Attention tea drinkers

English Breakfast tea and a 19th-century Limoges porcelain cup and saucer

Adding milk to tea cancels out the beverage's ability to protect against heart disease, according to German scientists. In a small study, researchers found drinking black tea significantly improved the ability of arteries to relax and expand to keep blood pressure healthy.

In an article published in the European Heart Journal, scientists said proteins in milk known as caseins block this effect. Molecules or catechins in the tea help dilate blood vessels by producing nitric oxide. The caseins in milk prevent this effect by reducing the concentration of catechins in tea.

Dr. Verena Stangl, senior researcher and professor of cardiology at Charite Hospital, Berlin, said the results provide "a possible explanation for the lack of beneficial effects of tea on the risk of heart disease in the UK, a country where milk is usually added."

June Davison, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) told the BBC it is difficult to say from this small study the impact adding a drop of milk to your tea can make. "The tea break is a great British tradition which provides time to relax with a cuppa in hand," she said. "Leaving milk out of your tea is far less likely to help protect your heart health than other measures, such as taking regular exercise, avoiding smoking and eating a healthy balanced diet." Davison said the study highlights the importance of thinking about interaction between different foods.

Comments

[Kamsin]

My Grandma drinks 8 cups of tea a day, with milk, and she is going strong at 93, not that that proves anything but still! It sounds to me like the Germans might be a little anti-British, science can prove anything you want it to as long as you design your research right. I'm sticking with milk in my Earl Grey tea!

[[a}]

my mom's always telling me this!

[Crafty Green Poet]

And it just tastes so much better without milk....

[Rethabile]

I'm gonna have to send this post to my mother, heavy drinker of tea with milk.

[awareness]

Beautiful picture..........my senses are all enraptured by it.........

I was weaned on tea...........it continues to be my beverage of choice.......I'm drinking one right now. Milk always........and strongly steeped always.......and never herbal or perfumy........... :)

[Becca]

I don't care for milk in my tea - but I would LOVE that cup and saucer :) Gorgeous!

[Tammy]

I love milk in my tea but then again I didn't know tea was good for you, I just like it ;) HUGS

[tongue in cheek]

Tea for me with soy milk...how does that calculate? :)

[miss*R]

Hi Tara! I am back, refreshed from my little time away at the sea-side..now to the tea - I love tea, I drink green tea without milk as well as my other herbal teas with out milk, but the stress that it would cause me to take my normal cuppa without milk - not good for my heart! - very interesting information though! I wonder what it does to you when you add a drop of whisky to your coffee? - hee, hee !! love the tea cup, just gorgeous!

[ally bean]

I like Davison's approach to things. There's more to tea with milk than health concerns. There's the emotional boost one gets from tea time. And with a bit more exercise in your life, how could tea with milk be so bad for you?

[patry]

What a pretty and inviting cup of tea. The photo alone could almost convince me to try my afternoon tea without milk. In fact, I will--tomorrow.

xox

[tinker]

I like hot tea with a spoonful of honey only (or sugar if honey's not available) - hope that doesn't impede the healthgiving properties. At least I drink iced tea straight up, on the rocks. My daughter drinks her tea with either soy or rice milk, which might be a good alternative for others who take their tea creamy.
Beautiful china, by the way!

[Holli]

Lord - if you knew what I drank every single day. Oh well.

But I love limoges. I love china. I love teacups and saucers. And creamy goodness. Let's put caramel in there too! Yay!

[Laini]

Beautiful photo, stunning cup! And I don't put milk in my tea, but I generally drink coffee instead of tea, and so I don't think I'm getting much in the way of health benefits from my caffeine!

[AscenderRisesAbove]

interesting - i had not heard that before

[sophie]

(sound of sobbing)

[Catherine]

Oh no! That pesky "auto form fill out" thing struck again - so now you know my full name :)

[Catherine Fitchett]

I don't drink tea, except for herbal tea very occasionally - but the cup is lovely.

[naturegirl]

I'm a ~green tea~ gal myself so no milk added..Your lovely tea cup is steaming {{HOT!}}

[tut-tut]

Regardless of the scientific notions, your ability to capture the essence of a cup of tea, with its scrarf of steam rising, is just perfect.

[tut-tut]

Regardless of the scientific notions, your ability to capture the essence of a cup of tea, with its scrarf of steam rising, is just perfect.

[Pam Aries]

My grandmother....who was of German and French descent...told me ...Milk and honey with tea....CREAM with coffee! I love coffee ..I love Tea! (ilovecoffeemore) shhh.....

[Britt-Arnhild]

I always drink both my tea and my coffee black, without sugar. But love to have some chocolate handy :-)

[daisies]

such a beautiful photo, love the steam rising upwards and the cup is gorgeous!!

I love love love tea and always drink it straight up : ) yah!! Now, I always have a glass of milk in the evening, I wonder if that has any effect?

[rel]

Tara,
I drink tea straight, with a little sweet and low. A minimum of 5 cups a day if I feel a cold coming around. I drink coffee with milk 1 or 2 cups a day. (I developed a taste for express in Paris). If I die before I'm 100, I'm going to cry foul. The studies said.....
Moderation in all things, exercise, stay calm, enjoy the moment you're in, and always be ready to go if called.
;-)
rel

[Colette]

I was just editing an article at the Medical Post about another trial that took place at Charité Hospital in Berlin. Small world!

I am a coffee drinker who also drinks tea, usually green. I've never taken anything in either, i.e., black, no sugar, although I do like a touch of sugar in my Moorish coffee. My French aunt, who was a student in Brussels during the Second World War, got used to the shortage of sugar (and most foods!) while there. To her dying day, even a grain of sugar in her tea or coffee would make her nauseous. Eventually she passed this habit on to me by giving me non-sugared beverages when I was old enough to consume them!

[Gemma]

Guess I'll keep my healthy lifestyle
and continue with my chai latte.
:-)

[kristen]

I've always had my tea straight up so I'm covered there. But my poor teeth.......

[deirdre]

After a whole lifetime of drinking my tea with milk and sugar I'm trying to make the gradual switch to black or with only a little honey added. Irish tea is part of my genetic coding - I'm not sure I can do it. Yikes!

[Regina Clare Jane]

That is a beautiful teacup, Tara! I don't drink my tea (when I do drink tea) with milk anymore- I used, too. Now I only use a little honey... but it was an interesting read...

[AnnieElf]

I'll take my tea any way I can get it however when I need to be really soothed, it is always tea with milk.

[Frida]

I found an internet connection in the Danish army tent in Ghor! Here they feedd me green tea and sweets at every meeting, I like to think that the health benefits of the one makes up fot the other.

[Jeanne]

Thanks for this information my sweet friend.
Love you
Jeanne

[Nina]

Oh, I love tea in my milk!!!!

This is my mode dilemma. My arteries vs. The enamel of my teeth...

Hard choice!
xxxx