Milk and tea

So what do you think of this news?

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- A surprising study by German scientists has revealed the benefits of drinking black tea in reducing risk of heart disease or stroke are lost when one adds milk to it, according to the European Heart Journal online Tuesday.



The study was conducted by a group of scientists from the University of Berlin's Charité Hospital.

According to the study, milk can actually take away the health benefit of tea when drunk together. Tea alone has benefits that help lower a person's risk of having a heart attack.

"The beneficial effects of drinking black tea are completely prevented by the addition of milk," said Dr. Verena Stangl, a cardiologist at the hospital.

According to the researchers, caseins, which are a group of proteins found in milk, prevent dialation of blood vessels, something that takes place following drinking black tea.

Tea has also shown to have a protective effect against cancer.

"Since milk appears to modify the biological activities of tea ingredients, it is likely that the anti-tumor effects of tea could be affected as well," said Stangl.

"I think it is essential that we re-examine the association between tea consumption and cancer protection, to see if that is the case," she added.

Well, at first the statement seems to make intuitive sense, Larry. If tea is good for you, then adding what are essentially milkfats, could easily be seen as cancelling out the benefits of the tea. (Plus the knowledge that quite a few people are allergic to or intolerant of lactose in milk.)

Buy beyond that, and considering what was actually said in the article, it makes seemingly good scientific sense as well: casein/proteins in milk cancel out or counteract the action of tea (i.e., dilating the blood vessels).

My grandmother drank about 3-4 cups of black tea with milk and sugar every day. She died about 15 years ago, shortly after her 100th birthday.

According to the researchers, caseins, which are a group of proteins found in milk, prevent dialation of blood vessels, something that takes place following drinking black tea.

That doesn't make any sense to me. The casein in milk is entirely broken down into amino acids by the digestive process before it's absorbed. It never reaches the bloodstream in the form of casein, and therefore couldn't "prevent dilation of blood vessels".

I think this is a garbling of the message by the journalist. What the researchers probably said is that casein interacts with the compounds in tea that cause vasodilation, and disable them. Milk is customarily added to tea to cut the harshness of the tannins. It does so by binding to the tannins. And it is the tannins that provide the heart-healthy antioxidant and dilation effects.

So I suspect that casein simply binds to the health-promoting compounds in the tea and deactivates them, rather than in and of itself preventing vasodilation.

-Paul W.

My grandmother drank about 3-4 cups of black tea with milk and sugar every day. She died about 15 years ago, shortly after her 100th birthday.

And George Burns smoked cigars every day and lived to be 100. There are no absolutes; all you can do is play the odds.

This story is planted by those of us who KNOW that adding milk to tea ruins the tea--the taste that is.

I'll never forget my first experience with tea in London. Who knew you had to ask not to have milk and sugar obliterate the tea ingredient?

I must say, however, it's nice for once to be simultaneously on the ideological and the pseudo-scientific side.

A more detailed story from New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10913-milk-wrecks-the-health-benefits-of-tea.html

Now, how about milk in coffee....

[Jenise]

My grandmother drank about 3-4 cups of black tea with milk and sugar every day. She died about 15 years ago, shortly after her 100th birthday.

Yahbut, it was widely known around town that her blood vessels were especially large.

Now, how about milk in coffee....

Interesting. A few years ago during a trip through Italy, we got into a discussion about coffee with our waitress at a small restaurant in Milan. She explained that the reason they were so horrified every time an American ordered a capucino after dinner, is because they believe that milk is bad for the digestion. And so a cup of coffee laden with milk after a late dinner would be very bad for one's health. This is why they only drink espresso or black coffee at night. I guess the issue of sleep isn't as important as the full enjoyment of a good dinner. Makes sense to me. I'd rather have a brandy anyway.

i do not blindy beleve this

i agree if it is used industrial pastorised and homogenised ore worse ultra-high-thep.ised.

but if it is used raw - natur given milk [url]http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/raw-milk.htm
( MILK, RAW AS IT SHOULD BE)[/url]

and never use homogenised milk, because this is maybe the reason for the heart-disease http://www.wellbeingjournal.com/homogenized.htm