Coffee and tea, under study: “There is more scientific evidence of the benefits of coffee”

Both drinks contain caffeine whose consumption is proving to be healthier than previously thought Coffee is made up of more than 1000 different chemical substances Tea for its part also contains other nutrients, such as beneficial flavonoids to prevent osteoporosis The first thing to keep in mind is that tea and coffee are more alike than we think. Both drinks share the caffeine molecule. There is a popular belief that coffee has caffeine and tea has theine, but what many people do not know is that at a chemical level, they are the same molecule, although they come from different plants. Caffeine is an alkaloid from the group of xanthines, crystalline solid, white and with a bitter taste, with stimulating properties on the central nervous system, to which theophylline from tea, theobromine from chocolate, guaranine from guarana or mateine ​​also belong. of the mate. In other words, when it comes from plants other than coffee beans, it receives another name (theine if it is in tea leaves). It is found in more than 60 different plants and was discovered in 1819 by Friedrich Ferdinand Runge, a young chemist. German. Of course, the amount of caffeine that is taken in each cup of tea is less than in a cup of espresso (a tenth). Coffee and tea are not just caffeineCoffee is made up of more than 1000 different chemical substances, including amino acids and other nitrogenous compounds, polysaccharides, sugars, triglycerides, linoleic acid… Substances that are showing healthy effects.” The benefits of coffee are not only due to caffeine, in many of these studies the same benefits have been observed with decaffeinated coffee, which is equivalent and it has been seen that some of its phenolic compounds are good for preventing diabetes, for example. Coffee contains many complex substances of plant origin, such as phytochemicals with beneficial activity from the point of view of inflammation, especially antioxidants,” explains Miguel Ángel Martínez-González, Professor of Public Health at the University of Navarra and Assistant Professor of Nutrition at Harvard University. A Harvard University study has certified that small nutrients (micronutrient es) of coffee prevent tissue damage by free radicals, a type of molecule that could lead to cancer. And that coffee has high proportions of trigonelline, derived from vitamin B6, which has antioxidant effects, also responsible for protecting the blood vessels of the brain. Tea for its part also contains other nutrients, such as flavonoids, which have been shown to protect older women against osteoporosis. Of course, although all tea contains beneficial antioxidants, they are not all the same. Green and white teas have them in higher concentrations than black tea. Perhaps that is why most scientific publications focus on green tea. Today, drinking green tea has been shown to help fight many different types of cancer, including stomach, esophageal, ovarian, and colon cancers. In addition, one study associates a higher consumption of green tea with a lower prevalence of cognitive impairment. Already in China, 4,700 years ago, drinking tea was considered a healthy practice and a remedy for headaches, body aches, depression, immune enhancement, digestion and detoxification, as an energizer and to prolong life. Which is better, tea or coffee? Both drinks are in the spotlight of scientists but not in the same way. In the case of studies, coffee is above.”Beyond the chemical analysis of substances, the important thing is what happens to people when they drink it, and for that long-term epidemiological studies are needed. Right now the scientific evidence, the accumulation of high-quality epidemiological studies on coffee is superior to those on tea,” explains Dr. Martínez-González. Studies that are helping to banish the myth that consuming coffee is not healthy. “There are also good epidemiological studies on tea that have shown its effects in combating cardiovascular disease, but there are not as many and, above all, they are not of as much quality as those on coffee,” insists the doctor, who defends that “they can be drink up to three or four cups of coffee a day, without problems”. Thus, it should be noted that, apart from demonstrating various health benefits in very different areas, both drinks have banished the myth that their consumption is harmful “We don’t have a study that tells us that drinking is bad for you, on the contrary. What happens is that less has been studied, so we cannot know with so much evidence,” explains Dr. Martínez-González. More coffee is consumed in SpainIf in scientific studies coffee wins over tea, in terms of consumption it depends on where Tea is drunk more in Africa and Asia/Pacific countries, while coffee is preferred in Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the list of the United Nations Organization for Agriculture and Food.In Spain, for the moment, we opt for coffee.According to the latest report on “Coffee Consumption Habits in Spain” carried out by the Café & Té chain, 63% of Spaniards over 15 years (some 22 million people) state that they drink at least one coffee a day The profile of the consumer is a man between 45 and 54 years old (during the week) On weekends, women between 35 and 54 years old are the ones who most amount of coffee they consume. As for tea, although it does not reach coffee, there is its good. The value of tea sales increased by 3.4% in Spain in 2019. In any case, the per capita consumption of both beverages is not negligible, during the year 2021 it was 1.94 kilograms, according to the consumption report of the Ministry of Agriculture, where it is reflected that the total expenditure on this type of beverage in Spain amounted to around 1,417 million euros.