Scientists have discovered a new useful property of the familiar drink.
It seems that one can argue for centuries which is better – tea or coffee. And if tea, then how is it better to drink it – with or without milk, with salt or butter, with fried rice or lemon. Scientists, in turn, discover the positive sides in one or the other drink. But today we are talking about tea. It turned out to help slow down the aging of the brain and maintain its healthy structure.
The study was carried out, of course, by British scientists – who, if not them, should be interested in what, apart from pleasure, the culture of English tea drinking has in itself. For the study, they recruited 36 people aged 60 and over and conducted a series of cognitive tests and MRI brain scans with them. And at the same time they asked how often they drink tea – green, black, oolong. It turned out that those who drank tea at least four times a week over the past 25 years had better brain volume than coffee fans. And with age, as has already been established by scientists, the size of the brain decreases – it literally dries up.
Well, cognitive tests have shown that tea drinkers think faster.
“The culture of drinking tea has a positive effect on the preservation of the structure of the brain,” added Dr. Feng Lei, head of research. – Tea protects against age-related changes. An analogy can be drawn to traffic, where different areas of the brain are destinations and the connections between them are roads. If traffic is better organized, it is clear that transport is more efficient and uses fewer resources. So it is in the brain: when the connections between different areas are better structured, information is processed better and faster. “
93-year-old Queen Elizabeth II is one of the most famous connoisseurs of tea
And that’s not the only bonus you get from every cup of tea. The drink has at least four other beneficial properties.
1. In 2017, scientists proved that tea helps prevent type XNUMX diabetes. The fact is that this drink smooths out the jumps in blood sugar caused by eating sweets. Experts believe tea’s powerful polyphenol compounds block the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream.
2. In 2018, German scientists found that tea polyphenols help the body fight internal stress.
3. Another study by Dr. Lei found that regular consumption of green and black tea can help improve memory. Both types contain biologically active additives that have a beneficial effect on the ability to memorize information.
4. Different types of tea are good for different purposes. For example, green tea protects against heart problems, white tea is more effective than others in preventing cancer, black tea helps to cope with the effects of poisoning, and pu-erh tea helps to lose weight.