- Researchers studied data from almost 14,000 British and Chinese volunteers
- They found that ‘moderate tea consumption’ had the ‘strongest anti-aging benefits’
It may have fallen out of favor among coffee-loving millennials, but scientists believe drinking tea can help you live longer.
Three cups of tea a day can slow biological aging, a study shows.
Chinese researchers believe the apparent anti-aging benefits may be due to powerful compounds lurking in a cup of tea.
Research has long shown that black tea is rich in compounds linked to better heart, gut and brain health.
Animal research has also shown that flavonoids – a substance rich in tea – can extend the life expectancy of worms, flies and even mice.
Now, Chinese researchers have discovered that these bioactive compounds can help reduce age-related cell damage and aid the body’s metabolism and immune system
Experts from Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, analyzed data from 5,998 Britons aged 37 to 73 and from 7,931 people aged 30 to 79 in China.
They were asked about their tea consumption habits, including the type consumed – such as green, black, yellow or oolong (a traditional Chinese tea) – and the typical number of cups consumed per day.
The team then compared markers of aging among the participants, including blood pressure, cholesterol and body fat percentage, to calculate their biological age.
Researchers found that tea drinkers “exhibited” patterns that indicated slower biological aging.
Such participants were ‘more likely’ to be male, drinking alcohol and eating healthier foods.
They were also less likely to have insomnia and anxiety symptoms.
Writing in the diary The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacificthe scientists said: ‘The exposure-response relationship suggested that consuming approximately three cups of tea or six to eight grams of tea leaves per day may provide the most pronounced anti-aging benefits.’
They added: ‘Moderate tea consumption showed the strongest anti-aging benefits among consistent tea drinkers.’
Those who stopped drinking tea also showed a ‘higher increase’ in the acceleration of biological aging.
Polyphenols – the main bioactive compounds in tea – “have been reported to modulate the gut microbiota, which could have an important effect on regulating age-related changes in immunity, metabolism and cognitive function,” they noted.
Although researchers did not investigate whether certain types of tea affected biological aging, there were no “substantial differences” between tea drinkers in Britain and China, where black and green tea are most common, respectively.
It didn’t matter whether they liked their tea piping hot or preferred their cup to cool down.
But they also acknowledged that they had failed to record the size of the teacups used by the participants.
The study was only observational and therefore cannot prove that drinking tea was responsible for slowing biological aging.
Britons have been drinking a total of 100 million fewer cups a day, but demand, especially among young people, has fallen in recent years due to the ever-growing demand for coffee.