Green Tea Beats the Blues

Seniors are less likely to be depressed if they sip four or more cups of green tea daily. In a study involving both men and women, all of whom were over 70, Japanese researchers found that those subjects who drank more than four cups of green tea were 44 percent less likely to report symptoms of depression than those who drank less than four cups daily. The effects of green tea held true even after the researchers factored in gender, social and economic status, diet, history of medical problems and antidepressant use. No such association with depression was found for black or oolong tea or coffee. More studies are needed to confirm that drinking green tea really does have an anti-depressant effect, but the investigators noted that the amino acid theanine found in green tea may play a role in the benefits they saw. The study was published in the December 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Green Tea for Weight Control

Following previous research suggesting that green tea affects metabolism, researchers at Penn State fed obese mice epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a compound found in most green tea, and also put them on a high fat diet. Another group of mice, serving as controls, were fed the same high fat diet but no EGCG. The investigators found that the mice receiving EGCG gained weight 45 percent more slowly than the mice that didn’t get the compound. They also found that the mice on the green tea supplement showed an increase of nearly 30 percent in fecal lipid (fats), which suggested that the EGCG was limiting fat absorption. Both groups of mice ate the same amount of food - apparently the EGCG didn’t reduce the mouse appetite. To get an equivalent amount of EGCG used in this study, a human would have to drink 10 cups of green tea daily, the investigators said. But they noted that other studies have indicated drinking just a few cups of green tea daily may help with weight control.