Tea is among the hottest drinks on this planet, and consuming it’s thought to offer numerous well being advantages.
In Nice Britain and another components of the world, tea is often consumed with milk.
Nevertheless, it’s unclear whether or not including milk to tea gives extra advantages — or as an alternative interferes with the exercise of tea compounds in your physique.
This text gives an summary of the results of including milk to tea.
Both tea and milk provide benefits
Whereas a number of sorts of tea might present well being advantages, inexperienced and black teas are probably the most researched.
Each are constructed from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant however endure totally different processing strategies (1Trusted Supply).
Inexperienced and black teas are wealthy in plant compounds referred to as flavonoids. These compounds act as antioxidants to assist battle underlying cell injury attributable to reactive molecules often called free radicals. Excessive ranges of free radicals contribute to coronary heart illness, most cancers, and different points (1Trusted Supply, 2Trusted Supply).
Particularly, inexperienced teas are wealthy in flavonoids referred to as catechins, whereas black teas have excessive quantities of theaflavins (3Trusted Supply).
Because of these compounds, consuming inexperienced and black tea has been related to decrease blood strain, anticancer results, and diminished levels of cholesterol in each animal and human research (4Trusted Supply, 5Trusted Supply, 6Trusted Supply, 7Trusted Supply).
However, milk is wealthy in vitamins, akin to protein, calcium, and potassium, which might be very important for optimum progress, physique composition, and bone well being (8, 9Trusted Supply).
Milk proteins may interfere with tea compounds, however research is mixed
On condition that each tea and milk include health-promoting compounds and vitamins, combing the 2 could seem helpful.
In reality, one research in over 1,800 adults in China discovered that each tea and milk consumption had been independently linked to a decrease danger of oral most cancers and that they might have a very helpful impact when consumed collectively (10Trusted Supply).
But, some research counsel that the proteins in milk might intervene with the absorption and antioxidant exercise of the compounds tea (11Trusted Supply).
One research in 16 grownup girls noticed that consuming 2 cups (500 ml) of plain black tea considerably elevated blood circulation, which may also help enhance coronary heart perform, in contrast with consuming water. In the meantime, consuming black tea with skim milk didn’t have these results (11Trusted Supply).
The researchers concluded that casein, a sort of protein in milk, might bind to flavonoids in tea and forestall their exercise within the physique (11Trusted Supply).
Nevertheless, one other small research in 9 adults famous that consuming black tea elevated blood ranges of antioxidant flavonoids and that including milk to tea didn’t inhibit this impact (12Trusted Supply).
Curiously, the researchers advised that longer brewing instances might result in higher absorption of the antioxidants in tea, whatever the addition of milk (12Trusted Supply).
Primarily based on the conflicting outcomes of those research, milk might intervene with the exercise of antioxidants in teas to some extent, however it might not have the identical impact with teas which were infused for lengthy intervals.
Nevertheless, extra analysis is required to raised perceive the potential advantages and disadvantages of including milk to tea.
The kind of tea may make a difference
The impact of including milk to tea may rely on the kind of tea, however the few research on this matter have largely targeted on black tea.
Since inexperienced teas are additionally wealthy in flavonoids, milk might theoretically have an effect on the compounds in inexperienced tea equally to the way it impacts the compounds in black tea.
In reality, one research in 18 adults discovered that consuming milk with inexperienced tea capsules inhibited the enhance within the variety of energy burned that sometimes outcomes from taking inexperienced tea capsules alone (13Trusted Supply).
Whereas these outcomes are fascinating, extra analysis is required to raised perceive the impact of mixing milk with inexperienced tea relatively than inexperienced tea dietary supplements.
What’s extra, no research have analyzed the results of including milk to teas apart from black and inexperienced varieties.
The bottom line
Tea, particularly black and inexperienced varieties, is wealthy in compounds that act as antioxidants and will assist decrease blood strain and levels of cholesterol, amongst different advantages.
Some research counsel that including milk to tea might inhibit the exercise of those compounds, whereas others have noticed the other impact.
Moreover, many of the research on milk and tea consumption embody small pattern sizes and haven’t included individuals who commonly drink tea with milk over lengthy intervals.
Thus, it’s unclear whether or not combining milk and tea is helpful, though consuming tea normally has been extra clearly linked to potential advantages.
