Health Benefits Of Tea & Coffee

Although people worldwide have recognized the health benefits of drinking tea for a long time, the health effects of coffee consumption have not received as much positive coverage before the 21st century. Many people view drinking coffee as an unhealthy practice comparable to alcohol abuse and smoking, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. However, mounting research indicates coffee, like tea, does provide certain health advantages when consumed in moderation.

Cancer Protection

Well-conducted research shows moderate coffee drinking -- defined as six or fewer cups each day -- does not contribute to death from cancer, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Yet moderate coffee consumption may help lower your risk of developing certain forms of the disease, states the AARP Bulletin in a report on an international study that investigated rates of oral and pharyngeal cancer in coffee and tea drinkers. The results indicated that coffee drinkers were 12 percent less likely to develop such cancers than participants who did not drink coffee. In addition, subjects who drank five or more cups of coffee each day were 39 percent less likely to get such cancers. Drinking tea seemed to have no effect on the cancer risk. The Harvard School of Public Health also notes that moderate coffee consumption may help protect coffee drinkers from liver cancer, but further research is needed for confirmation.

Cognitive Functioning

Drinking coffee and tea may help reduce cognitive decline in older people, according to a UCLA study presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2011. Researchers analyzed data on individuals over age 65 to investigate any association between coffee and tea consumption and changed cognitive functioning over periods of 14 years or less. The results indicated that tea drinkers suffered less cognitive decline than subjects who did not drink tea. Furthermore, the more tea an individual drank, the lower their rate of cognitive decline. Consuming coffee also reduced the rate of cognitive decline, but only in people who drank the highest amounts of the beverage.

Heart Disease

Drinking moderate amounts of coffee and tea may help decrease your likelihood of getting heart disease, and drinking moderate or high amounts of tea may reduce your chances of dying from heart disease, according to the University Medical Center Utrecht study "Tea and Coffee Consumption and Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality" published in June 2010. The investigation examined rates of heart disease in coffee and tea drinkers from The Netherlands. Subjects who drank two to four daily cups of coffee were 20 percent less likely to develop heart disease than participants who drank one cup or five or more cups of coffee each day. Tea was even more beneficial. Subjects who drank at least seven cups each day were 36 percent less likely to get heart disease, and those who consumed three to six daily cups were 45 percent less likely to die from heart disease. The advantages may be related to the antioxidants and chemical compounds found in coffee and tea, although the possibly healthier lifestyle of the study participants may also have contributed to the findings.