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Men who like tea are at risk of prostate cancer
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Interesting information came from the University of Glasgow (Scotland): it turns out that men who love tea are in the group of increased risk of developing prostate cancer. A report on the study on this topic is published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer.
Scottish scientists, who monitored the health of more than 6,000 volunteers for 37 years, found that men who drink more than 7 cups of tea a day suffer from prostate cancer 1.5 times more often than those who do not notice this drink at all or at least limit themselves to four cups a day.
The study began in Scotland in the 1970s. About 6,000 volunteers aged 21 to 75 were asked about their consumption of tea, coffee, alcohol and cigarettes. They were also asked about their general health, after which they underwent an initial medical examination. Less than a quarter of the 6,016 men who took part in the study were tea enthusiasts. Of these, over the next 37 years, 6.4% were faced with an unpleasant diagnosis - prostate cancer. Moreover, according to the study, people who drank seven or more cups of tea a day were in a significantly higher risk group than those who did not exceed the four cup mark.
According to the authors of the study (and this is the most interesting thing), no previous study has found any link between prostate cancer and black tea consumption, and in the case of green tea, there was even some positive effect.
Thus, despite 37 years of research, it is not possible to state unequivocally whether tea is a risk factor or whether people who drink a lot of tea (instead of coffee, alcohol and other drinks) are generally healthier and more likely to live to an age when prostate cancer becomes the most common diagnosis. Scientists from Glasgow note that they tried to normalize the data taking into account the factor of age reached, but even then, unfortunately, the picture did not change fundamentally...
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