well known for protecting against cardiovascular disease and risk factors associated with it including dyslipidaemia and high blood pressure. On the other hand, due to the fermentation process that is used to make black tea polyphenols are oxidised and broken down into pigments, which eventually lose their antioxidant effect. Secondly, black tea is usually served with milk, which has been shown to play a counteractive role in the health benefits of tea on cardiovascular function.

The gender perspective

Analysis based on gender-specific criteria revealed that, since men were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than women, research was able to observe substantial effects of habitual tea consumption on cardiovascular health. The outcomes were more pronounced for men than women. Dr Wang said: "One reason might be that 48% of men were habitual tea consumers compared to just 20% of women. Secondly, women had a much lower incidence of, and mortality from, heart disease and stroke. These differences made it more likely to find statistically significant results among men."

Benefits of green tea

Now that we have explored some of the science behind green tea and long life, let’s review some of the benefits of green tea.

Weight Loss

Tea has been associated with weight loss for ages. While that may be true, it is not for all types of tea. Green tea, in particular, has been proven to help increase metabolism. Green tea contains polyphenol which has been found to increase the rate of oxidation of fat through a process your body uses to convert food to energy.

Diabetes

Green is effective in regulating blood-glucose levels by slowing down the build-up of blood sugar after your meals. This could help prevent fat storage and spikes in insulin.

Heart Disease

Several pieces of research have shown that green tea is effective in protecting against heart disease and other cardiovascular risk factors including high blood pressure. Green tea relaxes the lining of the blood vessels, helping them to adjust to changes in blood pressure. Green is also said to fight the formation of clots, which are responsible for heart attacks.

Fights Cancer

Due to the oxidation of green tea, it can reduce the risk of cancer. The chemical compounds in green tea have been found to destroy cancer cells without damaging the healthy cells around them.

Cholesterol

If your body is struggling with fighting bad cholesterol, then you should drink green tea more often. It has been found to reduce bad cholesterol in your bloodstream.

Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s

There are reports that green tea helps to slow down the deterioration caused by Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Research showed that green tea protects brain cells from dying and restores damaged cells.

Fights Tooth Decay

The chemical “catechin” in green tea is effective in destroying viruses and bacteria that cause dental conditions like tooth decay and dental caries, and other infections of the mouth.

Blood Pressure

One of the most popular benefits of green tea is its ability to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.

Great for Skincare

Habitual green tea drinkers have been found to have reduced wrinkles and signs of ageing. This can be credited to the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant chemicals in green tea. Also, when you apply green tea topically, it can reduce sun damage.

Our full range of green teas are here.