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We love a good cuppa here at TheJournal.ie HQ. Michelle Hennessy/TheJournal.ie

Put the kettle on: A cup of tea a day could help you live longer

Researchers recommend drinking tea rather than coffee and if you don’t drink either, you should probably give tea a chance…

IT’S A GOOD day to be Irish as new research shows drinking tea could help you live longer.

Presented to this year’s congress for the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the study of more than 130,000 people found that the non-cardiovascular mortality rate is 24% lower in tea drinkers and that these people also have a healthier lifestlye in general.

The study included 131,401 people aged 18 to 95 years who had a health check up at the Paris IPC Preventive Medicine Center between January 2001 and December 2008. During a mean 3.5 years follow up there were 95 deaths from heart problems and 632 deaths from non-cardiovascular causes. Coffee or tea consumption was assessed by a self-administered questionnaire.

Researchers found that coffee drinkers had a higher cardiovascular risk profile than non-drinkers. particularly for smoking. Non-coffee drinkers were also more physically active, with 45% having a good level of physical activity compared to 41% of the heavy coffee drinkers.

Hat Trick Hat Trick

Tea drinkers had the reverse profile of coffee drinkers, with consumers having a better cardiovascular (CV) risk profile than those who drank neither tea nor coffee. Physical activity increased with the number of cups of tea per day from 43% in the moderate tea drinkers to 46% in the heavy drinkers. Tea also had a more marked effect on blood pressure.

Though the trend showed a much higher non-heart related mortality rate for coffee drinkers, this is largely explained by the fact that there are more smokers in this group.

As for tea, it significantly lowered the risk of non-CV death.

“Interestingly, most of the effect of tea on non-CV mortality was found in current or ex-smokers, while tea had a neutral effect in non-smokers,” commented lead author Professor Nicolas Danchin, who presented the study at the ESC Congress today.

“I think that you could fairly honestly recommend tea drinking rather than coffee drinking and even rather than not drinking anything at all,” he added.

Read: Sending electrical current to brain could help treat Alzheimer’s>

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35 Comments
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    Mute SeekingUniverslTruth
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    Sep 1st 2014, 9:40 AM

    I have 10 mugs a day, looks like i’m here for a while i must make plans for the summer of 2095, i hear the forecast is going to be great.

    169
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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Sep 1st 2014, 10:19 AM

    Life wouldn’t be worth living without tea anyway.

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    Mute Larry Heffernan
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    Sep 1st 2014, 10:27 AM

    It’s a pity the biscuits I have with my tea are so bad for me.

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    Mute Stephen
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    Sep 1st 2014, 10:01 AM

    Sponsored by Lyons.

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    Mute Rick
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    Sep 1st 2014, 11:48 AM

    Lidl. Times are hard

    37
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    Mute Margaret Flanagan
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    Sep 1st 2014, 1:48 PM

    Lidl red label very nice cuppa. The blind test with all the big names, And Lidl red label wa miles ahead of the rest
    I love my tea. So i can talk. Lol

    19
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    Mute Phillip Hogan
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    Sep 1st 2014, 9:45 AM

    Another “X can make you live longer” article. The media sure do love to exploit people’s fear of dying.

    44
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    Mute Sandra Turner
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    Sep 1st 2014, 10:00 AM

    Shut up and put the kettle on!

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    Mute Stephen
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    Sep 1st 2014, 10:13 AM

    :)

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    Mute Dunners
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    Sep 1st 2014, 10:49 AM

    Tea is for mugs

    42
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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Sep 1st 2014, 10:33 AM

    Can I have one of those journal mugs please ?

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    Mute john doe
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    Sep 1st 2014, 10:11 AM

    Ah go on, go on, go on, go on.

    Sure it’s medically proven now.

    39
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    Mute Brian Farren
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    Sep 1st 2014, 11:09 AM

    I don’t know about Tea but if I dont have my triple espresso in the morning I will either A) die from some sort of shock or B). Kill someone by midday.

