Mental Abilities and Tea

I've always found that tea produces a calm sense of alertness, a wakefulness without jitters, that I can't get elsewhere. (Blame it on the unique blend of caffeine, l-theophylline, and polyphenols.) According to several new studies, it does more that just that. Apparently, it tea helps older women avoid the decline in verbal skills associated with aging. From the NY Times:

"After controlling for other variables, the scientists found that women at age 65 who drank three or more cups of coffee or tea a day were about one-third less likely to have a significant decline in verbal skills than those who drank a cup less. By age 85, they were 70 percent less likely to suffer those deficits compared with women who drank less than a cup of coffee or tea."

It may also help people who suffer from sleep apnea reduce concentration problems. According to Dr. Andrew Weil (who got his info from the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine):

"Six to 10 cups of green tea per day may help reduce memory and concentration problems ... among people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea.... Drinking green tea won’t help you overcome sleep apnea (you’ll still need to use your breathing device) but may lessen any memory or concentration problems associated with the disorder."

Very interesting. I was glad to see both coffee and tea included in the first study. It was conducted by the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research. Tea's popularity is quickly rising in France right now. It's good to see researchers stay atop the trends in their studies--I hope it catches on in the US!

Osteoporosis

Apparently, drinking tea may slow bone loss. Excerpt:

The bone mineral density in tea drinkers was higher than in non-tea drinkers. Tea drinkers also had less loss of bone density over a four-year period compared with non-tea drinkers. These results took into account factors such as smoking history and use of calcium supplements.

...

"Other variables, such as dietary calcium and coffee intake, physical activity, and smoking did not appear to be important confounders of the relation between tea and [bone density]," write researcher Amanda Devine, of the University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia, and colleagues. "Thus, overall our data support the concept that tea intake has beneficial effects on bone structure by reducing bone loss."


Cool. If you're interested in tea and the body, read more about tea and iron absorption on my site.