Cuppa tea? It could make you live longer...

702's John Perlman speaks to Prof. Zeno Apostolides - Professor in the Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology Department at the University of Pretoria.

Listen below:

Prof. Apostolides was inspired by the American 'food pyramid' to create a healthy 'drink pyramid'... which led to him investigating the prevalence of antioxidants in tea.

Antioxidants are essential in our bodies to neutralise free radicals, which are caused by air pollution, the sun, and even the air we breathe. 

Free radicals are one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

The professor then set out to do some in-depth scientific tests.

"We decided to buy all the teas on the supermarket shelves, and test them for antioxidants..."

- Prof. Zeno Apostolides - Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology Department - University of Pretoria

We're always hearing about the unique health benefits of green tea and herbal tea - so what were his findings... which teas came out tops?

"What is sold as either black tea or ceylon tea - which is the most popular one in South Africa... there was no statistically significant difference in the amount of antioxidants in green tea and black tea."

- Prof. Zeno Apostolides - Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology Department - University of Pretoria

Prof. Apostolides says the positive effects will be capped at around four cups of tea per day.

RELATED: Rooibos tea shown to improve key heart health markers in groundbreaking study

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.