Who is healthier, a long-time drinker or a long-time tea drinker? Research tells you the answer

When Xiao Wang came to the company, the first thing he did after putting things away was to make a pot of tea.

Xiao Juan, a colleague sitting next to her, always joked with her, "My old father is not as fond of health as you are. He drinks tea every day."

"How good it is to drink tea for health and refreshment," Wang replied with a smile.

Contrary to Wang, Xiao Juan doesn't like drinking tea, but buys a cup of coffee every day. She thinks drinking tea is something you do when you get old.

In fact, whether drinking tea or coffee, many modern studies have found that both drinks have certain benefits for the human body, but which one is healthier?

1. Studies have found that drinking both tea and coffee can reduce mortality

As early as 4,000 years ago, the ancient people had the habit of drinking tea. In modern times, office workers prefer to drink coffee. A cup of coffee every day has become the standard.

Published in the journal BMC Medicine, Yaogang Wang of Tianjin Medical University and his team conducted a study on the health effects of tea and coffee.

The researchers analyzed 498,158 participants from the UK Biobank database and collected their coffee and tea consumption through questionnaires.

During an average follow-up period of 12 years, more than 34,000 deaths were recorded among the participants. The data of tea and coffee were analyzed comprehensively.

The final results found that drinking one cup of coffee or three cups of tea per day was associated with the lowest risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and respiratory death compared to both non-tea and non-coffee drinkers. There was a 22 percent lower risk of all-cause death, a 24 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death, and a 31 percent lower risk of respiratory death.

In addition, the study found that people who drank less than 1-2 cups of coffee and more than 5 cups of tea a day had the lowest rates of death from digestive diseases.

Previous studies have found that drinking tea or coffee can protect against strokes and Alzheimer's.

In the study, published in PLoS Medicine, a team of researchers from Tianjin Medical University in China analyzed healthy people aged 50 to 74 and found that drinking coffee or tea directly reduces the risk of stroke and Alzheimer's disease.

What are the benefits of tea and coffee?

By drinking tea, catechins in tea can increase the oxidative pressure of the body, thereby increasing the oxidative pressure of the body and improving the defense ability of the body. Compounds in tea also activate ion channel proteins in blood vessels to relax blood vessels and improve high blood pressure; The tea polysaccharides in tea also affect insulin, which lowers blood sugar in the body; The catechins in tea also have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects to prevent inflammatory changes.

The benefits of coffee come from caffeine, although tea also contains caffeine, but the concentration of coffee is higher, daily intake of a moderate amount of caffeine, can promote dopamine secretion, reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease, caffeine also has antioxidant, analgesic and other effects.

In addition, the linoleic acid contained in coffee can also enhance blood vessel constriction, promote blood damage and relieve headaches caused by dilated blood vessels.

In moderate concentrations, both coffee and tea are healthy drinks. According to the FDA, caffeine should not exceed 400 milligrams per day, which is 2-3 cups (250 ml) of coffee, or 8 cups (200 ml) of black tea.

Two, water or tea, which is healthier?

People drink more water and tea on a daily basis than coffee, and the two are often compared side by side. Which is the healthiest type of water, tea or water?

Writing in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a team led by Gu Dongfeng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that regular tea drinkers, compared with non-tea drinkers, had a 20 percent lower incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, a 22 percent lower mortality rate and a 15 percent lower overall risk of death.

Drinking tea is good for health, but not for everyone, and "water" doesn't have many limitations. It is important to note that not all "water" is healthy, of which only plain water is the healthiest.

About 70% of the human body is water, by adding plain water, not only can alleviate dry mouth, but also can promote human metabolism. One US study found that people who drank five or more glasses of water a day were 41 per cent less likely to die from heart disease.

Especially for children, pregnant women, lactating women, hypertension patients, coronary heart disease, anemia patients, liver disease patients and other groups of people, do not recommend drinking tea, is likely to aggravate the disease, such people are more appropriate to drink water.

3. Does Drinking more tea Every Day Increase the risk of Cancer? Tell you the truth

Drinking Tea May Not Prevent Cancer, But May Promote It? In 2019, a study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology by Xinyi Li, Lu Yun and Li Liming of Peking University Medical Science Center showed that drinking more than 4 grams of tea a day was associated with a 46 percent increased risk of stomach cancer.

People who drink more tea are more likely to get cancer?

In fact, further analysis of the study found that people who drank more tea daily also smoked and drank alcohol daily, and that tobacco and alcohol consumption was positively correlated with tea consumption.

After controlling for the effects of alcohol and tobacco, the researchers found that the association between tea and cancer was significantly weaker in people who drank a lot of tea but did not smoke or drink heavily.

That is to say, tea is purely to help tobacco, wine "back".

Although tea is not carcinogenic, it is important to note that we should try our best to drink these kinds of tea in daily life:

1. Strong tea

Strong tea contains a lot of caffeine and theophylline, has a strong irritation to the stomach, caffeine can also make people excited, may affect sleep, cause headaches and other discomfort.

2. Mildew tea

Mildew in tea is caused by penicillium, aspergillus and other microorganisms. Such tea has no tea fragrance, but also causes certain harm to the human body, which may lead to diarrhea, dizziness, and even necrosis of vital organs.

3. Flavored tea

Tea contains terpenoids, porous structure, easy to absorb flavor, and other items put together, improper isolation, will be easy to smell. If placed in a toxic cabinet, such as adsorption of paint, mothball flavor, will also cause harm to the human body.

4. Overhot tea

Tea leaves need to be brewed in boiling water, but fresh tea should not be drunk right away. Otherwise, it will cause scald of oral cavity and esophageal mucosa, cause ulcers, and induce oral cancer and esophageal cancer over time.

Tea and coffee are both healthy drinks, and it's up to your taste to decide which one you prefer. However, the best drink is always plain water, especially for those who are sensitive to caffeine, for whom tea and coffee may be harmful rather than healthy.