Coffee vs. Tea: Which Is Healthier?

A hot cup of coffee can help you wake up in the morning. A soothing cup of tea can help you relax after a stressful day.

However, whether you drink tea or coffee, the latest research below on the health benefits of the two beverages can help you feel somewhat reassured.

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer recently removed coffee from its list of probable carcinogens, and some studies have even shown that it may help prevent colon cancer from recurring after treatment. Other studies have suggested that drinking coffee may help prevent Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

It is difficult to judge which is healthier, tea or coffee.

Numerous studies have shown that tea drinkers have significantly lower rates of skin, breast, and prostate cancers. Researchers are still trying to determine exactly how this works. Tea, especially green tea, is rich in compounds such as antioxidants that can limit cell damage and boost the immune system; and polyphenols, which have been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Drinking tea may also help prevent Alzheimer's disease thanks to a polyphenol called EGCG, which helps prevent the formation of blood clots that are thought to lead to brain-damaging diseases.

So is tea or coffee better for your health??

Experts say it's difficult to answer this question. Because it's difficult to separate out the different ingredients and their roles in your diet, and their effects on each body are different.

“I think we are in the process of re-evaluating coffee and tea, and their effects on all sorts of diseases including cancer, gastrointestinal disease and cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Elliott Miller, a medical expert at the US National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Miller and his colleagues recently studied markers of heart disease in more than 6,800 people from a variety of backgrounds across the United States. About 75 percent of them drank coffee, while about 40 percent drank tea. Regularly drinking more than one cup of tea may help reduce calcium buildup in the arteries that supply blood to the heart, helping to prevent heart disease.

“Coffee doesn't have the same effects on heart disease, but it has its own effects,” says Dr. Miller.

Patients often ask their doctors, “I have coronary artery disease, or I'm at risk for high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Can I drink coffee?” Because everyone thinks that drinking coffee will increase your heart rate and pose a risk. So, I think it's important to point out that this is a relative statement,” Dr. Miller said.

Do coffee and tea have anti-cancer properties?

Researchers say it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how these two drinks affect our health. “Both coffee and tea are ‘complex beverages’ that contain a variety of components including caffeine, polyphenols, and antioxidants – compounds whose anti-cancer properties are being studied by scientists,” says Lisa Cimperman, a clinical nutritionist at the University Hospitals Case Medical Center in the US.

“These compounds work better when they interact with each other than when they exist as separate compounds,” Cimperman emphasizes.

Some researchers have tried to isolate a component in tea or coffee that they thought was responsible for a particular effect, but then they realized it didn't work as well as they thought."

Drinking tea can help reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease, aid in weight loss, and boost your immune system, Cimperman says. Meanwhile, studies have shown that drinking coffee is an effective way to ward off not only Parkinson's disease, but also type 2 diabetes, liver disease, and heart problems.

According to a recent study developed by Dr. Charles Fuchs, Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston (USA), drinking coffee regularly can help prevent colon cancer recurrence after treatment.

The study involved nearly 1,000 patients. Dr. Fuchs said there was a clear link between coffee consumption and a lower risk of colon cancer recurrence in those who drank more than four cups a day. “The more coffee you drink, the lower your risk of recurrence.” But the researchers weren’t sure what specific component of coffee was responsible for the effect, and there didn’t seem to be any similar effect in tea.

“I don't think you need to worry about drinking more than two cups of coffee a day, it's certainly going to be beneficial,” says Dr. Fuchs.

What about non-coffee drinkers? “If someone who hates coffee asks me, “Should I drink coffee?” I would say “No.” But I would advise them on measures that have the same benefits as coffee, such as diet and exercise, and avoiding obesity.”

Other researchers are questioning the role of genetics and lifestyle in the effects of tea and coffee. For example, coffee combined with tobacco can cause cancer and heart disease.

“Some people’s bodies absorb coffee differently than others. Meanwhile, people who like to drink tea reflect healthier lifestyle habits than those who like to drink coffee,” said Dr. Martha Gulati, Chief of Cardiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix, USA.

“Do tea drinkers do more yoga or meditation?” Dr. Gulati explains. “Not necessarily saying there’s a correlation, but do they exercise more than coffee drinkers?”

Would drinking green tea help them maintain their weight better than other beverages?

And Robert Eckel, an endocrinologist at the University of Denver, says a healthy diet is “probably the single most important factor” in preventing cardiovascular disease.

“It’s a diet that includes fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean poultry, fish, beans, nuts, and avoids saturated fats. You should always maintain that diet,” Dr. Eckel said.

The World Health Organization's guidelines on coffee warn that any hot drink can increase your risk of esophageal cancer, while Dr. Cimperman advises against adding too much cream and sugar to your drink so as not to reduce its beneficial effects.

“There is no single food or beverage that can make or break your diet,” Dr. Cimperman says. “The effectiveness of a diet always depends on the combination of many components.”

According to VOV