In the daily life of work and life, many people are keen to drink coffee, almost every day to drink 1 to 2 cups. On the one hand, because of its special coffee flavour, on the other hand, it is the effect of refreshing the brain, drinking and drinking has become a habit; similarly, most people who like to drink tea on a daily basis also like the unique aroma of tea, and tea contained in the tea polyphenols and other substances have a positive effect on health.
And more and more studies have confirmed that drinking tea and coffee on a daily basis does have many health benefits. So who is younger, regular tea drinkers or regular coffee drinkers? Who has more health advantages? The answer is unexpected!
A study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology in 2024 by researchers from the Peking Union Medical College found that regular coffee drinkers were effective in reducing the risk of facial skin aging.
The study included more than 16,000 participants, most of whom were between the ages of 45 and 65, and collected data on their aging facial skin. The study comprehensively analysed the causal relationship between the consumption of 4 beverages – tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages, and sugary drinks – and facial skin ageing.
The study found that of the 4 beverages, only coffee was effective in reducing the risk of facial skin aging, with coffee intake reducing the probability of facial aging by 15%. None of the remaining 3 beverages showed a clear association with facial skin aging. In other words, regular coffee drinkers have a lower risk of facial skin ageing and look younger.
In fact, back in 2014, a similar study published in the International Journal of Dermatology found that coffee intake was effective in protecting human skin from photoaging and reducing pigmentation. The researchers surmised that the reason for the beauty of coffee lies in the polyphenolic substances such as chlorogenic acid contained in it.
So after all that is said and done is it better to drink tea or coffee? Are the benefits of drinking coffee outweighing those of drinking tea? No. More and more studies have found that people who enjoy both coffee and tea have the greatest health benefits!
1. Coffee and tea drinkers have a lower risk of stroke and dementia.
A study published in Public Library of Science – Medicine (PLOS Medicine) in 2021 by a team of researchers from Tianjin Medical University found that drinking both coffee and tea reduced the risk of dementia and stroke, and that it was even better if you drank both tea and coffee.
The study included more than 360,000 participants, all of whom were between 50 and 74 years old. The analysis found that people who drank 2 to 3 cups of coffee or 3 to 5 cups of tea a day, or a combination of 4 to 6 cups of coffee and tea, had the lowest incidence of stroke or dementia.
People who drank 2 to 3 cups of coffee and 2 to 3 cups of tea a day had a 32 per cent lower risk of stroke and a 28 per cent lower risk of dementia compared to those who did not drink coffee and tea. The combination of coffee and tea was effective in reducing the risk of developing dementia after a stroke, with the lowest risk of developing dementia after a stroke being seen with 3 to 6 cups of coffee and tea per day.
Researchers believe that coffee is a major source of caffeine and contains phenolics and other bioactive compounds with potential beneficial health effects. Similarly, tea contains caffeine, catechin polyphenols and flavonoids, which have neuroprotective effects such as anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammation, inhibition of beta amyloid aggregation and anti-apoptosis. The combined protective effects of these two beverages may be linked to an underlying mechanism that reduces the risk of stroke and dementia.
2. people who drink coffee and tea have a low risk of death from diabetes
A 2020 study by Japanese researchers published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care found that drinking both green tea and coffee every day may help people with diabetes live longer and better lives. People with diabetes who drank four or more cups of green tea a day as well as two or more cups of coffee had a 63 per cent lower risk of death over five years.
The study included 4,923 diabetics with a median follow-up time of 5.3 years. The study found that people who drank either green tea or coffee had a lower all-cause mortality rate compared to those who did not drink green tea and coffee, while those who drank both beverages had the lowest all-cause mortality rate.
The researchers said this was related to the fact that green tea contains many beneficial substances such as phenolic compounds, theanine and caffeine. Among them, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most common tea polyphenol component with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-mutagenic properties; in addition, coffee contains phenolic compounds as well as caffeine and many other biologically active components, such as chlorogenic acid, which has an impact on health through a variety of mechanisms, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