    34
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    Mute Proinsias Ó Foghlú
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    Sep 1st 2014, 9:39 AM

    Barry Classic or Gold Label please.

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    Mute Proinsias Ó Foghlú
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    Sep 1st 2014, 9:40 AM

    Barry’s……………..I wish we could edit out spelling errors!

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    Mute Proinsias Ó Foghlú
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    Sep 1st 2014, 9:40 AM

    Barry’s……………..I wish we could edit our spelling errors!

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    Mute SeekingUniverslTruth
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    Sep 1st 2014, 9:41 AM

    just leave the teabag in the mug when your drinking it.

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    Mute Stephen
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    Sep 1st 2014, 10:00 AM

    And repeat comments.

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    Mute Romauld O'Falluin
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    Sep 1st 2014, 11:45 AM

    Abominable. Take the tea bag out after a few squishes. A better class of tea drinker appreciates the delicate flavours and perfumed notes of the early removal of the tea bag, not the tarry and taniny muck of the overbrewed sludge imbibed in the regions.

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    Mute Imogene O'Brien
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    Sep 1st 2014, 11:13 AM

    So really it also might be linked to physical activity, instead of the tea?
    Also, where is the link to the publication, please?

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    Mute Mary Kavanagh
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    Sep 1st 2014, 10:44 AM

    I love my cup of tea, especially in the morning! Barry’s, please (even though I’m a Dub).

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    Mute Thomas Maher
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    Sep 1st 2014, 11:33 AM

    So the Mammy was right.
    A nice hot cup of tea will cure all that ale’s yea.

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    Mute Luke
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    Sep 1st 2014, 12:01 PM

    tea and weed in the mornings go together better than peanut butter and jelly!

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    Mute Dunners
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    Sep 1st 2014, 7:18 PM

    You my friend are a fool

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    Mute joangeraghty
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    Sep 1st 2014, 11:26 AM

    Coffee is a habit that takes 21 days to break. Have just come through this and enjoying tea more than ever. Definitely feel better, less stomach acid and happy no longer controlled by a daily dependency for Cappucino/coffee fix. Caffeine in tea comes with a healthier taste. #Recommended

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    Mute Manus Ward
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    Sep 1st 2014, 6:56 PM

    I love my first cup in the morning ! #imnevergoingtodie

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    Mute Sean Lee
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    Sep 1st 2014, 7:02 PM

    I agree mr ward your invincible #legend

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    Mute seamus mcdermott
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    Sep 1st 2014, 9:49 AM

    Sorry, but “ESC Congress” is mentioned without any explanation of what it is.
    I clicked the hashtag at the top of the screen labeled “ESC congress” and was referred back to this story.
    What is the ESC congress?

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    Mute tomhenryford
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    Sep 1st 2014, 9:58 AM
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    Mute Caroline aMarie
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    Sep 1st 2014, 2:33 PM

    Nice to read good news for a change.Love my cuppa.

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    Mute Mary Dundee
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    Sep 1st 2014, 12:56 PM

    my mam will love this…..she is asddicted to tea!

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    Mute David Byrne
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    Sep 1st 2014, 6:52 PM

    @Caroline Try a filter jug mite do the trick not that expensive

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    Mute Matje Rees
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    Sep 1st 2014, 4:22 PM

    Should be easy enough for further research to pull that apart, they also state the coffee drinkers who smoke are more at risk and coffee drinkers in general do less sport. Would they say coffee can cause gunshot injuries if it became known that people who play russian roulette typically have a cup of coffee to steady their nerves.

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    Mute Caroline aMarie
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    Sep 1st 2014, 2:39 PM

    …problem is:I do not like the taste of our tap water….and cannot afford to install a filter..
    (does not affect the taste of coffee though..)

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    Mute Nigerian Prince
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    Sep 1st 2014, 11:09 AM

    That’s me f€cked then

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