If you are a tea lover, then you probably drink it for pleasure and not for its health benefits. Survey says that there are more than two billion people in the world drink tea. Many acquired a habit to add a bit of milk to their regular cup of tea, aside from milk, others add ice and pearls. However, researchers say that the drop of milk can completely negate all the benefits tea can have on our health.
How could that be possible?
Tea has long been thought to have health benefits for the heart and in the prevention of cancer. While many people drink tea because it is pleasant, soothing drink, tea has many health benefits, which were known to ancient cultures like Chinese and Indians.
Tea has many active ingredients that affect our health. It is particularly rich in antioxidants and vitamins. It is found to improve our immune system, to control blood sugar levels, reduce damage to cells and prevent cardiovascular diseases.
But according to researchers from Germany, their findings about milk tea ought to lead to an urgent reassessment of the effect of tea on cancer prevention as the benefits are completely wiped out once milk is added.
We found that … the addition of milk completely prevents the biological effect,” said the lead author, Mario Lorenz, a molecular biologist.
Further tests conducted in rats yielded similar results.
So, if you find a cup of tea with a few drops of milk soothing and relaxing, it will probably offer you more benefits than those few drops of milk will take away.
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,” she said.
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