07/02/2025
Here’s a post from a favorite clinical herbalist of mine- green tea and some of its potentials for those that can take part. Simple and seemingly effective.
Green tea consumption has been linked to fewer cerebral white matter lesions in Japanese community-dwelling older adults without dementia. Researchers from institutions across Japan teamed up to analyse data from 8,766 volunteers over the age of 65, collected as part of a survey conducted between 2016 and 2018. Self-reported green tea and coffee consumption was cross-referenced against magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, which measured overall brain volume and features of five different brain regions.
Multivariable-adjusted analysis revealed significant correlations between fewer cerebral white matter lesions and higher green tea consumption, whereas no significant differences were found between green tea consumption and hippocampal or total brain volume. Regarding coffee consumption, no significant differences were observed in cerebral white matter lesions or hippocampal or total brain volumes. The effect was relatively small, being less than 10% between the highest and lowest green tea consumption.
Given previous investigations linking green tea with lower blood pressure, and other studies associating lower blood pressure with a reduced risk of dementia, at least one mechanism responsible for the results could be cardiovascular.
"Moreover, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee, which negatively affects blood pressure, thus suggesting that green tea may have a more beneficial impact on white matter lesions," write the researchers.
The authors stated that their findings indicate that drinking green tea, especially three or more glasses per day, may help prevent dementia.
Given the small effect observed, green tea should be just one element of any strategy aimed at reducing these lesions. A more comprehensive phytonutrient approach, as per my microcirculation diet, should have a greater impact.
For more information see: https://www.sciencealert.com/drinking-more-green-tea-each-day-cuts-risk-of-dementia-brain-lesions