Drinking two cups of tea a day helps keep our brains active even as we reach old age, according to a new study.
The reason for this ability is due to natural chemicals in tea called polyphenols, which help the brain work better, which helps memory function better. These chemicals are present in both black and white tea.
The researchers reached this conclusion following a study of more than 3,500 people aged 60 and older. The subjects are healthy people, without active diseases. In the study, they were divided into two groups: one consumed 500 mg of polyphenols per day, equivalent to two cups of tea, and the other consumed a placebo.
A kettle and a cup full of tea, photo: Thinkstock Photos
During the 3-year study, participants were given tasks such as testing word recall to test their memory abilities. At the end of the study, it was found that those who consumed 500 mg of polyphenols per day had an average of 10.5% better memory capacity than those who consumed the placebo. The benefit was more pronounced, averaging 16% among subjects who also maintained a healthy diet.
Professor Gunter Kahnell of the University of Reading, who carried out the study, said drinking tea was "the easiest way to increase the intake of polyphenols in the body". He added, "It doesn't really matter how you consume your tea, because polyphenol absorption will be similar anyway."
In response to the study, Dr. Scott Small of Columbia University said that memory loss associated with adolescence is a process that varies from person to person. "If one of the differences was related to polyphenol intake, then in the study we would see an even more dramatic improvement in memory activity in people aged 40 and 50," he noted.
Tea will improve your memory (illustration), photo: Thinkstock Photos
The Mirror, the newspaper that published the study, also noted that tea has other important health benefits. According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Sheffield in England in 2003, two compounds found in green tea were discovered to help prevent inflammation and fight the body's bacteria that damage teeth.
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