Milk destroys health benefits of tea, says study

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2007

PARIS (AFP) — Bad news for Britons: adding milk to tea ruins the health benefits of the drink, according to a Germany study. Tea has complex compounds called polyphenols which are believed to help the arteries to relax or dilate, thus enabling a smoother flow of blood. Scientists led at the Charite Hospital in Berlin tested black Darjeeling tea on 16 healthy women volunteers aged more than 50, placing an ultrasound probe on their forearm to measure arterial response.

When the women drank half a litre (0.9 of a pint) of tea, their arteries relaxed significantly more than when they drank hot water or tea with milk -- tea in which skimmed milk, comprising 10 percent of the drink's volume, was added. The results were confirmed in lab-dish tests on rat aorta. The study, which...