Health Express

For many people, encroaching age represents a time where our mental function can slow down with our bodies. Of course, sometimes this comes sooner rather than later! Fortunately, there may now be something we can do about it.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that those people who consumed more flavanoids in their diet had better cognitive function than those with lower levels of flavanoids. Flavanoids are one of the active constituents in tea. Both green tea and black tea have good levels of flavanoids. For example, one cup of tea brewed for 40 to 60 seconds will have about 140mg of flavanoids in it. Stronger tea, that brewed for longer, has a greater concentration of flavanoids.

Tea is not the only dietary source of flavanoids, however. They are also found in vegetables, fruit, chocolate and coffee.

The study followed a group of 1,640 people whose median age was 77 years. They did not have dementia at the start of the study, which followed them for 10 years. The levels of flavanoids in their diet was measured using food frequency questionnaires 4 times in that 10 year period.

Those people who consumed between 13.6 and 36.9mg of flavanoids daily lost an average of 1.2 points on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), which was one of 3 tests to measure cognitive function. The others were Benton’s Visual Retention Test, and the “Isaacs” Set Test. Those whose daily intake of flavanoids were lowest lost more - 2.1 points. This was all over a 10 year period, and the results were adjusted for other factors such as age, sex, and educational level that may have otherwise skewed things.

Tea is rich in antioxidants, and green tea has become very popular with dieters because of its’ thermogetic properties. This means it helps boost metabolism slightly. It can also help with blood sugar levels.

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