Having the blues,take a drink
December 18th 2009 19:21
About 34 percent of the men and 39 percent of the women had symptoms of depression. These symptoms were severe in about 20 percent of the men and in about 24 percent of the women.
Dr. Kaijun Niu, at Tohoku University Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering in Sendai, in Japan and colleagues found men and women aged 70 and older who drank four or more, versus one or fewer, cups of green tea daily were 44 percent less likely to have symptoms of depression.
According to the researchers, the protective effect of high green tea consumption on symptoms of depression did not fade after they factored in social and economic status, gender, diet, history of medical problems, use of antidepressant medications, smoking, and physical activity.
By contrast, there was no association between consumption of black or oolong tea, or coffee, and lower symptoms of depression.
A green tea constituent, the amino acid theanine, which is thought to have a tranquilizing effect on the brain, may explain the "potentially beneficial effect" shown in the current study, Niu noted in an email to Reuters Health.
nevertheless, further studies are necessary to confirm whether greater green tea intake actually has antidepressant effects.
SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2009
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