A groundbreaking study published in the British Journal of Nutrition has revealed that consuming seven to eight cups of tea, coffee and water daily could slash your risk of dying early. However, experts warn it must be the perfect blend of these beverages to reap the rewards – and overdoing it was linked to heightened heart problems.
The researchers explained: “Previous studies have highlighted the health benefits of coffee and tea, but they only focused on the comparisons between different consumptions.
“Consequently, the association estimate lacked a clear interpretation, as the substitution of beverages and distribution of doses were not explicitly prescribed.”
Whilst the advantages of staying properly hydrated are well-established, scientists were keen to discover how tea and coffee measured up.
The team analysed 182,770 UK adults from the UK Biobank who logged their drinking habits over 24-hour periods during multiple data collections between 2009 and 2012.
They discovered that having seven to eight beverages per day with a balanced mix of tea, coffee and water offered the greatest protection against death from all causes and specific illnesses including certain cancers and heart disease.
Most crucially, consuming coffee and tea daily in a 2:3 ratio proved the most beneficial combination.
This precise mix reduced the likelihood of death from all causes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and digestive disease. If you’re knocking back more than four drinks a day, swapping out water for a cuppa could help reduce your risk of death, according to new research.
However, if you’re having nine or more drinks daily, this switch could actually increase your risk of dying from heart disease.
The experts behind the study suggest that the key to longevity is simply staying hydrated, recommending around seven to eight drinks a day. It’s widely believed that most adults aren’t getting their recommended daily fluid intake to begin with.
Once you’ve got your hydration levels sorted, the researchers suggest only then swapping some of your water for a mix of coffee and tea. But if you’re having less than four drinks a day in total, don’t bother with the brew as it didn’t prove to have much of a benefit.
The scientists did admit their research had some limitations. For starters, they can’t prove that drinking these beverages directly reduces your risk of death, just that there’s an observational link.
Plus, the Biobank data didn’t give any specifics about how people were making their drinks. For example, whether they added milk or sugar to their tea or coffee, which could affect its nutritional value and impact.
Still, the researchers concluded: “These results highlight the importance of the rational combination of coffee, tea, and plain water, with particular emphasis on ensuring adequate total intake, offering more comprehensive and explicit guidance for individuals.”