Do you begin your mornings with a strong caffeine hit from a newly prepared cup of Joe? Or would you like a less caffeinated nudge from a warm and gentle cup of tea?
Whatever your choice, scientists have shown that drinking coffee or tea on a daily basis can bring a number of health advantages. But how do coffee and tea stack up in a head-to-head comparison? We looked into the study and discovered the following.
Source Of Fiber
Did you realise that your morning coffee contains fibre? According to one research, coffee contains between 1.1 and 1.8 grammes of fibre per cup, depending on whether it's filtered, espresso, or instant. That may not appear to be much. However, it has more fibre than orange juice, which contains around a half gramme of fibre per cup. To reach the necessary 25 grammes of fibre per day, you'll still need to consume lots of fruits and vegetables, but two or three cups of coffee per day can assist. A cup of tea, on the other hand, is unlikely to help you achieve your daily fibre requirements unless you chose to eat the tea leaves.
Mental Focus
Do you need to get some work done? Are you preparing for a huge exam? Caffeine, included in both coffee and tea, aids concentration. Caffeine has been shown in studies to increase attention span, attentiveness, alertness, and response time. However, too much coffee can cause jitteriness and over-arousal, which can impair performance.
Caffeine levels in coffee and tea can vary greatly based on a variety of factors. However, an 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee has around 100 milligrammes of caffeine, according to the Mayo Clinic. (Espresso and instant coffee contain fewer.) An 8-ounce cup of black tea has around 50 mg of caffeine.
So, which is preferable, coffee or tea? In one research, participants were asked to drink four cups of coffee or tea throughout the day. Both drinks showed comparable impacts on alertness and cognitive performance. But tea has one significant benefit over coffee: it contained enough caffeine to boost performance while without interfering with sleep.
Gut Microbiome
Coffee and tea are high in polyphenols, which are plant substances that are known to have several health advantages. According to Tim Spector, a professor at King's College London, polyphenols can lessen your chance of acquiring chronic illnesses and provide "rocket fuel" for beneficial bacteria that make up your gut microbiome, the communities of trillions of germs that dwell within our stomachs. Coffee has far more polyphenols than green tea, and green tea contains far more polyphenols than black tea.
Heart Attack
Coffee and tea appear to be helpful for your heart, cutting your risk of heart disease and stroke, according to big population studies. These studies, however, are not convincing; it is possible that coffee and tea consumers have a variety of other heart-healthy behaviours, such as exercising more or eating healthier diets. However, it appears that the antioxidants and polyphenols in coffee and tea protect heart health. Clinical investigations demonstrate that drinking tea on a regular basis, particularly green tea, may lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels modestly.
Drinking two to four cups of decaffeinated coffee per day has also been related to a lower risk of heart disease. This implies that any cardiovascular advantages from coffee and tea are most likely due to substances other than caffeine. There have been more research associating coffee to heart health than tea. However, you can't go wrong either way.
Cancer Risks
Many research have revealed that coffee users have reduced cancer rates, including a meta-analysis of 59 studies spanning 40 cohorts that found frequent coffee drinkers had a 13% lower risk of acquiring cancer compared to seldom or never drinkers. Coffee consumption may provide modest protection against colon, prostate, liver, endometrial, oral, and breast cancers.
The evidence isn't clear, but according to the American Cancer Society, coffee contains hundreds of physiologically active substances, including several that have been found to lower inflammation, prevent cell damage, and control genes involved in DNA repair. "Whether it's cancer, obesity, or heart disease, inflammation is the enemy, and one method to reduce inflammation is to drink coffee," said Sanjiv Chopra, a Harvard Medical School professor of medicine and author of "Coffee! The Magical Elixir."
So far, research has not discovered a relationship between tea drinking and cancer prevention. A meta-analysis of 113 studies concluded that "there is no evidence to support the concept that tea consumption is connected with cancer risk." Coffee is the clear winner in this round, according to the research so far.
