Truth be known, I am a diet soda drinker and NO studies have shown any health benefits of downing a bunch of Diet Coke, Pepsi Zero Sugar, Coke Zero or any other diet sodas. When I was a child my mother used to force me to drink tea when I was ill claiming that there are LOTS of health benefits from drinking tea. Turns out Frances Posner may have been on to something.
A recent study came out of Japan showing that elderly people that consumed 3-4 cups of green tea per day had fewer white matter lesions in the brain compared to those elderly people that did not drink green tea. The less white matter lesions would translate into less incidence/severity of dementia.
Green tea consumption has also been reported to be beneficial:
- helping combat some cancers, including those of the breast, gastrointestinal tract, lung, prostate and liver
- encouraging weight loss in people with obesity
- anti-inflammatory effects on the skin and cardiovascular system.
- cognitive benefits.
Aside from the recent study from Japan, in 2022 a “meta analysis “ (i.e. looking at a number of different studies and adding these studies together to come up with conclusions) of green tea consumption also showed a decrease in dementia risk.
As I really cannot find any major side effects/adverse health benefits of drinking 3-4 cups of green tea per day, it would seem that pretty much every person 60 years of age or older may consider adding green tea to their daily beverage intake.
I believe a number of people my age (69) and above fear dementia as a future issue, as this would place a tremendous burden on our loved ones. Drink that green tea!
Cat Stevens put on an album called “TEA For The Tillerman” and my favorite song from the album was “Father And Son”…let’s go back to 1970.
