Tea vs Coffee, La Cimbali look into the different health benefits they can provide

We all know how great that first tea or coffee of the day tastes, and how it wakes us up in the morning……..but have you ever considered which of these two popular drinks has the most health benefits?  La Cimbali look into the different health benefits they can provide.

With the benefits, risks and dangers of regularly consuming these drinks hotly debated each week, it’s hard to know which one is better for us. However, recent studies have shown that tea and coffee are good for you in different ways. It draws together the key facts from a range of studies about the health benefits of coffee and tea, giving connoisseurs of both a reason to stick to their favourite drink.

Tea time

It states that tea may prevent the development of type 1 diabetes, cut the risk of a heart attack and protect against obesity, heart disease and cancer. The results of one study also found that people who drank black tea four times a day for six weeks were found to have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. However, one word of warning from one study said that by simply adding milk (which many people do) may stop the benefit that it has against cancer.

The main health benefits of tea drinking that the studies revealed included:

• 3 to 4 cups of tea a day can cut the chance of a heart attack
• It helps to prevent type 1 diabetes and slow its progression once developed
• Contains fluoride which protects teeth
• Green tea may protect against lung cancer
• Green tea can reduce the risk of oesophageal cancer in women by up 60 per cent
• Green and white tea contains anti-oxidants which may have anti-ageing potential
• Tea is hydrating

Coffee Cup

Although in the past coffee was normally thought to be the less healthy drink of the two – the recent studies have shown some significant health benefits too. The studies also revealed that coffee too may help prevent diabetes but not type 1 (the same as tea) but type 2. It can also protect the liver against damage – especially cirrhosis and liver cancer, plus reduce heart disease and the risk of Alzheimers.

The main health benefits of drinking coffee that the studies revealed included:

• Decreasing the risk of gout in men over 40
• Reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease
• Reducing the risk of dying of heart disease
• Improving short term memory and reaction times especially in the elderly
• Chemicals found in coffee can be used to make new drugs to treat heart disease and insomnia
• Caffeine in coffee increases the effectiveness of painkillers