Some people swear they can't wake up in the morning without a strong coffee, while others prefer to start the day with a nice pot of tea. But with the benefits and dangers of regularly consuming these drinks hotly debated each week, which is better for us? Now, a new graphic pitting the two against each other claims coffee and tea are good for you in different ways.
It draws together the key facts from recent studies about the health benefits of coffee and tea, giving connoisseurs of both a reason to stick to their favourite drink. It says tea may prevent the development of type 1 diabetes, cut the risk of a heart attack and protect against obesity, heart disease and cancer.
People who drank black tea four times a day for six weeks were found to have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, one study found. However, adding milk to the tea may stop the benefits it has against cancer, according to other research. It’s also possible tea could contain pesticides - even if it is labelled organic - and contains a large amount of tannin, which reduces the absorption of iron in the blood, which can cause anaemia.
And while green tea is often hailed as the healthy option, health-conscious tea drinkers might want to opt for white tea, which is made from the buds and young leaves of the tea bush. White tea has been found to have a higher concentration of antioxidants in it which may actually be more effective preventing some diseases than green tea.
The antioxidants in white tea have anti-ageing potential, may help prevent some cancers as well as inflammation and heart disease. White tea could also help prevent obesity, as it was found to inhibit the growth of new fat cells. While studies found that drinking tea when it is too hot increased the risk of oesophageal cancer, green tea reduces the risk of oesophageal cancer in women by 60 per cent.
Meanwhile, some studies did find that coffee - normally thought to be the less healthy drink of the two - does have some health benefits. It can prevent type 2 diabetes, reduce the risk of gout in middle aged men, stave off Alzheimer’s disease and protect against liver damage (known as cirrhosis) and liver cancer in men. It showed coffee also increases the effectiveness of painkillers and improves short term memory and reaction times, especially in the elderly.
Scientists now believe that chemicals found in coffee could be used to make new drugs to treat heart disease and insomnia. But other research has shown coffee decreases blood flow to the heart and causes tooth discolouration.
Source: Mailonline
Photo Credit: Policy Expert?
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