Does Milk In Tea Block Its Health Benefits?

There has been a lot of talk lately about the negative effects of milk in tea.  Does milk In tea really block its healthy heart value benefits? The questions is - is it true?

Let's start at the study which triggered the hype about tea, milk and healthy hearts.  The study was performed in Berlin, Germany with 16 humans and rat tissue.  I'll leave it up to you to decide whether 16 humans would constitute an informed study to propogate such huge responses in the media, and paticulary on the internet... The study found that drinking black tea improved the ability of arteries to do their job - relax and expand in order to keep blood flowing and maintaining a healthy blood pressure.  It was also discovered that caseins (proteins in milk) blocked this effect.  There has also been mentioned that 98% of tea drinkers in Britain regularly have milk in their tea.  As a child growing up in Britain, it was almost unthinkable to have anything else in your tea than milk and I knew no-one who drank black tea on its own!  Yes we do often drink copious amounts of tea in Britain - mostly with milk, but I would put forth that the many people who add sugar to their tea are possibly giving their heart, arteries and body in general a far worse deal than the milk in their tea.  Add to that the sugary biscuits often served with tea - not to mention a cigarette with your cuppa!  I am not stating that the German study was at all useless and I'm sure well worth all the effort involved in making the study - however 16 humans hardly constitute a broad band study.  Their results, though must be valid.  The British are hardly going to change their tea drinking habits (in India, a huge proportion of people also have milk in their tea...).  Tea also has antioxidant and other healthy properties - the world considers it a healthy drink!  If we put milk in our tea, we are still inbibing a healthy drink - maybe not the best for our blood pressure.  I would also like to put forth that drinking tea is often a social activity where we also put healthy vibes into our body enjoying the company of others.  Even drinking tea alone is a wonderful comforting experience.  Nurturing your soul is also a way to a healthy body.

In conclusion, tea is still a healthy beverage - with or without milk.  We should be more concerned about putting sugar or unhealthy artificial sweeteners in our tea and laying off the biscuits with tea - not to mention lighting up a cigarette with your cuppa.  The scientists in Berlin have worked hard to bring these new facts to our attention and for that we should be grateful.