Text and Photography by Bruce Richardson
Six of the latest findings
Leading nutrition scientists from around the world convened last April to present the latest evidence supporting the role of tea in promoting optimal health. Speakers at the Sixth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health provided a comprehensive update on two decades of ongoing research into the health benefits of tea consumption. Let me cut through complex scientific terms and highlight what researchers have discovered.
1. Tea & Immune Function
“Tea may help support your immune system and increase your body’s resistance to illnesses,” says Tufts University’s Dayong Wu, MD, Ph.D. “If you become sick, tea can help your body respond to illness by ridding itself of the infection and may also alleviate its severity when infections happen.”
In a comprehensive review of the published data on this topic, Dr. Wu concluded that green tea catechins have been shown to help the body fight against a variety of pathogens. Catechins decrease the pathogen’s ability to infect the body as it helps the immune system spring into action.
2. Tea & Cardiac Health
Based on extensive research, as little as two cups of unsweet tea per day has the potential to mitigate heart attack, stroke, angina, and other disorders of the vascular system.
In an extensive review on cardiovascular health and tea, research demonstrated each cup of daily tea consumption was associated with an average 1.5% lower risk of all-cause mortality, 4% lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, 2% lower risk of CVD events, and 4% lower risk of stroke events.
“When you look at all the different biomarkers and mechanisms that tea is affecting, this bountiful beverage is one that consumers can easily add to better their diet and create a healthier and longer life for themselves,” explained George Mason University’s Taylor Wallace, Ph.D.
3. Tea & Cancer
Tea contains naturally occurring compounds called flavonoids that have antioxidant properties. Green tea often receives the most attention because it contains a powerful antioxidant called EGCG. Antioxidants help eliminate free radicals, which are unstable molecules that arise naturally in our metabolism as well as from pollutants in the air. Free radicals may damage cells and contribute to cancer or heart disease if they are not controlled. Suggestive evidence indicates tea consumption may reduce breast, endometrial, liver, and oral cancer risk.
4. Tea & Cognitive Function
With no effective drug treatments for dementia, prevention is critical. As many as 50% of dementia cases could be prevented through changes in lifestyle factors.
In a review of published research on tea and cognitive decline, Jonathan Hodgson, Ph.D., Professor at Edith Cowan University, explained, “There is growing evidence that as little as one to two cups of tea daily could significantly reduce the risk of vascular dementia and potentially Alzheimer’s disease.”
Recent data from long-term studies indicate that higher intakes of tea—starting at as little as one cup daily and up to five or six daily—are associated with a reduced risk for dementia. Results of these studies also suggest that the protection provided may be most robust for protection against vascular dementia, one of the most common forms of the disease.
5. Tea & Weight Loss
Is it true that tea can help you lose weight? Studies show that tea seems to boost metabolism by as much as 4%, and some studies indicate that the regular consumption of green tea may increase the body’s ability to burn fat during exercise. But, of course, tea will not miraculously melt fat from your body. Still, it can add to the positive effect of good exercise and nutritional habits— especially when consumers replace sugary soda with unsweetened tea.
6. Tea & Lifestyle
“There is a growing body of research from around the world demonstrating that drinking tea can enhance human health in many ways,” said symposium chair Jeffrey Blumberg, Professor Emeritus at Tufts University. “True teas can contribute significantly to the promotion of public health. Evidence presented at this symposium reveals results— ranging from suggestive to compelling— about the benefits of tea on cancer, cardiometabolic disease, cognitive performance, and immune function.”
Consumers appear to be paying attention to the health benefits in their teacups, especially throughout the past years of dealing with COVID-19. Over 159 million Americans are now drinking tea on any given day.
Contributing editor Bruce Richardson is the Master Tea Blender at Elmwood Inn Fine Teas and co-author of The New Tea Companion and A Social History of Tea, available at elmwoodinn.com.
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Bruce, glad I have been able to inspire you since you met me at my tea conference in 1996. You remember my original article that was published in 2021. Your readers might find it if interest to what you have written.
https://www.thethreetomatoes.com/tea-and-health-exploring-herbal-teas-and-infusions
Oh typos! That would be of interest….