Published on: June 22, 2019
by Women’s Brain Health Initiative:
Green tea has been widely consumed and appreciated throughout Asia for centuries, and its popularity has been increasing rapidly in the West in recent decades as more and more people discover its potential for boosting physical and mental health.
A growing body of research suggests that the consumption of green tea provides a wide range of health benefits. For example, green tea has been linked with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of cancer. Research also shows that green tea may improve bone mineral density, help reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, prevent dental cavities, and reduce anxiety. It even appears to benefit cognition and brain function.
What is Green Tea?
Green tea is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinesis plant. White, black, and oolong tea are also made from the same species of plant, but each type of tea is processed differently to achieve different levels of oxidation. Green tea leaves are unoxidized, making green tea one of the least processed types of tea. As a result, it is especially rich in nutrients and antioxidants.
Green tea contains thousands of bioactive ingredients, including caffeine, amino acids (such as L-theanine), polyphenols (such as epigallocatechin gallate), and vitamin C. The polyphenols, which account for approximately one third of green tea’s bioactive compounds, are thought to be responsible for many of the health benefits of green tea.
Matcha tea is a special type of green tea that is made from ground whole green tea leaves mixed with boiled water (and then the entire mixture is consumed, tea leaves and all). This results in higher antioxidant and caffeine content than steeped green tea.
Research Highlights
Dr. Shinichi Kuriyama, a researcher and professor from the Tohoku University School of Public Policy in Japan, and his colleagues conducted cross-sectional research using data from 1,003 Japanese individuals aged 70 years and older. Each person completed a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment that included questions about how frequently they consumed green tea.
The researchers found that higher consumption of green tea was associated with a lower prevalence of cognitive impairment.
These findings were published in 2006 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
In another study conducted by Dr. Lei Feng and colleagues (reported in June 2010 in Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging), the researchers examined the relationship between self-reported tea consumption habits and cognitive function in over 700 Chinese adults aged 55 years and older. The researchers found that tea drinking was associated with better cognitive performance. This result was true for green tea, as well as black and oolong.
More recently, Dr. Moeko Noguchi-Shinohara and colleagues investigated the relationship between tea consumption and the incidence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
These researchers worked with residents from Nakajima, Japan who were over 60 years old. Each participant completed a cognitive function test, as well as provided blood samples and information about their consumption of green tea, coffee, and black tea.
Analysis of the data revealed that the consumption of green tea was significantly associated with reduced risk of cognitive decline, even after adjusting for potential confounding factors. The finding was specific to green tea. No such association was found for coffee or black tea consumption. This research was published in May 2014 in PLOS ONE.
In addition to preventing cognitive decline, research suggests that green tea may help improve cognitive function in individuals who already have cognitive deficits or dementia.
Recently, two comprehensive research reviews also concluded that green tea and its constituent ingredients provide cognitive performance benefits.
There are many theories about the underlying mechanisms that might be at play in green tea’s brain-boosting properties. For example, green tea catechins are thought to be neutralizing stress-induced free radicals and reducing inflammation.
Much more research is needed to fully understand how green tea provides these neuroprotective and neurorestorative benefits.
In the meantime, though, there is enough evidence to recommend consuming green tea on a regular basis in order to boost one’s brain health, as well as to obtain many other health benefits.
A Note About Safety
Many ready-to-drink green tea beverages and supplements have been launched in the market in recent years to capitalize on green tea’s growing popularity. These processed products provide widely varying amounts of catechins, often in concentrated amounts that exceed what would be found in a home-brewed cup of tea.
Sometimes it is possible to have too much of a good thing – and the consumption of green tea is no exception.
After conducting an extensive review of the existing research, Dr. Jiang Hu et el. (2018) concluded that “green tea is safe across a wide range of intakes and preparations,” under certain circumstances consumption can result in gastrointestinal irritation and liver injury (particularly when a product contains concentrated extracts with high levels of individual constituents such as EGCG). Consumption of green tea with contents that closely reflect what would be in a traditional cup of steeped tea is perfectly safe.
Source: MIND OVER MATTER V8
While anyone can experience a stroke at any age, women experience more stroke events than men and are less likely to recover. “BE FAST” is a checklist of 6 items to keep in mind when assessing whether you might be...
Enjoy these highlights from our Engaging Millennial Minds Chew on This virtual event with celebrity chef Mark McEwan.
This virtual culinary event featured Celebrity Chef and Restauranteur Mark McEwan.
The material presented through the Think Tank feature on this website is in no way intended to replace professional medical care or attention by a qualified practitioner. WBHI strongly advises all questioners and viewers using this feature with health problems to consult a qualified physician, especially before starting any treatment. The materials provided on this website cannot and should not be used as a basis for diagnosis or choice of treatment. The materials are not exhaustive and cannot always respect all the most recent research in all areas of medicine.