Drink tea to protect your heart, but leave out the milk

Posted on Jan 9th 2007 2:10PM by Bethany Sanders

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

Repeated studies have shown that tea is good for cardiovascular health. The benefit comes from tea's high concentration of catechin, which aids in the arteries' abilities to relax and expand. Tea also is a very rich source of antioxidants. Countries that drink a lot of the beverage show decreased incidence of heart disease, with the exception of Great Britain, whose tea drinkers tend to add milk.

Many people are tempted to flavor tea with milk. According to this study, however, if you're drinking tea for the health benefits and adding milk, you may not be doing yourself much of a favor. Milk interacts with the tea and reduces the amount of catechin and any heart protecting health benefits along with it. Not only that, milk appears to destroy antioxidants as well.

So how should you flavor your tea? With a touch of lemon, according to the article. I'm not a tea drinker myself, but I have to imagine making the switch from milk to lemon might be a difficult transition. Does anyone have other healthful ideas for giving tea a little flavor without adding too many calories or reducing tea's awesome health benefits?

Interested in making your own tea? Here's a link to get you started!

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Tags: black tea, BlackTea, Great Britain, GreatBritain, green tea, GreenTea, milk

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 11)

Jordyn 1-09-2007 @ 10:46PM

i like a lil bit, like teaspoon full, of honey. which all natrual honey is good for you.

chucky 1-09-2007 @ 4:10PM

Go ahead and add the milk. It makes it taste better and the milk has it's own benefits such as calcium and vitamins.

Yatrik 1-09-2007 @ 3:47PM

Here's my favorite trick:
As you boil the water for your tea, drop in a stick or two of cinnamon. As the water boils, the cinnamon will loosen and release some of it's flavor into the tea. Let it sit at the bottom of your cup while you drink your tea and then go ahead and eat it after you are done. The hot water will turn the cinnamon stick from hard and brittle to soft and chewy, and the flavors will be bursting. A great treat!

MISSY 1-09-2007 @ 4:17PM

Absolutely cannot do it. I can drink iced tea with lemon, but English or Boston tea (includes milk) is the only way to drink hot tea!!!

BB 1-09-2007 @ 3:44PM

This study, like most, is BS...
I have always drank my 4 to 5 cups of tea a day with milk. At 53, I credit it with how good I look and feel. One cup after a meal takes away the desire for desert. It wakes me up in the morning...puts me to sleep at night.
Orange pekoe/black cut mix by British Blend is heaven.

tdk 1-11-2007 @ 2:25PM

Tea with splenda or even better use Stevia to sweeten. Hot in the winter and serve on ice in summer. Earl Grey is very good with this receipe. I never take out the tea bag. Let it steep until the end. The milk problem makes sense and doesn't sound very good anyway, so with that I have no reason to try it.

Su 1-11-2007 @ 2:08PM

Honey is a grand additive, and it soothes your throat as well

nicole 1-11-2007 @ 2:11PM

One packet of Splenda works great for me!

BB 1-11-2007 @ 2:12PM

Try flavored teas because they have other flavors added. Just smelling the fruits also enhance the experience of drinking tea. Also, how about adding citrus rinds to the brew of the tea you already own? Have the milk or even cream and sugar once in a while for variety but think of the health benefits you could be enjoying by foregoing the milk. Preferences can change if you give them a chance due to new habits.

She'la 1-12-2007 @ 8:45AM

Well, i never ever put mlk in my tea, i always add sugar for sweetness

Nicole 1-11-2007 @ 2:26PM

Really, milk isn't as great for you as most people say. If you want cacium, go eat some broccoli, which has 10 times more calcium than milk. I'm lactose intolerant, and that's where I get my sources of vitamins.

If you want to flavor your tea, try an orange slice and about a teaspoon of honey. The honey can make it a bit bitter if you add too much, but the orange tends to balance it out. Also, I've tried Lipton's black tea in these new pyramid bags and it really does make your tea more flavorful. I add a bit of mint to mine.

POM makes these really great pomegranate tea things now too. They are about $2.50 each, so they are a bit expensive, but for something that tastes great and the combination of the tea and pomegranate is going to help make your heart and arteries a lot healthier. They come in white, green and black tea. My father, who just had heart surgery, loves them, and he warms them up on the stove to drink hot in the morning on his way to work. They also come with this nifty little glass that you can use for a drinking glass later on, too!

jen 1-11-2007 @ 2:23PM

you can get pure maple syrup from the health food store...not the supermarket kind, but pure maple syrup, grade A or B is extremely healthy for you and a nice treat for your tea. Also a smidgeon of cayenne pepper, if you like alittle spice...delicious and healthy. Although most of the teas by "yogi tea" are delicious on their own with a ton of herbs to add flavor and they all have healthy benefits, you can also find these at your local health food store.

GARY 1-11-2007 @ 2:38PM

scotch and tea ( iced )

Alex 1-11-2007 @ 2:22PM

My personal favorite: Green tea with honey and a bit of lemon. Tastes great, full of antioxidants, and helps soothe a sore throat, as well.

Judy Fletcher 1-11-2007 @ 2:23PM

You can add a little splenda to the tea if the taste bothers you.

Mary 1-11-2007 @ 2:30PM

You can always just add a non-fat non diary creamer like coffee mate. Tastes the same as a bit of milk.

Judith Miller 1-11-2007 @ 2:26PM

I use Coffee Mate in my tea instead of milk.

Patricia 1-11-2007 @ 2:36PM

Wow. Tea with Milk? I haven't had that since I was a kid, and I'm 50 now. I normally drink it black. Even my Iced Tea. When I am feeling a cold trying to get a foot hold, I drink hot tea with Lemon and Honey. The lemon cuts the phlegm and the honey soothes your throat.

"ladydi" 1-11-2007 @ 2:30PM

The trick for me, after years of drinking tea, is to try many, many different brands and types. For example, I have found one truly good-tasting green tea, even though I drink many green teas. (I find Celestial Seasonings green tea that has the word "antioxidant" in big letters in front, to have the best taste so far for me.) The more teas you drink straight, as they are, the more chance you have of finding the ones that you find pleasing, without needing to add to them. Enjoy the hunt. It is a relaxing one.

Kay 1-11-2007 @ 2:40PM

Milk?! Pthttt. Heck, I use half & half! Talk about bad for you! I also like my hot tea with lemon & honey or sugar. However, the flavored teas, such as mint, cinnamon or orange, stand on their own and need nothing extra. In the end, though, I prefer coffee, especially espressos and lattes. Now those CAN'T be good for you.