International famous journal published an article: Tea drinkers are more anti-aging than non-tea drinkers
Aug 14,2024 | taetea
As the saying goes: "It's not that your face ages, but that you drink too little tea"! A careful observation will reveal that people who work in the tea industry or drink tea frequently do look "younger".
So can drinking tea really prevent aging? What is its working principle? What good habits should we develop in our daily life to delay aging? Let's reveal them one by one.
Aging refers to the process of functional decline of an organism starting in adulthood. It is an inevitable, multi-stage and gradual process.
Internal and external manifestations of aging:
Internal manifestations: decreased cell proliferation and differentiation ability, slowed cell metabolism, increased accumulation and damage of intracellular substances; changes in tissue structure and functional decline, such as decreased heart contractility, weakened lung function, decreased kidney function, and immune system function decline.
External manifestations: changes in appearance, such as sagging skin, decreased elasticity, wrinkles and spots; and decreased physical function, such as decreased physical strength, slower reaction, and decreased cognitive ability.
Authoritative journals proposed 12 hallmarks of aging:
In 2023, a review entitled "Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe" was published in Cell magazine, which creatively proposed 12 hallmarks of aging for the first time: genomic instability, telomere loss, epigenetic changes, loss of protein homeostasis, macroautophagy dysfunction, nutrient sensing disorders, mitochondrial dysfunction, cell senescence, stem cell exhaustion, changes in intercellular communication, chronic inflammation and dysbiosis, etc.
If these hallmarks are stimulated, aging will be accelerated, while targeted intervention can slow down or even reverse aging.
"Cliff-like aging":
In fact, the aging process is not uniform. Our bodies will undergo a quantitative change to a qualitative change at a certain point in time, which is also called "cliff-like aging".
In 2019, a study titled "Undulating changes in human plasma proteome profiles across the lifespan" published in Nature Medicine proposed the view that "aging is not uniform but there are three physiological turning points". Based on the fluctuations of the plasma proteome in the human body, the study pointed out that the three ages of "cliff-like aging" are 34, 60 and 78 years old, and the sudden aging at the age of 34 is most obvious in "appearance", and the collapse of aging at the ages of 60 and 78 is most obvious in "health".
Scientific evidence that tea helps fight aging
Human population studies Animal experiments In vitro evaluation
Although aging is a process that everyone must go through, modern biological research shows that through appropriate pharmacological and dietary interventions, the aging process can be delayed, the incidence of age-related diseases can be reduced, and people's lives and health can be protected.
As one of the three major non-alcoholic beverages in the world, tea contains rich trace elements and bioactive ingredients, such as tea polyphenols, purines, theanine, tea polysaccharides, caffeine, tea pigments, etc. There have been many studies and demonstrations in terms of anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, anti-aging, and improving cognitive decline caused by aging.
01 A population cohort study on tea drinking for anti-aging
In 2023, Professor Zhao Xing's team from the West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, published a research paper titled "Tea consumption and attenuation of biological aging: a longitudinal analysis from two cohort studies" in the internationally renowned journal "The Lancet Regional Health-Western Pacific" (IF=7.1).
A total of 13,929 participants were analyzed, including 7,931 participants aged 30-79 in the Chinese Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC) and 5,998 participants aged 37-73 in the UKB database. Tea consumption was collected through questionnaires. Biological age (BA) acceleration was calculated using clinical biomarkers and anthropometric measurements based on the Klemera Doubal method (KDM). The relationship between tea drinking and biological aging was analyzed. The results showed that:
① Drinking tea regularly can slow down the aging process, and people who drink tea age slower than those who do not drink tea.
② Compared with people who do not drink tea, drinking about 3 cups of tea or 6-8 grams of tea leaves a day has the best anti-aging effect, and then tends to stabilize.
③ Catechins (such as EGCG) in tea rich in antioxidant ingredients (such as Pu'er raw tea and green tea) can significantly increase the activity of SOD (superoxide dismutase, a free radical scavenger), remove free radicals, help resist aging, and achieve anti-aging effects.
02 Animal research on anti-aging effects of tea drinking
In 2023, Gong Jiashun's team from Yunnan Agricultural University conducted a study titled "Anti-aging effects of Pu'er ripe tea on D-galactose-induced aged mice based on non-targeted metabolomics". Morris water maze experiments were used to detect the learning and memory abilities of control mice, D-galactose-aged model mice, and Pu'er ripe tea (7262 <1801 batches>) intervention mice. Non-targeted metabolomics technology was used to detect brain tissue and serum of each group of mice to explore the anti-aging effects of Pu'er ripe tea on D-galactose-induced aged mice, screen the differential metabolites of Pu'er ripe tea on aged mice, and analyze the metabolic pathways involved.
