Here is another interesting reason to put the kettle on and sip another cup of your favourite beverage.
Drinking tea regularly may help lower the risk of developing breast cancer, says a new study.
For analysing the link between tea consumption and reduced risk of breast cancer, researchers included 13,204 breast cancer patients and 87,248 controls from 39 studies. Of the total, they selected 16 studies on benefits of tea consumption and studied 28,737 breast cancer cases, and 60,936 controls, Female First, UK reported.
Regular consumption of tea was associated with 21 percent decreased risk of breast cancer. The antioxidant properties in tea may be helping to achieve such an effect, researchers, while explaining their study, said.
"This beneficial finding is likely to be associated with the polyphenol content of tea. Tea is rich in polyphenols, including catechins and gallocatchins, which have been reported to have antioxidant activity and potential anti-tumour effect," Women's health specialist, Dr Catherine Hood from The Tea Advisory Panel (TAP) told Female First, UK. "As a result, this study provides further data on the health benefits of tea, which is the most popular beverage, after water, in the United Kingdom."
Similarly another recent study found that black tea consumption lowered risk of cardiovascular problems. The flavonoids in black tea help boost vascular function, Dr Tim Bond from TAP said. For the study, 20 healthy individuals took tea thrice a day for one week. Flow mediated dilation (FMD), the standard measure for blood vessel function was found improved following tea consumption and not with hot water intake.
Similarly, in February this year, scientists from Taiwan reported in the journals PLOS One that three cups of tea a day helped prevent heart disease and improved circulation. Drinking more than 450 ml of tea daily was associated with 22 percent lowered risk in measurements of arterial stiffness, Daily Mail reported. However, they couldn't find any such benefits associated with moderate consumption.
Other Research-Proven Health Benefits of Drinking Tea, provided by Harvard School of Public Health in the US:
- Three cups of black or green tea can help ward off stroke
- Certain teas, including fruit-flavoured herbal teas or teas with vanilla and cinnamon can give the user a taste of sweet without adding sugar
- Lower blood pressure
- Helps prevent ovarian, digestive system cancers
- Green tea helps lower risk of developing breast, prostate and endometrial cancers
