Tea is one of the most consumed beverages on earth. Because of this much research has been carried out into its health implications; these findings have been mainly positive with the drinking of tea thought to be involved in lowering the risk of cancers, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Taking together, it can be seen that preventing these conditions can improve both the quality and length of life. With this in mind much research has been carried out into the consumption of tea and longevity.

Drinking Tea and Lifespan

Due to positive aspects of tea consumption many studies have looked at the link between tea consumption and that of life span. A study by Nakachi and colleagues in Japan found that there was a significant lowering on the onset of age related cancers and in survival rates in green tea drinkers under the age of 79.

Old Woman Picture of an older woman by wwarby. There are many reports that drinking tea may help to prolong ones life.

A further study into green tea found that the amount of green tea drank was also related to longevity. People who drank a lot of green tea (greater than 10 cups per day) lived on average 4 years longer (men) or 6 years longer (women) than those who drank moderate levels of green tea (3 cups per day).

Green Tea and a Long Life

Furthermore, it is thought that the consumption of green tea also has a positive impact into the life spans of people who have been diagnosed with life threatening diseases. With this in mind research by Gupta and colleagues into mice with cancer demonstrated a doubling in survival rates of mice with simulated prostate cancer that were given a solution of green tea extracts..

These findings strongly suggest that drinking a significant amount of green tea may help people to prolong their life span in both healthy people and those who have been diagnosed with certain life threatening diseases.

References

Gupta et al (2001). Inhibition of prostate carcinogenesis in TRAMP mice by oral infusion of green tea polyphenols. PNAS 98: 10350 to 10355.
Khan and Mukhtar (2007) Tea polyphenols for health promotion. Life Sciences 81: 519 to 533.
Nakachi et al. (2003). Can teatime increase one's lifetime? Ageing Research Review 2: 1 to 10.