Aging happens differently for each person, but for most they are afraid that they will be affected by cognitive impairment as they age. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 55 million people worldwide have dementia, and it is expected to rise to 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050. Unfortunately, unlike cardiovascular disease , the steps to keep the brain in good shape can be less clear. But according to a study, there is evidence that drinking this popular drink every day can halve your risk of developing dementia. Keep reading to see what you need to put in the cup more regularly.
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In a study published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging in December 2016, a team of researchers from the National University of Singapore set out to examine whether regular tea consumption could have an effect on the onset of dementia. To do so, the researchers gathered 957 participants from China aged 55 or older to conduct a longitudinal study.
The results found that those who drank tea every day saw their risk of developing dementia reduced by 50%. In the case of participants carrying the APOE e4 gene that puts them at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, daily tea consumers saw their risk of cognitive decline reduced to 86%.
According to the researchers, the results suggest that drinking tea every day could provide an affordable and easy way to combat the onset of a mostly paralyzing disease. “Despite high-quality pharmacological trials, effective drug therapy for neurocognitive disorders such as dementia remains elusive and current prevention strategies are far from satisfactory.” Feng Lei, said in a statement the study author and assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS). “Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. Data from our study suggest that a simple, inexpensive lifestyle measure, such as drinking tea daily, can reduce a person’s risk of developing neurocognitive disorders in the world. the end”.
Feng concluded, “Although the study was conducted on Chinese elderly people, the results could also be applied to other races. Our results have important implications for dementia prevention.”
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Researchers also found that the health benefits of drinking tea were not just limited to one type. All freshly made leaves (including black, green, and oolong) were shown to have the neuroprotective effects found in the study.
“According to current knowledge, this long-term benefit of tea consumption is due to the bioactive compounds in tea leaves, such as catechins, teaflavins, tearubigins and L-theanine,” Feng explained. “These compounds have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential and other bioactive properties that can protect the brain from vascular damage and neurodegeneration. Our understanding of the detailed biological mechanisms is still very limited, so we need more research to find definitive answers.”
Other research has found that properties that increase brain health are not just limited to tea. A 2018 study from the Krembil Brain Institute, published in the journal Frontiers in neuroscience, it was proposed to investigate the theorized connection between coffee consumption and a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s. The researchers decided to test the compounds found in different grains, including light roasted, dark roasted and decaffeinated coffee.
The team discovered that the beans contained phenylindanes, a chemical compound that prevents the accumulation and clumping of proteins known as beta-amyloid and tau, which are known to lead to Alzheimer’s. Since longer roasting leads to an increase in the amount of phenylindanes, the researchers concluded that dark roasted coffee provided better protection against neurological status.
Interestingly, the researchers also found that the amount of caffeine, which has long been theorized to help prevent the onset of dementia, did not affect the outcome. “The two dark roasts with caffeine and decaffeinated had identical potencies in our initial experimental tests,” Ross Mancini, Said a doctor, a researcher in medicinal chemistry, in a statement. “So we soon noticed that its protective effect could not be due to caffeine.”
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