How often do you drink tea? All the time, if you’re like most people! In both the U.S. and around the world, tea ranks as the most popular beverage aside from water itself.
Now, how often do you drink green tea? Probably not so much, if you’re like most Americans. While green tea is extremely popular in other parts of the world, it accounts for only 15% of the tea consumed in America.
Both green tea and black tea offer a number of health benefits, including a plethora of powerful antioxidants. The same is true for other teas, coffee, and espresso. But green tea stands out from the pack as a kind of “super drink.”
In fact, a new study at WebMD.com reveals that drinking green tea regularly may significantly reduce your risk of developing dementia diseases, including Alzheimer’s.
Maybe that’s no surprise. Dementia would join a long list of other serious health threats that appear to be curbed by routine green tea consumption:
• Heart health
• Cancer
• Type 2 diabetes
• Obesity
• Inflammation
• Poor eyesight
• Osteoporosis
• Anxiety
• Many more
How much green tea do you need? That may be the most exciting part of this study: drinking as little as one cup every week could provide some protection against dementia, according to the study. (It’s important to note that some of the other health conditions listed above require a greater rate of consumption before the preventative effects kick in.) Daily use is even better.
Those who drank black tea or coffee instead did not see the same declines in dementia.
This is exciting news, indeed. As Phoenix elder law attorneys, we know firsthand how devastating a dementia diagnosis can be. We welcome any news about easily accomplished prevention (and lately, there’s a lot of that news!). Green tea is an inexpensive brew and even has a delicious (once acquired) taste. With your doctor’s permission, maybe it’s time to drink up and go green!
