According to a new research, men who consume large quantity of tea are far more likely to develop prostate cancer.

The findings concluded that those who drink seven or more cups a day had a 50% higher risk of contracting disease than men who had about three or fewer. The research was conducted by scientists at the University of Glasgow who tracked the health of more than 6,000 men for about four decades.

The surprising part is, these findings oppose the previously held belief that tea drinking lowers the risk of cancer and as well as heart disease, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

The study led by Dr. Kashif Shafique began in 1970; Partakers aged between 21 and 75 were asked to complete a questionnaire about their usual consumption levels of tea, coffee and alcohol and as well as their smoking habits and general health and then were to attend a screening examination.

Under a quarter of the 6,016 men who consumed approximately seven or more cups a day; 6.4 % developed prostate cancer over the course of 37 years.

Researchers found that the subjects who drank the most tea were often teetotal and led healthy lifestyles.

As a result, they may have been at a lower risk of death from ‘competing causes’, effectively giving them more time to develop prostate cancer, the journal Nutrition and Cancer reports.