Monday
13Apr2009
Milk in Tea
Mon, April 13, 2009
“Is it true that putting milk in your tea takes away all the health benefits?”
Well, it won’t take away all the benefits, but it certainly may take away some of the heart benefits of black tea.
In the body, tea works to relax your blood vessels. Why is this important? Well, eating certain foods, especially high-fat foods, can cause a chain-reaction of chemicals in your body that makes it difficult for your blood vessels to let enough blood flow. Over time, this can lead to heart disease and make you more susceptible to a heart attack. Drinking tea after a large meal can actually counteract that effect, at least partially.
Tea contains a group of chemicals known as flavonoids. In the body, these flavonoids act as antioxidants and may help some people lower their risk of heart attack, stroke and maybe even cancer.
But if you add milk to your tea, studies suggest that you almost completely undo all the good the tea is doing for your veins and arteries. One of the best studies on this came out of the University of Maryland in 2002.
On the other hand, a 2007 study from Scotland disagree. In a piece published in the June 2007 isuse of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers found no reduction in antioxidant activity. Nor did they find that the addition of milk made it harder for your body to absorb the other nutrients in black tea. Their research suggests that the time you steep your tea is far more important that what you put into it afterward.
What’s the bottom line? Well, the study from Maryland looked specifically at the heart benefits of tea and used a diagnostic technique that was developed for just that purpose. The Scottish study, on the other hand, focused more on the chemical analysis. Perhaps the best advice for anyone wanting more information about the heart benefits of tea would be to ask your doctor. That way, you’ll the information that’s right for you from the only person truly qualified to to give it.
References:
Kyle, J., et al. (2007). Effects of infusion time and addition of milk on content and absorption of polyphenols from black tea. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Well, it won’t take away all the benefits, but it certainly may take away some of the heart benefits of black tea.
Tea contains a group of chemicals known as flavonoids. In the body, these flavonoids act as antioxidants and may help some people lower their risk of heart attack, stroke and maybe even cancer.
But if you add milk to your tea, studies suggest that you almost completely undo all the good the tea is doing for your veins and arteries. One of the best studies on this came out of the University of Maryland in 2002.
On the other hand, a 2007 study from Scotland disagree. In a piece published in the June 2007 isuse of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers found no reduction in antioxidant activity. Nor did they find that the addition of milk made it harder for your body to absorb the other nutrients in black tea. Their research suggests that the time you steep your tea is far more important that what you put into it afterward.
What’s the bottom line? Well, the study from Maryland looked specifically at the heart benefits of tea and used a diagnostic technique that was developed for just that purpose. The Scottish study, on the other hand, focused more on the chemical analysis. Perhaps the best advice for anyone wanting more information about the heart benefits of tea would be to ask your doctor. That way, you’ll the information that’s right for you from the only person truly qualified to to give it.
References:
Kyle, J., et al. (2007). Effects of infusion time and addition of milk on content and absorption of polyphenols from black tea. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
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