New study finds correlation between tea consumption, brain health and reduced risk of dementia



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This new study reveals that regular tea drinkers have better organized brain regions, associated with a healthier cognitive function, compared to non-tea drinkers.

For the study, the research team recruited 36 adults aged 60 and over and collected data on their health, lifestyle and psychological well-being. Elderly participants also had to undergo neuropsychological tests and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The study was conducted from 2015 to 2018.

After analyzing the cognitive performance and imagery results of the participants, the research team found that people who consumed green tea, oolong tea or black tea at least four times a week for about 25 years had more interconnected brain regions more effectively. .

"Take the example of road traffic: consider brain regions as destinations, while links between brain regions are roads. When a road system is better organized, vehicle and passenger traffic is more efficient and uses fewer resources. Similarly, when connections between brain regions are more structured, information processing can be performed more effectively, "said Feng Lei Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore.

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"Our results offer the first evidence of the positive contribution of tea consumption to the structure of the brain and suggest that regular tea consumption has a protective effect against the decline of age-related brain organization", a- he added.

The research was conducted by Lei of the Department of Psychological Medicine at Yong Loo Lin NUS School of Medicine, in collaboration with the University of Essex and the University of Cambridge. The results were published in a scientific journal Aging.

Previous studies have shown that tea consumption was beneficial to human health and its positive effects included improved mood and prevention of cardiovascular disease. In fact, the results of a longitudinal study conducted in 2017 by Feng examined the cognitive health of 957 elderly Chinese people and showed that daily tea consumption was associated with a 50% risk of cognitive decline among elderly people – and in some genetically modified patients. risk of Alzheimer's disease, it was reduced by 86%.

In addition, a 2004 study by Newcastle University also linked the consumption of green and black tea to the reduction of dementia risk.

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"Although the study was conducted on older Chinese people, the results could also apply to other races," Feng said. "Our findings have important implications for the prevention of dementia. Despite high quality drug trials, effective pharmacological treatment for neurocognitive disorders such as dementia remains elusive and current prevention strategies are far from satisfactory. Tea is one of the most consumed beverages in the world. The data in our study suggest that a simple and inexpensive lifestyle measure, such as daily tea consumption, can reduce the risk of developing neurocognitive disorders at the end of life.

"Based on current knowledge, this long-term benefit of tea consumption is due to the bioactive compounds of tea leaves, such as catechins, theaflavins, thearbigines and L-theanine. These compounds have an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential as well as other bioactive properties that can protect the brain against vascular damage and neurodegeneration. "

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Following this discovery, Feng and his team explored in more detail the direct effect of tea on brain networks.

"We have shown in our previous studies that tea drinkers had better cognitive function compared to non-tea drinkers," Feng said. "Our current findings regarding the brain network indirectly corroborate our earlier findings by showing that the positive effects of regular tea consumption are the result of better brain organization resulting from the prevention of disruption of interregional connections."

As cognitive performance and brain organization are closely linked, further research is needed to better understand how functions such as memory emerge from brain circuits, as well as possible interventions to better preserve cognition during the process. of aging. Feng and his team intend to examine the effects of tea as well as bioactive compounds found in tea on cognitive decline.

Reproduced from the National University of Singapore

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