Key TakeawaysThe latest tea-related research was presented in April at theSixth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health.The research highlighted true tea’s positive impact on heart health, cognitive health, and immune function.If you’re not already a regular tea drinker, adding just a cup or two of true tea a day to your routine could support your wellness.

Key Takeaways

The latest tea-related research was presented in April at theSixth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health.The research highlighted true tea’s positive impact on heart health, cognitive health, and immune function.If you’re not already a regular tea drinker, adding just a cup or two of true tea a day to your routine could support your wellness.

When it comes to health benefits, new research suggests tea could be more than just a pleasant drink we reach for when we get a tickle in our throat.

According to data presented at theSixth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health, drinking more true tea, specifically, may offer cognitive function support, cardiovascular health benefits, and more.

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What Is True Tea?

The research was focused on true teas. All true teas come from the same plant: a warm-weather evergreen namedCamellia sinensis.

There are five types of true tea: black, green, oolong, dark, and white. How they differ is in the various degrees of processing and the level of oxidization each tea has.

True teas contain naturally occurring compounds with antioxidant properties called flavonoids. They also containL-theanine, an amino acid that’s been linked to cognitive benefits.

Popular herbal teas, like chamomile and mint, do not fall under the “true tea” umbrella.

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How Can Drinking True Teas Benefit Overall Health?

The symposium’s presenters, which consisted of researchers and leaders in academia, reported on evidence suggesting that components in true teas are linked to many positive outcomes.

Among the findings that were presented, the cognitive, cardiovascular, and immune health benefits of true teas appeared to have the most supporting data.

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Cognitive Benefits

More than 16 million people in the United States live with cognitive impairment, which can have a profoundly negative impact on a person’s quality of life.As such, cognitive function—or “brain health”—is a key area of interest.

A proactive approach tokeeping our brains healthy as we ageincludes taking steps to support cognitive health, like maintaining our blood pressure, staying socially connected, and being physically active.

According to the researchers, the data on drinking true tea and experiencing positivebrain health outcomesis promising.

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Louise Dye, PhD, a professor of nutrition and behavior at the University of Leeds and a presenter at the symposium, shared data highlighting the effects of true tea and its components on cognitive function.

Key findings from her research include:

Dye said that “when experiencing elevated stress or burnout, tea is an optimal beverage of choice due to its beneficial effects on attention.”

Jonathan Hodgson, PhD, a professor at the Institute for Nutrition Research at Edith Cowan University and another presenter at the symposium, stated that an estimated that 40% to 50% of dementia cases could be prevented through changes in diet and other lifestyle factors.

One dietary change Hodgson suggested is drinking true tea, citing growing evidence that having just a cup or two of tea a day could help reduce the risk ofvascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

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Heart Benefits

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.

Taylor Wallace, PhD, CFS, FACN, a professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at George Mason University and a presenter at the symposium, said that “tea is the major source offlavonoids(and flavan-3-ols) in the diet.”

What Are Flavonoids?

According to Wallace, “American tea drinkers have been shown to have 20 times higher flavonoid intakes compared to those who do not consume tea.”

Based on studies using a variety of scientific research designs, Wallace reported that having two cups of unsweetened tea per day has the potential to reduce the risk ofcardiometabolicdisease.

Specifically, each cup of daily tea consumption appears to be associated with an average:

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Immune Benefits

Tea is a go-to beverage when you’re sick, but the research presented at the symposium suggests that drinking tea may evengive your immune system a boost.

Dayong Wu, MD, PhD, associate lead of the Nutritional Immunology Team at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging and associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, said that “as a tasty, inexpensive beverage, tea consumption may bring certain benefits in a broad array of metabolic and immune health aspects.”

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Wu added that these potential effects of green tea might be related to a few different mechanisms, including:

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How to Add Tea to Your Diet

Some people are already in the habit of sipping tea throughout the day, while others just have it on occasion. If you’re in the latter camp, making tea a regular part of your routine could support your wellness.

