New Study: Green Tea Helps with Memory Loss

As we get older we all start to get a bit more forgetful. Heck, I am in my early 30’s and I know I forget more things than I did in my early 20’s! We have all accepted this as a part of aging, but should we? There is a new study published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research that may show how Green Tea can actually keep our memories sharp.

The magic of EGCG

EGCG is one of the main compounds in tea that makes it healthy. EGCG is responsible for fighting off cancer, heart disease and a ton of other diseases. The only bad thing about EGCG is the fact it is really hard to find in nature. Green Tea, White Tea and some Oolongs happen to be the best place to find EGCG anywhere.

The study

Researchers focused on EGCG in Green Tea and came to the conclusion that it can protect against degenerative mental diseases that come with age. Yun Bai, from the Third Military Medical University in Chongqing China commented: "We proposed that EGCG can improve cognitive function by impacting the generation of neuron cells, a process known as neurogenesis. We focused our research on the hippocampus, the part of the brain which processes information from short-term to long-term memory."

EGCG helps to create special cells

EGCG helps to create neural progenitor cells, which work a lot like stem cells in that they can transform into the type of cell that your body needs. To assess this the researchers ran tests on two seperate groups. One group was given EGCG while the other was not. The group that had the EGCG passed the test faster than the ones that were not given anything, which showed the researchers that EGCG improved memory. Bai Concluded: "We have shown that organic chemical EGCG acts directly to increase the production of neural progenitor cells, both in glass tests and in mice. This helps us to understand the potential for EGCG, and Green Tea which contains it, to help combat degenerative diseases and memory loss."

Note: Green Tea is not a wonder drug

While this is exciting news, I want to caution everyone that Green Tea is not a wonder drug and cannot cure all ailments and diseases. What it can do is help all of us live a healthy lifestyle. The way I look at it, I love tea for the ritual, the aroma and the taste, so let's all sip on our tea and enjoy it and if it ends up keeping our memories sharper as we age then that is just icing on the cake!

Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.201200035/abstract

photo: www.flickr.com/photos/fransall/8754339669