Based on the book "A History of the World in 6 Glasses", the purported health benefits of drinking tea were:
1. Tea was known to kill bacteria such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. Water had to be boiled to make tea. This killed the bacteria that caused the waterborne diseases.2. Tea helped introduce tea breaks in factories where workers were forced to work for hours without a break. This improved the quality of life for works so improved the health of the workers.