Feeling rotten? Put the kettle on...

IF YOU'RE one of the millions of Brits on a slow burn towards poor health, new research shows that something as simple as enjoying three or four cups of tea a day could dial down your risk of dozens of serious health issues.

- BY CATHERINE FORREST

Systemic inflammation - a long-term, low-level and body-wide immune system malfunction which places the body on constant alert - is emerging as a key contributor to dozens of chronic physical and mental health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis and other joint problems, dementia, depression and anxiety.

But a study just published in journal Food and Nutrition Sciences shows that drinking tea regularly could help dial down this corrosive inflammatory response and those at highest risk are the most likely to benefit from a brew.

The research review, which analysed evidence from 22 papers, including 11 clinical trials, found: "Black tea with or without milk appears to have a potentially beneficial role in a range of conditions with inflammatory origins."

And it concluded: "Given its low cost, wide availability and cultural acceptance, black tea could represent a simple adjunct to dietary strategies for reducing systemic inflammation."

Public health nutritionist Dr Emma Derbyshire, one of the coauthors of the new paper and a member of the Tea Advisory Panel, said: "Until now, a lot of the research around potential benefits of tea-drinking has focused on green tea, or looked at both black and green tea. However, in the UK, black tea, with or without milk, is by far the most popular, and although they are both derived from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, they are processed differently and we know this impacts their polyphenol profile, so we wanted to isolate the evidence."

And the good news is that the evidence confirms that Britain's favourite cuppa really is a cup of good health.

HEARTY FINDINGS

A study of more than 84,000 patients with cardiovascular disease found that systemic inflammation increased their risk of a major "event" such as a heart attack or stroke by 30 per cent and the likelihood of heart failure by 24 per cent.