Does Tea Ward Off Disease? by Tea Council of the USA
March 12, 2007
Hundreds of research studies, conducted over the last two
decades, suggest that drinking tea can be included as part of a
healthy diet and may contribute to overall health. Many
observational studies conducted around the world have found that
tea drinkers have a reduced risk of certain chronic diseases,
including heart disease and some types of cancer. In addition, a
substantial number of laboratory studies and a smaller number of
pilot clinical studies also suggest that tea may have a beneficial
impact on health.
In addition, leading international and U.S. public health
organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences, American
Cancer Society and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the
World Health Organization, support Tea's healthfulness.
The Tea Council of the USA, when communicating about the
potential benefits of tea, always includes information about
whether the studies we're reporting are clinical, laboratory or
observational. Further, we only report on findings that have been
published or accepted for publication in peer reviewed journals or
have been reported at major scientific meetings.
What is currently missing from the literature is a body of large
human clinical studies showing that drinking tea impacts measurable
biomarkers for heart disease or cancer. However, we anticipate that
the clinical research will evolve to support the observational and
laboratory findings in the future. In the meantime, people should
still feel good about drinking tea because it's an enjoyable
beverage and the research to date certainly suggests that it may
contribute to an overall healthy lifestyle.
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