Mighty Tea

Scientists in Singapore have read the tea leaves, and found that a cup of tea is good for the brain.

The study, undertaken over a period of four years, adds to the growing knowledge about tea long extolled the virtues.

The main conclusion is that tea slows the degeneration of brain cells and keeps the mind sharp well into old age, said Professor Ng Tze Pin from the National University of Singapore (NUS) department of psychological medicine.

It was found that catechins, a natural compound in tea, protect brain cells from damaging protein build-up over the years, the maintenance of cognitive brain.

Moreover, the caffeine in tea except that in coffee, contains the natural protein theanine, which opposes the normal side effects of caffeine, such as high blood pressure, headaches and fatigue.

degeneration of brain cells caused by a combination of loss of nerve cells, predisposed genes, with small strokes and increased levels of harmful protein build-up, often leads to dementia.

There is still no cure for it. Approximately 24 million persons worldwide have some form of dementia, a disease that affects memory, thinking ability and behavior.

In Singapore, about 5 percent of those aged over 65 years and 13 percent of those above 70 suffer from dementia. Approximately 7,000 new cases are diagnosed each year and the number should increase to 187,000 by 2052.

The NUS team has studied the habits of tea drinking in China in 2501 55 and over, from September 2003 to December 2005. The team members were Professor Ng, Prof Kua Ee Heok, Dr. Lei Feng and Dr Mathew Niti, and Dr Yap Keng Bee Alexandra Hospital Department of Geriatric Medicine.

participants' health, attention, use language and visual and spatial abilities are assessed. Their consumption of tea - how often, how much and what kind - has been followed.

About 38 percent did not drink tea,. About 29 percent drank only one type of tea. The rest, about 33 percent drank a mixture of teas.

Two-thirds of the tea drinkers maintained their scores on memory tests even tow years later.

Among non-tea drinkers, 35 percent saw a decline in their scores on memory tests averaged two points, which means cognitive decline.

Age, education, physical activity level and other beverages have been taken into account.

Tea is the distinctive element of maintaining live cells in the brain. Professor Ng said: "The tea is cheap, non-toxic and widely consumed."

But the tea alone can not do the job. "It still means a lifetime of good habits and a balanced diet," he said.

behavioral scientists and psychologists have also said that constant use of the brain, including technical training of the brain-memory, memory-related games like Mahjong, an active social life and lots of exercise can improve the human memory and avoid memory decline associated with age.