In this day and age there are a myriad of magical potions, powders, pills and products on the market that claim to (figuratively, of course) rewind the years, promising to restore your youthful vitality, slow the ageing process and improve your health for a better quality of life.
But as it turns out, a kitchen staple many of us likely drink at least once a day could actually be reducing your risk of dying from any cause.
New research conducted in the United States has found that the humble cuppa could lower your risk for mortality, particularly among those who drink two or more cups of black tea per day.
One of the most consumed beverages worldwide, previous research has suggested an association between tea consumption and lower mortality risk in populations where green tea is the most commonly consumed type of tea. In contrast, published studies in populations where drinking black tea is more common are limited, with inconsistent findings.
To provide new insights, a team of researchers from the US National Institutes of Health conducted a study to evaluate the associations of tea consumption with all-cause and cause-specific mortality using data from the UK Biobank, where drinking black tea is common.
The UK Biobank includes data on half a million men and women aged 40 to 69 years, who completed a baseline questionnaire between 2006 and 2010. Of those, 85 percent reported regularly drinking tea and of them, 89 percent reported drinking black tea.
According to the peer-reviewed findings, participants who reported drinking two or more cups of black tea each day had a 9 to 13 percent lower chance of dying from any cause, which the researchers called a "moderately lower mortality risk".
The researchers said the associations were observed regardless of whether the participants also drank coffee, added milk or sugar to their tea, preferred their tea at a certain temperature, or had genetic variants related to caffeine metabolism.
According to the authors, their findings suggest that tea, even at higher levels of intake, can be part of a healthy diet.
The prospective cohort study 'Tea Consumption and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in the UK Biobank' was released on Tuesday in the academic medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine, published by the American College of Physicians.
