Can Drinking GreenTea Affect Your Biological Age?

A new study carried out by Chinese researchers at the University of Hong Kong has found that the cells of people who regularly drink tea may actually have a younger biological age than cells from non-drinkers.

The study involved 976 Chinese men and 1,030 Chinese women aged over 65. Their dietary habits were evaluated using a food frequency questionnaire. The researchers analysed telomere length as a marker of biological age.

Elizabeth Blackburn, a telomere pioneer at the University of California, San Francisco has likened telomeres to the ends of shoelaces, without which the laces would unravel. The ageing and lifespan of normal, healthy cells are linked to the telomerase-shortening mechanism. This limits cells to a fixed number of divisions; with each cell replication, the telomeres shorten, and when the telomeres are completely consumed, the cells are destroyed (cell apoptosis). Many experts believe telomere length to be a marker of biological ageing.

The researchers found that people who drank an average of three cups of tea daily had telomeres which were about 4.6 kilobases longer than those who drank an average of a quarter of a cup per day.

Lead researcher Ruth Chan commented that the average difference in the telomere length corresponds to “approximately a difference of 5 years of life”.

In this study, Chinese tea refers to both black and green tea, but the majority of tea drunk by the participants was green tea, which is known to be rich in antioxidants.

The authors speculated, “the antioxidant properties of tea and its constituent nutrients may protect telomeres from oxidative damage in the normal ageing process”.

Sources:
British Journal of Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1017/S0007114509991383
Chan, Woo et al. ‘Chinese tea consumption is associated with longer telomere length in elderly Chinese men’