Drinking just 2 cups of black tea a day may lower mortality risk

Apart from water, tea is the most widely consumed drink worldwide. Tea contains
caffeine, which can be harmful in large quantities, so people are advised to limit
their intake of tea and other caffeine-containing drinks, such as coffee. However,
tea is also high in antioxidants, associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular
disease and cancer. A large-scale study has found that those who drink two or more
cups of black tea daily have a reduced mortality risk, even when taken with milk or
sugar. According to the United Nations, tea is the world’s most consumed drink,
after water. Of the many types, black tea is most common in the United Kingdom and
the United States. Green tea, jasmine tea, and fruit and herbal teas are more
popular in other countries. Both black and green teas come from the Camellia
sinensis plant. The difference between them is how they are processed after
picking. Both are picked, wilted, bruised, and rolled before drying. Black tea is
then oxidized by exposing it to the air for some time. Researchers have long
studied the health benefits of different teas. Some suggest that green tea has
greater health benefits, while others advocate the health-giving qualities of black
tea. Either way, antioxidants seem to be key. Now, a prospective cohort study of
tea-drinking habits in almost half a million people from the U.K. Biobank has
supported the benefits of black tea. This new study has found that drinking two or
more cups of black tea daily, with or without milk, may reduce mortality from all
leading causes of death by up to 12%. The study appears in the journal Annals of
Internal Medicine. The study sample comprised 498,043 men and women ages 40 to 69.
All participants received physical examinations and provided blood, urine, and
saliva samples when they enrolled in the study from 2006 to 2010. They then
completed a baseline questionnaire about their tea drinking habits. Participants
recorded how many cups of tea—on average—they drank each day and whether they drank
their tea very hot, hot, or warm. They were then followed up for a median of 11.2
years. The researchers also recorded data on all participants’ diet, lifestyle,
health, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. They adjusted mortality data to take
these factors into account. Almost 85% of participants reported drinking tea, with
89% drinking black tea. Most of those who drank tea had between two and five cups
per day, with 19% drinking more than six cups daily. Heavy tea drinkers in the
study were more likely to be smokers, have poorer general health and eat more red
and processed meat, which may increase mortality. During follow-up, 29,783 people
died. Researchers found that the risk of all-cause mortality decreased by around
12% as tea intake increased to three cups per day. People who drank more than three
cups of tea a day did not have a lower mortality risk than those who drank between
one and three cups. Adding milk or sugar had little effect on the observed benefits
of black tea. Likewise, the tea’s temperature was drunk and did not affect
mortality risk. “We found the association regardless of whether people took milk or
sugar in their tea.” – Dr. Maki Inoue-Choi, corresponding author, Division of
Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute. Those who drank more
than two cups of tea daily had a lower mortality risk from cardiovascular disease,
ischemic heart disease, and stroke. The researchers did not find any association
between cancer and respiratory disease death. Tea is high in polyphenols, which are
antioxidants found in many plant products. Green tea contains more polyphenols than
black tea. Research suggests that a diet high in polyphenols may protect against
many health conditions, including high blood pressure, some cancers, cardiovascular
disease, and type 2 diabetes. “Tea is very rich in bioactive compounds like
polyphenols […] these have the potential to reduce oxidative stress […] that’s the
background mechanism.” – Dr. Inoue-Choi Research has indicated that polyphenols in
the diet have many benefits, but excessive amounts, such as may be found in
supplements, could have adverse effects. Black tea contains polyphenols called
theaflavins and thearubigins. Studies have shown that theaflavins are powerful
antioxidants and may also have anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial
properties, helping to control blood lipids. Dr. Inoue-Choi said that black tea,
“even at higher levels of intake, can be part of a healthy diet.” However, the
current study found no further health benefits after the third daily cuppa. And tea
contains caffeine, which can have adverse effects at high consumption levels. Small
amounts of caffeine have been shown to enhance cognitive function and alertness and
help with weight loss. Larger amounts—more than 400mg per day—can cause problems,
such as jitters and shakes, disrupted sleep, heartburn, and even high blood
pressure in some people. However, on average, three cups of tea contain around
180mg of caffeine, so it should not cause problems for anyone who is not caffeine-
sensitive. The researchers acknowledge that some variables were not controlled for
in their study, including the strength of the tea, steeping time, or serving size.
They also cannot prove that black tea was responsible for reduced mortality. Dr.
Inoue-Choi explained: “This study showed an association […] but our findings need
to be replicated in other studies […] and extended to other diverse populations as
well.” Dr. Inoue-Choi stressed the most important message from their study: “Higher
tea intake was associated with lower risk of mortality, particularly in those
drinking more than 2 cups a day. However, our findings do not indicate that people
should start drinking tea or change their tea consumption to seek health benefits.”

