Gaby
Researchers are once again excited about the anti-aging benefits of tea. A team from Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, conducted a large-scale study to determine the optimal amount of tea that promotes longevity. The team says the benefits of tea may be tied to the powerful compounds it contains.
Previously, researchers knew that black tea, for example, is rich in substances that support heart, gut, and brain health. Animal studies have repeatedly shown that flavonoids—compounds abundant in tea—positively affect the lifespan of worms, flies, and mice.
What the New Study Revealed
The team analyzed survey results from 5,998 Britons aged 37 to 73, as well as 7,931 Chinese individuals aged 30 to 79. The questions focused on tea consumption habits, including favorite types of tea (green, black, yellow, oolong, etc.) and the number of cups consumed daily.
Researchers then compared participants’ aging markers, including blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and body fat percentage, to calculate their biological age.
The researchers found that tea drinkers showed patterns consistent with slower biological aging. Tea drinkers also reported experiencing symptoms of insomnia and anxiety less frequently, as noted by the Daily Mail. A significant portion of these participants were men who maintained a healthy diet and also drank alcohol.
In their report, the scientists stated that a daily intake of six to eight grams of tea leaves—equivalent to about three average cups of tea—is sufficient to produce anti-aging effects.
The researchers added that moderate tea consumption demonstrated the strongest anti-aging effects among regular tea drinkers. Conversely, people who stopped drinking tea showed signs of accelerated biological aging.
The Anti-Aging Effect is Independent of Tea Type
The team says polyphenols—bioactive compounds in tea—may alter the gut microbiome, which can affect age-related changes in immunity, metabolism, and cognition.
They found the anti-aging effect didn’t depend on tea type: it was similar for black-tea drinkers in the UK and green-tea drinkers in China.
It also didn’t matter whether participants preferred their tea hot or waited for it to cool.
The findings were published in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific.
UK residents drink about 100 million cups of tea every day, though that total has been falling as coffee grows more popular.
