Green Tea and a reflection on scientific advancement

BY MARIA FLOWERS – Green tea, a hallmark of medicinal prowess, has been used for its healing powers since the Han dynasty, where it came to be seen as a symbol of status. Although green tea may provide a mental giddy-up for its consumers, the evidence is not there that it improves your health.  

There are cultural components to drinking green tea, as well. In China, tea leaves are often given as gifts and are used in worship. 

Nutritional studies are hard to conduct due to the vast amount of competing variables that could be at play. We know that flavonoids are powerful antioxidants that can reduce inflammation and swelling and that caffeine is known to increase mental alertness, but the benefits of drinking green tea do not translate well to statistics. 

Green tea in 3 forms (from left to right): the infused leaves, the dry leaves, and the liquor

Green tea has been shown to enhance cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, and keep blood sugar levels low; however, few trials have provided conclusive evidence for these benefits. This is a frequent theme within ancient practices of medicine and nutrition studies — the data is there, but it is also not there.

But as time goes on, we are getting better at addressing the purported health benefits of these so-called “ancient medicines.”

For example, researchers in Singapore were able to compare the effects of long-term tea consumption on structural and functional brain connectivity using neuroimaging data. The study involved obtaining fMRIs of 36 healthy adults who were split into “tea-drinkers” who drank tea regularly and “non-tea-drinkers” who drank little to no tea. 

The results revealed the tea-drinkers had enhanced brain connectivity compared to the brains of non-tea-drinkers. When the brain’s neural network is better organized, information processing can be performed more effectively, and cognitive ability will improve as a result. Think of it like tidying up your room- if you organize your bookshelf/closet, it will make you more productive in the long run! The same goes for the brain, where neuronal function improves when neurons are able to transmit signals in an organized way.

These findings also promote tea as a possible protective agent against age-related cognitive decline as found in patients with Alzheimers.

So what does this mean for scientific advancement? As science continues to progress, it will prove beneficial to reflect on ancient nutritional and healing practices, such as green tea consumption.

Think of green tea as a torch being passed down from our ancestors-rooted in ancient ideals and customs, but very much influential in today’s culture as well. As young adults in our industries, we are responsible for challenging the status quo of our predecessors. 

We should demonstrate and encourage creativity in the research process (as an ode to the youth), while appreciating the works of ancient medicine, such as green tea (as a bow to our elders). The careful balance between the two approaches resembles that of a mentor and mentee. There can be something valuable gained from each perspective, new or old. 

I challenge you as a reader, the next time you drink green tea, to think about the ancient origins of medicine as well as the future of  scientific advancement in natural medicine

Photography Source: https://visual.ly/community/infographic/health/how-green-tea-good-you

Works Cited:

Li J, Romero-Garcia R, Suckling J, Feng L. Habitual tea drinking modulates brain efficiency: evidence from brain connectivity evaluation. Aging (Albany NY). 2019; 11:3876-3890. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.102023