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Green tea can improve brain function.

Green tea has been hailed for many health benefits, including its effects against cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Now, new research suggests the beverage can enhance our brain's cognitive functions, particularly the working memory.  

What has this to do with workpolace safety?  Anything that can help us make the right decisions must be good.

The research team - including Prof. Christoph Beglinger and Prof. Stefan Borgwardt of the University Hospital of Basel in Switzerland - says their findings suggest that green tea could be promising in the treatment of cognitive impairments associated with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as dementia. 

green tea

They recently published their findings in the journal  Psychopharmacology.

Green tea, native to China and India, is produced from the leaves of the  Camellia sinensis bush. Unlike other teas, green tea is made from unoxidized leaves. This minimal processing means it is rich in antioxidants. 

Past research has associated the beverage with many health benefits. Last year, for example,  Medical News Today reported on a study suggesting that green tea may reduce stroke risk, while another study found that it could help fight prostate cancer. 

Previous studies have also suggested that green tea may have a beneficial impact on the brain's cognitive functions. However, according to the researchers of this most recent study, the exact mechanisms behind this claim have been unclear. 

Green tea 'boosts connectivity between parietal and frontal cortex of the brain' 

To further investigate, the team conducted a study using 12 healthy male volunteers with a mean age of 24.1 years. 

Participants were given a milk whey-based soft drink containing 27.5 g of green tea extract, while others were given a soft drink without the green tea extract. Volunteers were unaware of which drink they had been given. 

The participants were then required to carry out a series of working memory tasks. During these tasks, their brain activity was measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 

 

The researchers found that the participants who consumed the soft drink with the green tea extract showed increased connectivity between the right superior parietal lobule and the frontal cortex of the brain. This activity correlated with improved performance on the working memory tasks. 

 

Read more:- http://www.researchgate.net/publication/260916194_Green_tea_extract_enhances_parieto-frontal_connectivity_during_working_memory_processing 

 

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