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Thee en reumatische artritis (RA)*
Uit een studie onder ruim 76.000 vrouwen ouder dan 50 jaar blijkt dat het drinken van zwarte thee de kans op reumatische artritis (RA) duidelijk kan verhogen. Het regelmatig drinken van zwarte thee doet de kans met 40% toenemen en bij het drinken van 4 koppen of meer per dag stijgt die kans wel met bijna 80%. Het drinken van koffie schijnt geen effect te hebben op het krijgen van RA. Vermoedelijk gelden de resultaten alleen voor zwarte thee want niet onderzocht is het drinken van groene thee of kruidenthee.
Tea Consumption After Age 50 Increases Risk of Arthritis in Women
In the last ten years, rheumatoid arthritis has seen a 50 percent increase in women, jumping from 36.4 per 100,000 in 1995 to 54 per 100,000 in 2005. This translates to an ever-increasing number of women looking for treatment and ways to keep what can be a debilitating condition at bay.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease that affects the entire system of the body. RA causes pain, stiffness, swelling and loss of motion in the joints. It is an autoimmune disease in which a person's immune system attacks the tissue that lines the joints, called the synovium, causing inflammation and tissue overgrowth.
While there are medications like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as well as natural supplements, on the market that can be helpful, diet and exercise can be just as important—both in prevention and mitigating the effects of arthritis.
Results from a recent U.S study out of Georgetown University indicated that drinking tea raised the risk of RA in post-menopausal women. Researchers studied more than 76,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79 and concluded that consuming tea, in any amount, increased the chances of developing RA by 40 percent, while women who drank more than four cups a day ran an increased risk of 78 percent. Interestingly enough, coffee seemed to have no effect on the development of RA in the study group.
Early reports coming out of EULAR 2010, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism—where the paper was presented—were unclear as to the type of tea or method of brewing. Black tea is the typical definition in studies of this type, meaning that green and herbal teas were probably excluded. (September 2010)