As the saying goes: “It's not that you age too quickly, it's that you don't drink enough Tea!”
A careful observation reveals that those involved in the tea industry or who regularly consume tea do indeed appear “somewhat younger.”
But does drinking tea really have anti-aging properties?
What is the mechanism behind its effects?
What good habits should we adopt in our daily lives to slow down the aging process? Let's explore these questions one by one.
Aging refers to the functional decline that occurs after an organism reaches adulthood, a natural, multi-stage, and progressive process.
Internal and External Manifestations of Aging:
Internal: Reduced cell proliferation and differentiation capabilities, slowed cellular metabolism, increased accumulation and damage within cells; altered tissue structure and function, such as decreased heart contractility, reduced lung capacity, diminished kidney function, and immune system decline.
External: Changes in appearance, such as sagging skin, loss of elasticity, wrinkles, and age spots; and declines in physical abilities, such as reduced stamina, slower reactions, and decreased cognitive function.
The 12 Hallmarks of Aging Proposed by an Authoritative Journal:
In 2023, a review article titled “Hallmarks of Aging: An Expanding Universe,” published in the journal Cell, innovatively proposed 12 hallmarks of aging: genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, impaired macroautophagy, nutrient sensing dysregulation, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, altered intercellular communication, chronic inflammation, and dysbiosis.
If these hallmarks are stimulated, they can accelerate aging; targeted interventions, however, can slow or even reverse the aging process.
Cliff-like Aging:
In reality, the aging process is not uniform. At specific points in time, there are significant changes in the body, known as “cliff-like aging.”
In 2019, a study titled “Undulating Changes in Human Plasma Proteome Profiles Across the Lifespan,” published in Nature Medicine, proposed that “aging is not linear but involves three physiological tipping points.” Based on fluctuations in the plasma proteome, this study identified three ages at which “cliff-like aging” occurs: 34, 60, and 78 years old. The most noticeable sudden aging at 34 affects appearance, while the more dramatic aging at 60 and 78 impacts health.
Scientific Evidence for Tea's Anti-Aging Properties
Population Studies
Animal Experiments
In Vitro Evaluations
Although aging is an inevitable process, modern biological research shows that appropriate pharmacological and dietary interventions can slow the aging process and reduce the incidence of age-related diseases, thus ensuring people's health.
As one of the world's top three non-alcoholic beverages, tea is rich in trace elements and bioactive components, such as polyphenols, purine alkaloids, Theanine, polysaccharides, Caffeine, and tea pigments. There is ample research supporting the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cell apoptosis, anti-aging, and cognitive improvement effects of these components.
01 Longitudinal Cohort Study on the Anti-Aging Effects of Drinking Tea
In 2023, Professor Zhao Xing's team from the School of Public Health, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, published a paper titled “Tea Consumption and Attenuation of Biological Aging: A Longitudinal Analysis From Two Cohort Studies” in the prestigious journal The Lancet's regional publication, “The Lancet Regional Health-Western Pacific” (Impact Factor = 7.1).
The study analyzed 13,929 participants, including 7,931 participants aged between 30 and 79 years from the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC) and 5,998 participants aged between 37 and 73 years from the UK Biobank (UKB) database. Participants' tea consumption was collected through questionnaires, and the biological age (BA) acceleration was calculated using clinical biomarkers and anthropometric values based on the Klemera Doubal method (KDM). The relationship between Tea drinking and biological aging was analyzed, with the following findings:
1. Regular tea consumption can slow down the aging process. Tea drinkers age more slowly than non-drinkers.
2. Compared to non-drinkers, drinking about 3 cups of tea or 6-8 grams of tea leaves daily provides the best anti-aging effect, which then stabilizes.
3. Teas rich in antioxidants, such as raw Pu'er and green teas, contain catechins (such as EGCG) that significantly increase the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), an enzyme that scavenges free radicals, helping to resist aging.
02 Animal Study on the Anti-Aging Effects of Drinking Tea
The results showed that fermented Pu'er tea improves the learning behavior of aging mice, with its mechanism involving regulation of lipid and amino acid metabolism to exert anti-aging effects.
03 In Vitro Evaluation of Tea's Anti-Aging Properties
Elastase: An enzyme that degrades elastin located in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, leading to the loss of connective tissue in the epidermis and causing skin aging, wrinkles, photoaging, and loss of elasticity. Inhibiting elastase activity can effectively slow down the loss of elastin.
In 2023, a microbial company, together with the Efficacy and Safety Testing Research Center of Guangdong Youjie Testing Technology Co., Ltd., conducted an evaluation trial on the firming and wrinkle-reducing efficacy of the core ingredient of the Yiduofen Original Tea Essence Mask, Pu'er tea extract, using the elastase inhibition method.
Good Habits to Slow Down Aging
Diet
Sleep Schedule
Exercise
1. Balanced diet, regular intake of anti-aging foods: Regular meals, avoiding excessive late-night snacks that burden the gastrointestinal tract,