Drinking black tea lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke, study finds

People who drink black tea every day may reap the same health benefits associated
with green tea, new research suggests.  A study funded by the National Cancer
Institute found that people who consume at least two cups of black tea per day have
a 9% to 13% lower chance of dying from any cause. People who added milk or sugar
experience the same benefits. And the temperature of the tea doesn't matter.  The
findings also back up previous studies that found tea consumption lowers the risk
of heart disease and stroke.  Those studies had been based on data from Asia, where
green tea is most common, Bloomberg reported. This left researchers wondering
whether black tea, which is more common in the United States and United Kingdom,
also provided the same benefits.  The study analyzed data from 498,043 people in
the United Kingdom, where 89% of tea consumers drink black tea, TIME reported. The
researchers followed the participants for 14 years and adjusted their findings for
various lifestyle, health and socioeconomic factors.  They found black tea
consumption reduced the risk of heart disease and stroke, but did not find a
relationship with cancer rates.  Researcher Maki Inoue-Choi, an epidemiologist at
the National Cancer Institute, told the Associated Press that this may be because
there weren't enough cancer cases in the study for any conclusions to be drawn. The
researchers concluded that high consumption of black tea can be part of a healthy
diet, Inoue-Choi told Medical News Today.  "Higher tea intake was associated with
lower risk of mortality, particularly in those drinking more than two cups a day,"
she said.  But the benefits stopped increasing after three daily cups. Researchers
found that people who drink moderate amounts of tea tend to live the longest. That
demographic also tends to smoke less and consume less red meat. Though studies have
found that the antioxidants in tea reduce the risk of developing various forms of
cancer, researchers also have found that drinking very hot tea – at least 149
degrees Fahrenheit – increases the likelihood of contracting esophageal cancer by
67%. The National Cancer Institute study has limitations. The data was gleaned from
a major U.K. health database, not randomized clinical trials. Researchers also
characterized the relationship between tea consumption and reduced death risk as
modest. This means that other factors could have had an impact on the study.
"People shouldn't change how many cups of tea to drink every day because of these
results," Inoue-Chue told Time.

Michelle Tea’s New Memoir Queers the Fertility Narrative

I know you’re used to writing about your life, but does talking about this book
feel more inherently personal than past projects? I’ve written a lot of memoirs, so
I’m used to talking about my personal life in Q&As and things like that, but
it’s interesting to write about something that other people might actively be going
through or looking for stories that they can really relate to, that can help them
through these tough spots, because going through IVF can be so hard. I haven’t had
that level of engagement with readers before. It’s very nice to think that this
book could possibly be helpful to people. Do you have any favorite books or pieces
of writing about queer fertility or parenthood? The most helpful book for me was
Ariel Gore’s book, The Hip Mama Survival Guide. It’s not queer per se, although
Ariel is, and it’s not necessarily talking about IVF, but it’s really a very punk,
feminist, DIY parenting book that just made me feel like someone like me—you know,
someone who doesn’t fit the normal sort of “mom mold” that the culture shows us—
could have a kid. I like the idea that you don’t need to be a rich person, you can
be where you’re at and go forward. I read that in my 20s, and it really altered the
way I viewed parenthood. Is there any particular lesson from your IVF journey that
you want to pass on to other prospective queer parents? Well, I guess what I really
learned is that I could carry some ambivalence and still move forward. There was
the sense that I had to absolutely be baby-crazy, or be like, Nope, I’m totally
child-free. For a while, I was in this sort of stasis because I didn’t fall into
either camp, and I didn’t know what to do. And then I realized, Oh, it’s okay if I
only want it, like, 80%. You know, it’s okay to have doubts and be uncertain, and
then just sort of employ some trust and move into it and see what it feels like.
Right. I mean, straight couples just kind of get pregnant and go from there all the
time, right? I think with straight couples, there’s so many stories where somebody
gets pregnant sort of unexpectedly, right? And of course there’s ambivalence. They
weren’t planning it, but they’re gonna see what happens. For queer people, on the
other hand, having a kid can be such an undertaking, and there is a sense that you
need to be really certain that you want it because it’s going to require money,
it’s going to require planning, it’s going to require a different type of strain on
your body. It’s such an enormous undertaking, to bring a child into this world,
that it completely makes sense that there’s a lot of ambivalence or uncertainty.
And so I just accepted that, and then once I accepted that, I felt like it gave me
a little more freedom to pursue parenthood.