UK NEWS

TWO CUPS OF TEA A DAY CUTS YOUR RISK OF DEMENTIA

The cup that cheers!

Saturday July 19,2008

By Victoria Fletcher

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PEOPLE who drink two cups of tea a day halve their risk of dementia, according to research.

But a study found that coffee drinkers saw no reduction in their risk, suggesting that antioxidant compounds in black tea might be the key.

A number of studies have already linked black tea and green tea to health benefits ranging from preventing heart disease to reducing the risk of some cancers.

With Britons among the most prolific tea drinkers, getting through 168 million cuppas every day, that should be good news.

But, although research on cells in the lab have suggested that compounds in tea called polyphenols may fight the plaques which cause Alzheimer’s, few studies in humans have confirmed it.

Now, however, a study by scientists in Singapore has studied the lifestyle of 2,500 people aged 55 or over and recorded how much tea they drank. Each volunteer also underwent a test to measure their cognitive function, or the “fitness” of their brain.

Two years later, researchers found that those drinking the most tea were least likely to have suffered cognitive decline, an early sign of dementia.

Drinking two to three cups a day cut the risk of illness by around 55%, while in heavy tea drinkers – those on six to 10 cups a day – it was 63%.

Coffee drinkers, on the other hand, saw either no benefit or a tiny increase in their risk of dementia, according to a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It is not known whether adding milk would reduce these effects as some studies suggest, but others say it has no influence.

It is believed that tea works its magic either through preventing oxidation, where cells are destroyed in the same way as rust rots a car, or by blocking the build-up of the brain deposits called plaques.

The researchers concluded: “Because tea is cheap, non-toxic and widely consumed, it has huge potential in promoting cognitive health and perhaps delaying dementia.”

Alzheimer’s and dementia affect an estimated 750,000 people in Britain, and the number is expected to more than double in the next 40 years as the population ages.

Earlier this week, a study suggested that a common drug to treat allergy may one day offer hope to Alzheimer’s patients. It was shown to improve the memory of those in the early stages of the disease.

But another study on a vaccine found that, although it reduced plaques, it did not stop the disease progressing.

This could be important as most research centres on how to prevent brain plaques from forming in the belief they block messages from flowing freely around the brain, triggering Alzheimer’s.

Tea has huge potential in promoting cognitive health and perhaps delaying dementia

Researchers

TOO MANY CAUSES.

19.07.08, 8:52pm

You know what, Victoria?. The stores are going to run out of tea now. Last week there was an article abour beetroot, how it helps to reduce blood pressure, now my local store has sold out. We buy it simply because we like it. But if these articles are so effective - could you write about the deadly effect of socialism on the pre-frontal lobes?. Merci.

• Posted by: bluenote • Report Comment

WHAT IS NORMAL?

19.07.08, 5:31pm

Getting dementia may be a result of other things in our diet. I understand too much aluminium can cause it. It's possible that the tannins or something nutralise contaminants in the drinking water.

These little stories are ultimately a bit pointless because next week we will find that the elevated levels of caffeen from tea and coffe accelerates the development of cancer.

Here's an interesting one, cyanide smells like almonds, and the inside of cherry pits smells like almonds too. Almonds and fruit seeds actually contain vitamin B17 which is a natural form of cyanide. This is said to only be toxic to cancer cells. Google it.

• Posted by: Wayland • Report Comment

TEA TOTAL

19.07.08, 7:28am

I am at the moment residing in Rhodes Greece. I was talking to a couple of American scientists, who have been researching the benefits of green tea.Their findings were extraordinary.
The normally get excited if they have a 2% success rate, but when they gave green tea to rats who had induced cancer, they said that they had a 60% success rate.
So my advice, even if their finding were exagerated, is drink green tea, it sound like it may be good for you. Happy drinking.

• Posted by: expatpete60 • Report Comment

A RELATIVE OF MINE LOVED TEA AND DRANK LOTS OF IT

19.07.08, 7:24am

She still developed early dementia.
Please live your life to the full.
Drink tea
Drink coffee
Drink wine
Eat fresh whole foods
Enjoy your life
Around the corner waits the devil.

• Posted by: marigold • Report Comment