According to a recent study led by Assistant Professor Feng Lei from the Department of Psychological Medicine at National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, a daily cup of tea can keep dementia away of the elderly, and this is especially so for those who are genetically predisposed to the debilitating disease. The researchers have also discovered that the neuroprotective role of tea consumption on cognitive function is not dependent on a particular type of tea. The findings have appeared in the scientific journal ‘The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging’.
Tea brewed from tea leaves, whether green, black or oolong tea, is all good. Said Prof Lei, “Despite high quality drug trials, effective pharmacological therapy for neurocognitive disorders such as dementia remains elusive and current prevention strategies are far from satisfactory. Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. The data from our study suggests that a simple and inexpensive lifestyle measure such as daily tea drinking can reduce a person’s risk of developing neurocognitive disorders in late life.” He added, “Based on current knowledge, this long-term benefit of tea consumption is due to the bioactive compounds in tea leaves, such as catechins, theaflavins, thearubigins and L-theanine. These compounds exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential and other bioactive properties that may protect the brain from vascular damage and neurodegeneration.”
The researchers feel that more research is needed to find out definitive answers and are planning to embark on further studies.