You can reduce your risk of heart disease by drinking three or more cups of black tea a day, a new study has found. Tea drinking can also protect against tooth plaque and can help strengthen bones.
Dr Carrie Buxton of King's College London, and one of the members of the research team, said: "Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants, so it's got two things going for it."
Black tea contains polyphenol antioxidants, which are also found in foods and plants.
Its one downside is that it can reduce the absorption of iron from food, so people with anemia should avoid drinking tea around mealtimes.
(Source: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007; 61: 3-18).