Here are a few ways to add tea to your day:

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7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Williams JL, Everett JM, D’Cunha NM, et al.The effects of green tea amino acid L-theanine consumption on the ability to manage stress and anxiety levels: a systematic review.Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2020 Mar;75(1):12-23. doi:10.1007/s11130-019-00771-5Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cognitive impairment: a call for action, now!Einöther SJ, Martens VE.Acute effects of tea consumption on attention and mood.Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98(6):1700S-1708S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.058248Kakutani S, Watanabe H, Murayama N.Green tea intake and risks for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, and cognitive impairment: a systematic review.Nutrients. 2019;11(5):1165. doi:10.3390/nu11051165Center for Disease Control.Heart disease facts.Mhatre S, Srivastava T, Naik S, Patravale V.Antiviral activity of green tea and black tea polyphenols in prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19: a review.Phytomedicine. 2021;85:153286. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2020.153286Ohishi T, Goto S, Monira P, Isemura M, Nakamura Y.Anti-inflammatory action of green tea.Antiinflamm Antiallergy Agents Med Chem. 2016;15(2):74-90. doi:10.2174/1871523015666160915154443

7 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Williams JL, Everett JM, D’Cunha NM, et al.The effects of green tea amino acid L-theanine consumption on the ability to manage stress and anxiety levels: a systematic review.Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2020 Mar;75(1):12-23. doi:10.1007/s11130-019-00771-5Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cognitive impairment: a call for action, now!Einöther SJ, Martens VE.Acute effects of tea consumption on attention and mood.Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98(6):1700S-1708S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.058248Kakutani S, Watanabe H, Murayama N.Green tea intake and risks for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, and cognitive impairment: a systematic review.Nutrients. 2019;11(5):1165. doi:10.3390/nu11051165Center for Disease Control.Heart disease facts.Mhatre S, Srivastava T, Naik S, Patravale V.Antiviral activity of green tea and black tea polyphenols in prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19: a review.Phytomedicine. 2021;85:153286. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2020.153286Ohishi T, Goto S, Monira P, Isemura M, Nakamura Y.Anti-inflammatory action of green tea.Antiinflamm Antiallergy Agents Med Chem. 2016;15(2):74-90. doi:10.2174/1871523015666160915154443

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Williams JL, Everett JM, D’Cunha NM, et al.The effects of green tea amino acid L-theanine consumption on the ability to manage stress and anxiety levels: a systematic review.Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2020 Mar;75(1):12-23. doi:10.1007/s11130-019-00771-5Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cognitive impairment: a call for action, now!Einöther SJ, Martens VE.Acute effects of tea consumption on attention and mood.Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98(6):1700S-1708S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.058248Kakutani S, Watanabe H, Murayama N.Green tea intake and risks for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, and cognitive impairment: a systematic review.Nutrients. 2019;11(5):1165. doi:10.3390/nu11051165Center for Disease Control.Heart disease facts.Mhatre S, Srivastava T, Naik S, Patravale V.Antiviral activity of green tea and black tea polyphenols in prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19: a review.Phytomedicine. 2021;85:153286. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2020.153286Ohishi T, Goto S, Monira P, Isemura M, Nakamura Y.Anti-inflammatory action of green tea.Antiinflamm Antiallergy Agents Med Chem. 2016;15(2):74-90. doi:10.2174/1871523015666160915154443

Williams JL, Everett JM, D’Cunha NM, et al.The effects of green tea amino acid L-theanine consumption on the ability to manage stress and anxiety levels: a systematic review.Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2020 Mar;75(1):12-23. doi:10.1007/s11130-019-00771-5

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cognitive impairment: a call for action, now!

Einöther SJ, Martens VE.Acute effects of tea consumption on attention and mood.Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98(6):1700S-1708S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.058248

Kakutani S, Watanabe H, Murayama N.Green tea intake and risks for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, and cognitive impairment: a systematic review.Nutrients. 2019;11(5):1165. doi:10.3390/nu11051165

Center for Disease Control.Heart disease facts.

Mhatre S, Srivastava T, Naik S, Patravale V.Antiviral activity of green tea and black tea polyphenols in prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19: a review.Phytomedicine. 2021;85:153286. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2020.153286

Ohishi T, Goto S, Monira P, Isemura M, Nakamura Y.Anti-inflammatory action of green tea.Antiinflamm Antiallergy Agents Med Chem. 2016;15(2):74-90. doi:10.2174/1871523015666160915154443

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