Drinking green tea, rather than black, may help you live longer, new study suggests

Updated 3:29 AM ET, Thu January 9, 2020

A plant-based diet underpins the health of those who live longest according to experts. Beans, legumes and pulses (such as lentils and chickpeas), compared with any other food, are the most important dietary predictor of longevity. They probably offer the best bang for your nutritional buck than any other food out there.

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Beans, legumes, pulses – A plant-based diet underpins the health of those who live longest according to experts. Beans, legumes and pulses (such as lentils and chickpeas), compared with any other food, are the most important dietary predictor of longevity. They probably offer the best bang for your nutritional buck than any other food out there.

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Wild greens like purslane, dandelion and arugula are a great source of minerals as well as carotenoids— the colorful pigments our body converts to vitamin A.

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Wild greens – Wild greens like purslane, dandelion and arugula are a great source of minerals as well as carotenoids— the colorful pigments our body converts to vitamin A.

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Mushrooms, particularly shiitake, contain more than 100 compounds with immune-protecting properties.<br />

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Mushrooms – Mushrooms, particularly shiitake, contain more than 100 compounds with immune-protecting properties.

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Turmeric – Ginger's golden cousin is a powerful anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.

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Okinawan sweet potatoes – Imo is a supercharged purple sweet potato that doesn't cause blood sugar to spike as much as a regular white potato.

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Residents of Nicoya, Costa Rica -- a population more likely to reach a healthy 90 years old than anyone else on the planet -- use small sweet peppers in most of their dishes, and other peppers are also a staple food in longevity-prone Sardinia and Ikaria in Greece. Peppers are rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C.

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Peppers – Residents of Nicoya, Costa Rica -- a population more likely to reach a healthy 90 years old than anyone else on the planet -- use small sweet peppers in most of their dishes, and other peppers are also a staple food in longevity-prone Sardinia and Ikaria in Greece. Peppers are rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C.

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Squash, available in several varieties, belongs to the botanical family Cucurbitaceae, known for providing high levels of useful carotenoids.

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Squash – Squash, available in several varieties, belongs to the botanical family Cucurbitaceae, known for providing high levels of useful carotenoids.

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Nuts, as well as nut butters, are prominent in the diet of the Seventh-day Adventists, a religious group with a longer than average lifespan when compared to other Americans. One study found that those who ate a handful of nuts at least five times a week lived two to three years longer than those who didn't eat any nuts.

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Nuts and seeds – Nuts, as well as nut butters, are prominent in the diet of the Seventh-day Adventists, a religious group with a longer than average lifespan when compared to other Americans. One study found that those who ate a handful of nuts at least five times a week lived two to three years longer than those who didn't eat any nuts.

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Ikarians in Greece drink tea brewed from local rosemary, wild sage and dandelion — all of which are herbs known to have anti-inflammatory properties.

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Herbal teas – Ikarians in Greece drink tea brewed from local rosemary, wild sage and dandelion — all of which are herbs known to have anti-inflammatory properties.

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Lime-treated ground corn, or nixtamal, is used to make tortillas eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It increases the body's ability to absorb calcium, iron and minerals.

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Corn – Lime-treated ground corn, or nixtamal, is used to make tortillas eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It increases the body's ability to absorb calcium, iron and minerals.

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(CNN)Drinking tea at least three times a week could reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and is linked with a longer and healthier life, at least in China, a new study suggests.

Chinese researchers found the health benefits associated with tea were more pronounced for drinkers of green, rather than black tea, and for those who had been drinking tea regularly over a longer period of time. The benefits were also clearer among men, the study indicated.

Researchers looked at data from 100,902 Chinese people with no history of heart attack, stroke or cancer and divided them into two groups: habitual drinkers who drank tea three or more times a week, those who never drank tea, and those who drank it less regularly. They followed up with them after a seven-year period.

Their analysis found that regular tea drinkers had a 20% lower risk of having heart disease and stroke, and a 22% lower risk of dying from heart disease and stroke. Specifically, they found that regular tea drinkers could expect to live 1.26 years longer at age 50 than those who did not regularly enjoy a cup of tea.

Reading the tea leaves about whether drinking green tea is good for you

"We found that the protective effects of habitual tea consumption were very pronounced and robust across different outcomes for men, but only modest for women," Dr. Dongfeng Gu from China's National Center for Cardiovascular Disease, Peking Union Medical College and the Chinese Academy of Medical Science said via email.

"One reason might be that the proportion of habitual tea consumers among men was approximately two and a half [times] as high as that among women," Gu said. Some 48% of the men in the study were regular tea drinkers, compared with 20% of women.

Gu said Chinese women were more likely to drink herbal tea made from rosebuds or lotus leaves but this information wasn't included.