Green Tea Consumption May Slow the Aging Process

Drinking green tea is associated with longer telomeres -- the tips of chromosomes that contain your genetic material. Telomeres typically shorten with age and each time cells divide. The finding is potentially significant because, as a consequence, green tea may enhance longevity.

Ruth Chan, PhD, and her colleagues at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, investigated the dietary habits and telomere length of 976 elderly men and 1,020 elderly women.

Men who consumed three or more cups of green tea daily had significantly longer telomeres compared with men who consumed less green tea. The difference in telomere length corresponded to approximately a five-year difference in age -- in other words, 70-year-old men who drank green tea had telomeres typical of 65-year-olds. Green tea was not associated with telomere length in women.

"The antioxidative properties of tea and its constituents may protect telomeres from oxidative damage in the normal aging process," wrote Chan and her colleagues.

Previous research has shown that magnesium is essential for maintaining telomere length. In addition, taking daily multivitamins or vitamin B12 supplements appear to maintain longer telomeres.

Reference: Chan R, Woo J, Suen E, et al. Chinese tea consumption is associated with longer telomere length in elderly Chinese men. British Journal of Nutrition, 2009: epub ahead of print.