By Lori Bricker, MS, RD
Although not as popular in the United States, it is quite common in Britain to add milk to black tea. Some research has shown that this practice may interfere with the antioxidants in black tea, but the results have been inconsistent. In a study just published in the British journal Nutrition Research, researchers examined five brands of British black tea with the addition of 10, 15, and 20 mL (for reference, one fluid ounce is roughly 28 mL) of whole, low-fat, and skim cow’s milk to 200-mL of brewed tea (about 7 oz.). They found that skim milk decreased the antioxidant capacity of the tea significantly more than either whole milk or low-fat milk. The authors conclude that “black tea is a valuable source of antioxidants and that the effect of milk on the total antioxidant capacity may be related to the fat content of the milk.”
Source: Nutrition Research Volume 30, Issue 1, January 2010, Pages 14-20.
