Can drinking tea and coffee help you lose weight and be healthy?

With the arrival of summer and the gradual rise in temperature, all kinds of cold drinks are calling us to indulge in them. Compared with a series of drinks that do not seem to be "healthy" such as milk tea and soda, coffee and tea seem to be healthier choices. Today we will take a look at what these two drinks are like in the eyes of scientists.

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As more and more people drink coffee and tea, scientists are constantly exploring the effects of drinking both alone or in combination on human health.

Let's first look at the research results published at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting held in Stockholm, Sweden in 2022. Studies have shown that drinking at least four cups of tea a day can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 17%.

This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 cohort studies involving more than 1 million adults from 8 countries, and found that there is a linear relationship between moderate consumption of black tea, green tea or oolong tea and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Specifically, compared with those who almost never drank tea, participants who drank 1-3 cups of tea a day had a 4% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes; when the number of cups of tea drinking increased to 4 cups or more a day, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes was reduced by 17%.

So, does drinking coffee and tea together bring "happiness" or "harm"?

In November 2022, Wang Yaogang's team from Tianjin Medical University gave their answer in the research results published in BMC Medicine.

This study analyzed the coffee and tea intake of 500,000 participants in the UK Biobank cohort and found that moderate daily consumption of coffee or tea can reduce the risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease.

Specifically, compared with people who do not drink coffee and tea, drinking 1-2 cups of coffee plus 2-4 cups of tea per day can reduce participants' risk of all-cause mortality by 22%, cardiovascular disease risk by 24%, and respiratory disease mortality risk by 31%!

In other words, coffee and tea are a combination of Chinese and Western food, doubly healthful!

If you feel that the previous research results have little to do with you, then I bet you will be interested in the following study.

A Mendelian randomization study conducted jointly by the Karolinska Institute and institutions in many countries showed that higher caffeine concentrations in plasma can effectively reduce the fat content in the human body and prevent the occurrence of type 2 diabetes.

In simple terms, caffeine can reduce BMI and fat by increasing thermogenesis and fat oxidation. Therefore, the higher the plasma caffeine content, the better the thermogenic reaction, and the more energy consumed.

+1 reason to love drinking coffee and tea. I didn’t expect that it can “extend life” and lose weight at the same time. It’s really killing two birds with one stone!

There is an old song by Teresa Teng that goes, "Good wine and coffee, I only need one drink." Today, after reading so many studies, we may change the lyrics to, "Tea and coffee, I only need one drink." A cup of coffee in the morning to refresh yourself, and a cup of black tea in the afternoon to maintain your health. Of course, the principle of moderation still applies. Don't go to extremes. Health and beauty will come naturally.

Main references:

[1]Chen Y, Zhang Y, Zhang M, Yang H, Wang Y. Consumption of coffee and tea with all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a prospective cohort study. BMC Med. 2022 Nov 18;20(1):449. doi: 10.1186/s12916-022-02636-2. PMID: 36397104; PMCID: PMC9673438.

[2] Larsson SC, Woolf B, Gill DAppraisal of the causal effect of plasma caffeine on adiposity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease: two sample mendelian randomisation studyBMJ Medicine 2023;2:doi: 10.1136/bmjmed-2022-000335

[3]Ma L, Hu Y, Alperet DJ, et al. Beverage consumption and mortality among adults with type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2023;381:e073406. Published 2023 Apr 19. doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-073406

The article is produced by Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project (Creation and Cultivation). Please indicate the source when reprinting.

Author: Shanxi Medical University Health Science Communication Team

Reviewer: Yu Kang, Professor of Clinical Nutrition Department, Peking Union Medical College Hospital