There is nothing that a cup of chai cannot solve, says every chai lover. Everything from chilly winter mornings to late-night work shifts, chai proves to be the best friend in every situation. But chai lovers do feel guilty about sipping one cup after the other and overdoing it many times. But here’s some good news.
This caffeine-based drink is known to increase alertness and decrease sleepiness. A recent study has found that drinking tea at least three times a week can lead to a healthy and longer life expectancy.
The Study
The study was published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. The author of the study said, “Habitual tea consumption is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death. The favorable health effects are the most robust for green tea and for long-term habitual tea drinkers.”
The study included 100,902 participants. All of the participants had a history of heart attack, stroke, or cancer. These people were divided into two groups – habitual tea drinkers and non-habitual and never tea drinkers. The duration of the study was 7.3 years.
Results
According to the study, habitual tea drinkers who had tea regularly had a 56 percent lower risk of fatal heart disease and stroke, 39 percent lower risk of incident heart disease and stroke and 29 percent decreased risk of all-cause death compared to non-habitual and consistent never tea drinkers.
The Reason
The main bioactive compound in tea namely polyphenols is not stored in the body for the long-term. Thus, the frequent tea intake may be necessary for cardioprotective effect.
The green tea drinkers were linked with approximately 25 percent lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and other causes of death. However, no association was observed for black tea.
Green tea drinkers are more benefitted as green tea is a rich source of polyphenols as compared to black or adrak wali chai.
Another Research
In another research, the research team found that individuals who consumed either green tea, oolong tea, or black tea at least four times a week for about 25 years had brain regions that were interconnected in a more efficient way.
Researchers have found that regular tea drinkers have better-organized brain regions and this is associated with healthy cognitive function as compared to non-tea drinkers.
“Our results offer the first evidence of the positive contribution of tea drinking to the brain structure and suggest that drinking tea regularly has a protective effect against age-related decline in brain organization,” according to a study authored by Feng Lei, Assistant Professor from the National University of Singapore.
Previous researchers have demonstrated that tea intake is beneficial to human health and the positive effects include mood improvement and cardiovascular disease prevention.
For the study published in the journal Aging, the research team recruited 36 adults aged 60 and above and gathered data about their health, lifestyle, and psychological well-being.
The elderly participants also had to undergo neuropsychological tests and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
The study was carried out from 2015 to 2018.
Upon analyzing the participants’ cognitive performance and imaging results, the research team found that individuals who consumed either green tea, oolong tea, or black tea at least four times a week for about 25 years had brain regions that were interconnected in a more efficient way.
“We have shown in our previous studies that tea drinkers had better cognitive function as compared to non-tea drinkers,” Lei said.
“Our current results relating to brain network indirectly support our previous findings by showing that the positive effects of regular tea drinking are the result of improved brain organization brought about by preventing disruption to interregional connections,” he added.