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Regular drinkers of green tea, remain healthy and able to function better in their daily lives as they age.

Green tea keeps you sprightly as you get older

Numerous studies already exist to show that regular consumption of green tea is a healthful habit. But researchers at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine set out to determine whether regular green tea consumption might reduce incident functionality disability in as we age.

The researchers analyzed data on 13,988 Japanese men and women aged 65 and older who participated in a large 2006 study. Questionnaires completed upon enrolment were analysed for the frequency of green, oolong and black tea intake, as well as coffee.

Over a three year follow-up period, incidents of functional disability  – that is problems with daily activities like going to the store or doing housework, or difficulty with more-basic needs like dressing and bathing  – occurred in 1,316 people.

Beyond lifestyle factors

For people who consumed 1-2 cups green tea per day, the risk of becoming disabled was 10% lower in comparison with those who reported drinking less than a cup per day. The likelihood of disability declined with greater green tea consumption so those drinking 5 or more cups a day had a 33% lower risk. No improvement in functional disability was found for drinking for coffee, or oolong or black tea. The green tea effect persisted even after researchers adjusted their findings to take into account numerous lifestyle factors.

For instance, green-tea drinkers generally had healthier diets – they ate more fish, vegetables and fruit – as well as more education, they smoked less, had fewer heart attacks and strokes and greater mental sharpness. They also tended to be more socially active and have more friends and family to rely on. (Studies have found that older adults with more “social support” are less likely to become disabled.)

But even with those factors considered, green tea itself was tied to a lower disability risk.

Historically healthy

Green tea has been drunk for thousands of years in the East is said to have more antioxidant properties than black tea and is known to contain the following:

• Polyphenols, especially catechins (epigallocatechin gallate)
• Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin K
• Carotenoids
• Several minerals, including zinc chromium, selenium, and manganese
• Tocopherols
• A range of other phytochemical compounds

The authors of this study say that previous studies have uncovered associations between green tea consumption and a lower risk of stroke, dementia, fracture and depression, all of which can contribute to disability. Green tea polyphenols have also been shown to improve leg strength, thereby reducing frailty, a major disability risk factor.

However, they say “To our knowledge, this is the first reported study to have proved the relation between green tea consumption and incident risk of functional disability”.