It is a comforting elixir that has been drunk for centuries and approximately 600,000 tons of the stuff is consumed each year. 

Now, it could protect you from developing dementia, according to new research from scientists who found that older Japanese people who drank green tea had fewer white matter lesions in their brains.

Researchers from multiple Japanese institutions analysed data on almost 8,800 participants over the age of 65, that was collected between 2016 and 2018.

The researchers then cross-referenced the participants self-reported tea and coffee consumption with MRI brain scans, which measured overall brain volume and the features of five different brain regions.

Wrtiting in npj Science of Food the research team explained there was a strong link between the amount of green tea consumed and the relative volume of damaging lesions across the brain.

“This cross-sectional study found a significant association between lower cerebral white matter lesions and higher green tea consumption, but not coffee consumption, in older adults without dementia, even after adjusting for confounding factors,” the researchers wrote.

The team worked out, on average, those who drank three cups of green tea per day had three per cent fewer white matter lesions compared with those who drank one cup per day. Those who drank seven to eight cups per day had six per cent fewer lesions, compared to those who drank one cup a day.

However, the researchers point out that green tea consumption did not affect the participants’ hippocampal volume or total brain volume, which can also indicate cognitive decline, while drinking green tea did not make a difference in people diagnosed with depression, or those with the APOE4 gene variant linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

But investigations linking green tea with lower blood pressure, and other studies linking lower blood pressure with a reduced risk of dementia suggest at least one mechanism responsible for the results could be cardiovascular.

“Moreover, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee, which negatively affects blood pressure, thus suggesting that green tea may have a more beneficial impact on white matter lesions,” they wrote.

Although the results are encouraging, the researchers point out its limitations, such as the number of participants and its focus on older Japanese people.

“Our findings indicate that drinking green tea, especially three or more glasses per day, may help prevent dementia,” they wrote.

“Nevertheless, further prospective longitudinal studies and basic research are needed to validate our results.”

This is great news for those who love their green tea, but for others who prefer stronger tastes a recent study into snacks and dementia may help you out.

It has long been known that what you eat can affect your health. Hippocrates, the father of western medicine, is thought to have said, “let thy food be thy medicine,” but it is only recently that we have isolated the chemical compounds that make this happen.

Flavonoids, for example, are the chemical compounds found in various plant products such as teas, citrus fruits and vegetables and can cause the bitter taste in fruit peel. More importantly, flavonoids are rich in antioxidants and can help your body stay healthy.

These compounds are also found in plant products like wine, tea, berries and dark chocolate, which is good news if you want to reduce your risk of developing dementia according to a new study.

Researchers from Queen’s University Belfast looked at the diets of people aged between and 70 and found that those who ate a flavonoid rich diet had a lower risk of developing dementia, particularly among those participants who were genetically at a higher risk of developing the disease.

The team analysed the eating habits of 120,000 people in the UK who had their dietary and medical data recorded in the UK Biobank’s records, from 2006 to 2010.

The researchers, led by Dr Amy Jennings said the study found that participants who consumed six extra daily servings of tea, red wine and berries had a lower risk of developing dementia, especially if they drank more tea.

“We were also able to show, for the first time in our knowledge, that these associations were evident in participants at high genetic risk of dementia and those with modifiable risk factors, including depression and hypertension, but not in those without,” she said.

“Our results suggest that inclusion of flavonoid-rich foods into the daily diet may lower dementia risk, especially in populations at high risk.”

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.