The UK’s most popular drink could have some major health benefits, but people may not be having enough to get the benefits. A new review revealed exactly how many cups you should be drinking per day to reduce inflammation, particularly if you already have high levels.

Three to four cups of black tea daily, with or without milk, could be a simple and cheap way to lower inflammationaccording to a new study. Led by members of theTea Advisory Panel, the new review found this amount of tea could help relieve conditions linked to long-term inflammation.

Reductions in inflammatory markers were particularly noticeable among people who already had high levels of inflammation. People with existing inflammatory health conditions who drank black tea long-term saw the strongest effects. Inflammation is a natural bodily response to irritants but chronic inflammation can greatly increase your risk of diseases and disabling conditions.

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Dr Nisa Aslam, co-author of the recent study Black Tea and Systemic Inflammation, said: “Chronic low-level inflammation is a growing public health concern, linked to rising rates of conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and osteoarthritis.

“Whilst our research review is not suggesting that tea can replace medical treatment, it does add to growing evidence that the tea we drink dietetically every day. Diet is increasingly recognised as a practical way to help manage this inflammation.”

Published in the Food and Nutrition Sciences journal, the review covered 22 previous papers including 11 clinical trials and focused on how black tea influences inflammatory makrers within the body.

Co-author Dr Emma Derbyshire explained: “Previous research has tended to focus on green tea, or to look at plant compounds more generally, rather than examining black tea on its own. As a result, evidence on black tea and inflammation has been scattered across the scientific literature."

Black tea is rich in plant compounds called polyphenols which is known to reduce inflammation and potentially have other benefits particularly for heart health. These naturally-occuring compounds interact with the body’s immune pathways.

Dr Tim Bond, co-author at TAP and research, said: "Tea polyphenols can help defend against harmful molecules that can damage cells, whilst also boosting the body's own built-in antioxidant defences. They may also help to reduce activity in some of the main biological pathways that trigger and maintain the inflammatory response."

He noted that most of the studies involved three to four cups of black tea per day, offering around 400-600mg of the polyphenol flavan-3-ols which is the recommended daily intake for cardiometabolic health.

This study also revealed black tea has a range of potential antioxidant effect too but noted there is a need for larger, long-term studies to better understand the impact of everyday tea-drinking habits and wider health outcomes.

Chronic inflammation can be a symptom of disease or part of the cause for some conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, joint problems and allergies.