Drinking tea tastes good but it also has a number of health benefits. Better yet, tea comes in so many varieties. Black teas, herbal teas, oolong teas, pu’erh teas, white teas, and more. Green tea, however, packs the biggest health punch and may even help you live longer.

The Many Benefits of Green Tea

Drinking green tea may extend your life.

Diagnosis Life summary:
Coffee, coffee, coffee. It’s great but are there any tea drinkers out there? Tea may have just as many health benefits. A study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (https://doi.org/10.1177/2047487319894685) looked at the tea-drinking habits of more than 100,000 adults. Over 7 years, they checked to see how many of those people had a heart attack or stroke and how many people died, whether from heart disease or another cause. People who drank tea more regularly (at least three times per week) were 20% less likely to have a cardiac event and were 22% less likely to die from heart disease than those who did not drink any at all. They also lived longer. The researchers estimated a 50-year-old would be expected to live 1.26 years longer. The catch? Green tea, rather than black tea, had the greatest impact. Enjoy a cup today.

Green tea boosts life expectancy for people who have diabetes.

Diagnosis Life summary:
Green tea lovers rejoice! A study in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care (https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2020-001252) finds that drinking your favorite beverage may have long-term health benefits, at least if you have diabetes. Japanese researchers tracked the tea intake of nearly 5,000 adults with diabetes over 5 years. People who drank 4 or more cups of green tea every day decreased their risk for early death by 40% compared to people who didn’t drink any at all. Adding one cup of coffee decreased that risk to 58%. Adding two or more cups of coffee improved it to 63%. How much, of either beverage, do you drink each day?

Green tea can decrease mortality after a heart attack or stroke.

Diagnosis Life summary:
A study in Stroke (https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.032273) looked at the green tea intake of more than 46,000 people between 40 and 79 years old. Within that group, 478 had a previous stroke and 1,214 had a previous heart attack. After nearly 19 years of follow-up, 9,243 people died. People who had survived a stroke or heart attack had a decreased risk for death depending on how much tea they drank. Although drinking ANY green tea during the week appeared favorable, not all data points were statistically significant. Benefits were notable for 3-4 cups per day (56% decreased risk), 5-6 cups per day (52% decreased risk) and 7 cups day (38% decreased risk). If you enjoy green tea, drink up!

Tea leaves may be able to kill cancer cells.

Diagnosis Life summary:
A tea aficionado, I love to hear medical news about my favorite beverage. A study in Applied Nano Materials (https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.8b00147) used tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) to make nanoparticles that could attack cancer cells. These nanoparticles were compared to cisplatin, a common chemotherapy agent, and were effective in destroying up to 80% of lung cancer cells in the lab. Much more research needs to be done before these nanoparticles could be tested clinically, but I would be very curious to see if this worked in live patients.