I recently wrote about black tea and how I wouldn’t be surprised to find more studies that promote how beneficial it is to the body, rivaling (but not surpassing) the oh-so popular green tea (see, “Black is the New Green”). So I mentioned the following for two reasons: (1) to prove my assumption true and (2) because its findings tie in to some news currently making the rounds in the print and electronic media.

You likely remember the anthrax scare in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks in 2001, where those exposed to the toxic bacterium killed five and severely sickened several others after it was mailed to a congressional office in Washington, and the NBC newsroom in New York. In early August 2008, the primary suspect behind the mass mailings of anthrax-laced letters committed suicide, apparently aware authorities were closing in and seeking to indict him.

Whether the man who committed suicide was indeed the perpetrator behind the anthrax scare is for the authorities to determine. But if any copycat crimes occur as a result of the suicide and the media reminding the public of what this man allegedly did in 2001, new research suggests that black tea might be the antidote to such a threat.

Anthrax is a toxic bacterium that’s not typically spread through terroristic means. Usually, it’s spread from those it most frequently infects: livestock, such as cattle, sheep, and goats. If humans become infected, it is usually due to consuming undercooked beef from regions of the world where anthrax infection is more common – such as South and Central America, the Middle East and the Caribbean – or because of people being in regular contact with the aforementioned mammals. The anthrax terrorism scare was perpetrated by someone who actually cultivated the disease – presumably the man that committed suicide – but such cultivation is both difficult and dangerous, making another anthrax mailing scare difficult to manufacture (especially considering the restrictions imposed by post offices since 2001).

Nevertheless, every year, there are anthrax infections within the United States, the transmissions occurring either through the skin, by inhalation or by digestion. But researchers believe that the regular consumption of tea, black tea to be precise, thwarts the deadly effects of anthrax exposure and infection.

Published in the British journal Microbiologist, lead researcher Les Baillie says that black tea has the potential to act as an antidote to anthrax, effectively curbing the activity of anthrax in those it infects “quite considerably.” Antibiotics can also kill anthrax infection, but it must be administered quickly after exposure to be effective.

Baillie and his fellow researchers believe the polyphenols in black tea act as the key ingredient in thwarting the effects of anthrax. Interestingly, though, the polyphenols are rendered useless if whole milk is added to it. In other words, only black black tea.

In an age of terrorism, the safety and well-being of our family and friends seems as big a priority as ever, mainly because we’ve seen how quickly lives can be taken by those who mean to do us harm. How comforting it is to know that the natural healing properties of tea can potentially save us from those very same people and their dastardly designs.