Packed with antioxidants, green tea is a delicious heart-healthy alternative to your morning coffee. And a paper recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that the drink has potential for helping protect your brain from Alzheimer’s disease, too.
When researchers at the University of Michigan mixed antioxidants extracted from green tea with clusters of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, they found that the antioxidants blocked the proteins from harming nearby cells.
A major caveat of the study is that it was done in a lab, so it’s impossible to say whether or not researchers would see the same results in a human brain, says Stephen G. Jones, M.D., who specializes in geriatric medicine at Greenwich Hospital.
“It’s way too early to say that green tea would definitely be beneficial to Alzheimer’s disease patients in terms of preventing it or curing it,” he says. But the antioxidants in green tea have been proven to prevent free radicals in your body which can damage cells and ultimately lead to aging, cancer, and degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, according to Dr. Jones.
Statistically, one out of two people over the age of 85 and one out of eight people over the age of 65 have dementia in this country. There are 70,000 people in Connecticut suffering from dementia.
While there’s ongoing research, there’s no “magic bullet” in terms of curing or preventing Alzheimer’s, says Kristen Cusato, southwest regional director of the Alzheimer’s Association, Connecticut Chapter.
“I wish I could say that if you play Scrabble four times a week and eat a quart of blueberries every day that you won’t get this disease, but we can’t say that right now,” she says. What her association, which helped fund the study, does say, is that everything you do to keep your heart healthy is also good for your brain. “That includes eating right, exercising, getting rest, keeping your blood pressure in check, and staying socially active.”
And although the science linking green tea with Alzheimer’s prevention isn’t conclusive, there’s pretty strong evidence that green tea does the body good in other ways. Here are a few places to grab it in Fairfield County:
Arogya Tea
131 Post Road East, Westport
The Drawing Room
5 Suburban Ave, Cos Cob
Team Blossom
An online store based out of Greenwich
Tusk & Cup
51 Ethan Allen Highway, Ridgefield
Visit alz.org/ct for more information about Alzheimer’s disease and the Alzheimer’s Association. A 24-hour helpline is available at (800) 272-3900