Tea slashes risk of cognitive decline

Brew up a brain boost with tea leaves

Maybe you only drink tea when you’re trying to fend off the evening chill.

Or maybe, when you’re offered a spot of tea, you immediately proclaim your undying allegiance to coffee.

If you’re already a tea drinker, give yourself a big pat on the back. If you’re not, listen up.

Because according to a new study, drinking as little as a single cup of brewed tea a day can slash your risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s in half.

And there’s no better time to put the kettle on than now!

Chinese researchers at the National University of Singapore spent seven years collecting data from 957 Chinese seniors and found that daily tea drinking reduced the risk of neurocognitive disorders by 50 percent.

The results were even more impressive for seniors who came from families with a history of Alzheimer’s or dementia — and who, therefore, were already genetically susceptible to the disease. Tea reduced their risk by a whopping 86 percent!

In the study, the tea drinkers didn’t have to change what they ate… or sweat buckets while exercising… or make ANY other lifestyle changes. All they had to do was polish off at least one cup of tea every day.

The study revealed what I’ve been sharing with you right here in eTips: that bioactive compounds in tea leaves (catechins, theaflavins, thearubigins, and L-theanine) have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

And, as a result, long-term tea drinking will protect your brain from vascular damage and the resulting decline of your nervous system. That means you can keep your independence longer and hold onto those precious memories even more tightly.

It’s all thanks to one of the cheapest and easiest to access drinks in the world!

According to the study, it doesn’t matter if you drink black tea or green tea. The only thing you have to remember is that it has to be brewed from whole tea leaves.

That’s how I prefer to take my tea anyway — without sogging up a bag made of god-knows-what that contains a metal staple and string and a paper tag. Nothing good can come from steeping that kind of chemical-laden packaging in hot water before you drink it.

Now, the subjects in the study were considered “elderly,” but if you’re not already drinking tea, there’s really no reason to wait.

Tea has been shown to protect against bone breaks, fight coronary artery disease, and even reduce your risk of death from certain types of cancers.

Green tea in particular can also jumpstart your metabolism.

Just make sure you know how to boil water!