A new study suggests that drinking three to four cups of black tea each day could help lower inflammation in the body.
The research, looking into the black tea and its role in disease modulation, found that the benefits were particularly noticeable in people who already had elevated inflammation levels.
Dr Nisa Aslam, a co-author of the study and member of the Tea Advisory Panel, says: “These latest research findings could be relevant to conditions such as asthma, osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and more, all of which are driven, at least in part, by chronic inflammation.”
While there’s been an abundance of research into the benefits of green tea or plant compounds more broadly, evidence about black tea has remained scattered across scientific literature.
Black tea is packed with naturally occurring bioactive compounds
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But the latest review pulled together findings from 22 previously published papers, including 11 reviews and 11 clinical trials, all looking at how black tea affects inflammatory markers.
It was equally noted that taking a brew with milk makes no difference whatsoever to the potential benefits.
Black tea is packed with naturally occurring bioactive compounds, including polyphenols like flavan-3-ols, theaflavins, thearubigins, catechins and quercetin.
Dr Tim Bond, a researcher and chemist who co-authored the study, explained: “Tea polyphenols can help defend against harmful molecules that can damage cells, while also boosting the body’s own built-in antioxidant defences.
“They may also help to reduce activity in some of the main biological pathways that trigger and maintain the inflammatory response.”
There’s also L-theanine, an amino acid found in black tea that blocks oxidative damage from inflammatory reactions and protects the lining cells of organs like the digestive tract and airways.
Dr Aslam adds that black tea polyphenols may also support gut health by maintaining a strong gut barrier and improving bacterial balance.
Chronic low-level inflammation is becoming a real public health worry, with links to rising rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and osteoarthritis.
Diet is increasingly seen as a practical way to tackle this, with eating patterns like the Mediterranean diet often praised for their benefits.
The latest findings show that having your tea with milk does not reduce the health benefits
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Dr Aslam says: “Chronic low-level inflammation is a growing public health concern, linked to rising rates of conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and osteoarthritis.”
And while the findings are promising, researchers acknowledge that larger, longer-term studies are still needed to fully understand everyday tea-drinking habits and their health effects.
Dr Derbyshire noted: “With additional insight from larger and longer-term studies, tea as a widely consumed, low-cost source of anti-inflammatory compounds may prove to be worthy of incorporation into public health strategies.”