Type 2 Diabetes
Because of the caffeine in coffee, it can cause a short-term increase in blood sugar levels. Nonetheless, significant studies demonstrate that those who consume coffee on a regular basis are less likely to acquire Type 2 diabetes. According to Marilyn C. Cornelis, an associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University and a caffeine metabolism expert, this could be due to coffee's high concentration of chlorogenic acid, a polyphenol that has been shown in some studies to improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control.
A meta-analysis of over 1 million people's study indicated that individuals who drank up to four cups of coffee daily had a 25% reduced chance of acquiring diabetes than those who drank little or no coffee. People who consumed up to four cups of decaf coffee each day had a 20% decreased risk. "Coffee is really useful for lowering the risk of diabetes," Cornelis stated.
While tea lacks chlorogenic acid, it does include other plant chemicals known to be good for blood sugar regulation. However, investigations on the association between tea drinking and diabetes risk have yielded contradictory results. Some claim that drinking four or more cups of green, black, or oolong tea per day can lower the risk of diabetes. Green tea has been shown in randomised studies to lower blood sugar levels. Other research, however, have shown no conclusive relationship between tea and diabetes risk. Finally, specialists think that the evidence for coffee being at least partially protective against diabetes is greater than for tea. Another victory for coffee!
Stress Level
If you're looking for a smooth and soft beverage that may even melt away some tension, go no farther than tea - or, as legendary novelist P.L. Travers put it, "balm for the soul." When people are worried, studies show that drinking green or black tea can help them feel more calm and reduce their levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. According to studies, this is due in part to L-theanine, a chemical present in tea, particularly green and black teas, that appears to induce relaxation. "L-theanine has a relaxing impact," Cornelis of Northwestern University remarked. "It's even occasionally incorporated in melatonin pills to aid sleep."
Coffee has significantly more caffeine than tea, and caffeine is known to raise cortisol levels and elevate your mood. Caffeine, on the other hand, may create jitteriness, anxiety, and sleeplessness when eaten in excess, as anybody who has had one too many energy drinks or cups of coffee will confirm. To summarise, if you're looking for relaxation, a cup of tea is your best choice. Another round of tea is served.
Longevity
Coffee and tea enthusiasts, rejoice! Coffee and tea consumers have longer lives than those who do not consume either beverage. Green and black tea are both related with increased lifespan among tea consumers. In one recent study, scientists studied half a million people for 14 years and discovered that persons who drank at least two cups of tea daily had a 9 to 13 percent lower chance of dying compared to non-tea drinkers. The study was conducted in the United Kingdom, where the majority of tea users drank black tea. However, massive studies of green tea consumers have yielded comparable results.
Black tea, particularly green tea, is high in polyphenols and other beneficial components, "and these compounds may possibly lower stress and inflammation in the body," according to Maki Inoue-Choi, a staff scientist at the National Institutes of Health and the study's senior author. More study is needed to fully comprehend the probable processes at work.
These studies have a significant limitation: they are observational, which means they cannot show causality. However, tea and coffee have so many health advantages that it's logical to believe that they might reduce your chances of dying young, according to researchers. At least five significant studies published in top medical publications have now proven that coffee consumers had reduced death rates, according to Chopra at Harvard Medical School. "These studies just keep coming," he remarked.
Which one is better?
In this duel of health advantages, coffee triumphs. Coffee lovers may raise a mug to fibre, microbiota health, and reduced cancer and diabetes risk. Tea drinkers, however, are not discouraged. Tea is unquestionably beneficial to your blood pressure, cholesterol, stress levels, mental wellness, and productivity. And both beverages are beneficial to heart health and lifespan. Tea, in particular, is likely to have additional health advantages that have yet to be found.
According to Chopra at Harvard Medical School, one reason coffee has been linked to greater health advantages than tea is that it has been the subject of considerably more studies. "I warn my tea-drinking pals that we could find out in the future that tea has more advantages," he adds.
Don't feel obligated to switch if you don't drink coffee or tea. People who do not drink coffee or tea are not recommended to start, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Water and milk, plain or flavoured, are also healthful alternatives. There is one more element to consider in the tea and coffee smackdown: popularity. According to estimates, the globe consumes three cups of tea for every cup of coffee. And tea is the world's second most popular beverage. Water is the first.
