Dr. d. Raghunatha Rao, the convener of the Dietary Guidelines Committee, has declared that drinking tea immediately after a meal is inadvisable as the tannin found in it interferes with the absorption of iron. His findings were included in a report entitled Dietary guidelines for Indians prepared by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN).

The report also advised heart disease victims to reduce their coffee intake as “Coffee consumption is known to increase blood pressure and cause abnormalities in heart beat,” according to the report.