Drinking eight cups of tea daily might sound a bit too much for some people, but health experts say the intake can help fight heart disease, improve brain power and also boost longevity.

Independent Dietician, Dr. Carrie Ruxton’s research on caffeine at King’s College, London, saw her review 47 published studies to reach the conclusion that caffeinated drinks such as tea, coffee and cocoa have positive effects on mental function, increasing alertness, feelings of well-being and short-term memory.

Previous studies have already linked the drink’s healthy antioxidant properties and high flavonoid content to preventing heart disease and cutting the risk of some cancers.

Ruxton has supported earlier reports by claiming that an optimal intake of 400mg of caffeine a day leads to “key benefits in terms of mental function and heart health”.

She assessed three studies, accounting for almost 90,000 patients, to find that drinking four cups of tea or coffee a day reduced chances of cardiovascular disease.

She referred to another study of 26,500 middle-aged smokers, which hinted that men who ingested more than two cups of tea a day pulled down the probability of getting a stroke by 20 percent.

Ruxton insisted that she aimed to “debunk” false beliefs surrounding caffeine.

Moreover, she asserted that people who avoid drinking team might be doing more harm than good.

“People who cut out caffeinated drinks may miss out on the potential health benefits of the compounds they contain,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

She further suggested that there was “no need” for parents to stop children from drinking tea and coffee. In fact, she claimed it was better than juice in some regards.

Also, Dr Catherine Hood, of the Tea Advisory Panel, agreed to Ruxton’s claims.

She said, “Caffeinated drinks have been unfairly demonized. Black tea, in particular, contains polyphenols, which are natural plant antioxidants.”

“These have beneficial effects on many biochemical processes in the body because they protect cells against harmful free radicals.” she said.

“Flavonoids are thought to be especially useful, with a number of studies reporting a link between them and lower risk of heart attack.” she added.

Another way to improve your brain is push your brain in novel ways by playing Myfitbrain.

Dr. Nancy Snyderman is interviewed about giving advice on improving your memory and keeping your brain strong.
To check out the video, click the following link: Boosting Brain Power

On 8 March 1969, an extraordinary experiment was reported in the pages of Nature, Europe’s leading science journal. A group of people took turns sitting in an old dentist’s chair and describing the room around them. They commented on the presence of a phone on the table, a nearby vase, facial expressions and how they wore their hair. It was remarkable because all were blind.

The scientific establishment took a dim view of the work and, for the most part, dismissed it as implausible. But today it stands as one of the first, and most striking, demonstrations of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt. The blind people had learned to “see” through the sensation of touch.
Read more about this experiment at: Brain Won’t Be Contained

Education may provide mental reserves that help to keep the brain agile into old age. Those are the findings of a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Other studies have shown similar correlations between years of education and risk of Alzheimer’s disease. But the current study suggested that even those individuals whose brains appeared “scarred” by Alzheimer’s could still be cognitively normal, especially if they had received more years of formal education.

The researchers found that seniors with the most years of formal education scored higher on tests of memory, learning and thinking compared to those who spent the least time in school. In fact, many of the highly educated individuals who did well on the memory tests were shown by imaging tests to have the same kind of damage seen in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s disease. The findings were published in the Archives of Neurology, one of the medical journals from the American Medical Association.

Read the rest of this article to learn more about what the study showed: Cognitive Reserve Theory

What if I told you that the most important muscle you will ever need to improve your health and fitness is the one encased inside your skull?

Yes, our ability to flex our brain power when the going gets tough is what separates the fit from the unfit, and the fit from the really fit. Yet it is the one area of training many active people – and even personal trainers – neglect the most. Indeed, the psychological aspects of training are just as important as the physical ones.

Read more of this article by Devon McGregor, National Post.