Black Tea vs Green Tea: Which Is Less Inflammatory?
Black Tea
Green Tea
Green tea is less inflammatory than black tea, but only just: both are anti-inflammatory, one point apart on the inflammation scale. Both are hot drinks you brew at home or order at a café, and both replace coffee or sugary drinks without adding sugar or calories.
The one-point gap comes from how each tea is made. Green tea leaves never brown, so they keep their catechins, antioxidants that lowered the main inflammation marker. Black tea leaves are allowed to brown, which creates different antioxidants called theaflavins. These are linked to a slightly lower risk of dying early, but trials in people found no change in inflammation markers.
If you already drink black tea, you do not need to switch, because both score low. If you want more support for calming inflammation than black tea offers, green tea is the better choice. Drink it plain and brewed from the bag or leaves, since bottled and instant teas often carry several spoonfuls of sugar per serving.
Side by side
| Black Tea | Green Tea | |
|---|---|---|
| Inflammation Score | Low · 2/10 | Low · 1/10 |
| Category | Beverages | Beverages |
| Serving size | 1 cup (240 ml) brewed | 1 cup (240 ml) brewed |
| Key nutrients | Theaflavins, Thearubigins, Manganese, Caffeine | Catechins (EGCG), L-theanine, Manganese, Caffeine |
| How often | Daily, 2-4 cups, unsweetened | Daily, 2-3 cups |
On the AIP diet
Black Tea
Black tea is allowed on the Autoimmune Protocol, elimination phase included. AIP removes coffee because the coffee bean is a seed, and tea comes from a leaf, so black tea stays alongside green and herbal teas. Drink it plain: milk is out during elimination, and so are flavoured blends built on seed spices. Keep it to the morning if caffeine unsettles your sleep.
Green Tea
Green tea is allowed on the Autoimmune Protocol, elimination phase included. AIP cuts coffee because the coffee bean is a seed, but tea comes from a leaf, so it stays alongside herbal teas. The usual advice is to keep it moderate and drink it early in the day, since the caffeine can add to the sleep problems many people with autoimmune conditions already have.
What each one brings
Black Tea
- Carries theaflavins, the antioxidants formed when the tea leaf browns
- Two or more cups a day is linked to a slightly lower risk of dying early
- No sugar and no calories when you drink it plain
- Allowed in every phase of the AIP protocol, unlike coffee
Green Tea
- One of the richest everyday sources of catechins, the antioxidants that survive because the leaves never brown
- Strengthened the body's own antioxidant defences across 38 pooled trials in adults
- Brought down the main inflammation marker
- No sugar and no calories: every cup replaces a drink that would work against you
Watch out for
Black Tea
- Trials in people found no change in the inflammation markers of a blood test
- High in tannins, which bind some of the iron in your food
- Bottled and instant teas are often several spoonfuls of sugar per serving
- Caffeinated, at roughly half a coffee per cup
Green Tea
- In people already healthy, trials show no change; the effect turns up when inflammation is high
- Green tea extract is not the drink, and high doses have been linked to liver damage
- The tannins block iron absorption, so keep it away from meals if your iron runs low
- Still caffeinated, at roughly a third of a coffee per cup
Get the inflammation score of any meal
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