The results showed that Pu'er ripe tea can improve the learning behavior ability of aged mice, and its mechanism of action is to exert anti-aging effects by regulating lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism.
03 In vitro evaluation test of tea anti-aging
Elastase: An enzyme that degrades elastin in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, causing the loss of connective tissue in the epidermis, leading to skin aging, wrinkles, photoaging and loss of elasticity. Inhibiting the activity of elastase can effectively slow down the loss of elastin.
In 2023, the microbiology company took the Pu'er tea extract, the core ingredient of Yiduofen Original Tea Essence Mask, as the research object, and jointly with the Efficacy and Safety Evaluation Research Center of Guangdong Youjie Testing Technology Co., Ltd., conducted a cosmetic firming and anti-wrinkle efficacy (elastase inhibition method) evaluation test.
The results showed that the elastase inhibition rate of the Pu'er tea extract group was better than that of the blank control group, and the statistical difference P value was <0.05 (significant difference), indicating that the Pu'er tea extract has firming and anti-wrinkle effects.
Good habits to delay aging
Diet Routine Exercise
1. Eat a balanced diet and regularly take in anti-aging foods: Eat three meals regularly, avoid eating too many late-night snacks to increase the gastrointestinal burden, and at the same time, take in foods rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, polyphenols, and flavonoid antioxidants, such as tea, tomatoes, green vegetables, etc.; reduce the intake of foods that promote aging, such as animal offal, fried foods, and high-sugar foods, which are all helpful for anti-aging.
2. Regular work and rest, quit smoking and drinking: Studies have found that maintaining stable sleep habits can help slow down the biological aging process. Compared with people with stable sleep habits, people with large deviations in bedtime and large differences in sleep on weekdays and weekends age 9 months earlier. Nicotine in cigarettes has a destructive effect on the collagen of the skin and the blood vessels that transport oxygen and nutrients to skin cells, which can cause aging. Drinking alcohol also accelerates aging. The large amount of alcohol ingested by the body needs to be metabolized by the liver and then excreted from the body. In the process of liver metabolizing alcohol, a large number of free radicals will be produced. The free radicals it produces are more than the antioxidants ingested by the human body can handle, and the oxidative stress reaction caused is an important factor leading to aging.
3. Exercise moderately to relieve stress: Sitting for a long time will lead to accumulation of body fat, and the cardiopulmonary functions will not be exercised, which will accelerate aging. Studies have found that the aging rate of sedentary people is three times that of people who exercise regularly. Therefore, insist on exercising to ensure that your body does not age. Long-term abnormal emotions (such as pessimism, anxiety, and excessive stress) will also accelerate the aging of the body. Therefore, stay optimistic and keep your expression young; maintain curiosity about the outside world and keep your mentality young.
Conclusion
With the improvement of living standards and the development of medical technology, people are pursuing longevity while paying more attention to health and "high-quality living"! Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and cultivating tea drinking awareness and habits can help delay the aging process and improve the quality of life.
"Tea is the national drink, which is beneficial to the body and mind." Today's TAETEA is committed to the integration of traditional and modern lifestyles. While providing consumers with classic tea products, it also launches a variety of tea products such as the Yiyuansu series of fashionable functional tea products, the modern tea space of the tea garden, tea food, and Yiduofen masks, which have become the representative of a healthy tea lifestyle.
Anti-aging, drink more tea, choose TAETEA!
References:
[1]WHO. Aging and health; 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/ fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health. Accessed December 21, 2022.
[2]Lehallier B, Gate D, Schaum N,et.al . Undulating changes in human plasma proteome profiles across the lifespan. Nat Med. 2019 Dec;25(12):1843-1850.
[3]López-Otín C, Blasco MA, Partridge L, et.al. Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe. Cell. 2023 Jan 19;186(2):243-278.
[4]Lei Shuwen, Zhang Zhifang, Xie Guihua, et al. Study on the anti-aging effect of Pu'er ripe tea on D-galactose-induced aging mice based on non-targeted metabolomics[ J]. Food Science, 2023, 44(15):137-146.
[5]Xiang Y, Xu H, Chen H, et.al. Tea consumption and attenuation of biological aging: a longitudinal analysis from two cohort studies. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2023 Nov 22;42:100955.