It's all about the compounds contained in the drink
Good news for tea lovers! Scientists have concluded that three cups of tea a day can prolong our life. It's all about the substances contained in this drink, wonderful in all respects.
Coffee may have now replaced tea as the more popular daily drink. But a study conducted by Chinese scientists found that three cups of tea a day can slow down biological aging.
Researchers believe the apparent anti-aging benefits may be due to powerful compounds hidden in the drink.
Earlier evidence has long proven that black tea is rich in substances that help improve heart, gut and brain health. Animal studies have also shown that flavonoids – compounds found in tea – can extend the lifespan of worms, flies and even mice.
Experts from Sichuan University in Chengdu analyzed data from 5,998 British people aged 37 to 73 , as well as 7,931 people aged 30 to 79 years in China.
They were asked about their tea drinking habits, including the type of tea—for example, green, black, yellow or oolong—and the usual number of cups they drank per day.
The team then compared the participants' markers of aging, including blood pressure, cholesterol levels and body fat percentage to calculate their biological age.
Researchers found that tea drinkers “showed” patterns that signaled slower biological aging. They were also less likely to experience symptoms of insomnia and anxiety.
Writing in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, the scientists said: “The exposure-response relationship suggests that drinking about three cups of tea or six to eight grams of tea leaves per day may provide the most obvious anti-aging benefits. Moderate tea consumption showed the strongest anti-aging effect among regular 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) are reported to “modulate the gut microbiota, which may have important effects on regulating age-related changes in immunity, metabolism, and cognitive function.”
Although the researchers did not specify whether certain species have an effect tea on biological aging, there were “no significant differences” between tea drinkers in the UK and China, where black tea and green tea are the most common types respectively.
It also didn't matter whether they liked or preferred hot tea so that the “elixir of youth” cools down. But they also admitted that they were unable to record the size of the tea cups that participants used.
The study was only observational in nature, so it cannot prove that drinking tea helps slow biological aging.
Britons drink a total of 100 million cups a day, but demand, especially among young people, has fallen in recent years amid ever-increasing demand for coffee.
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