Coffee and tea may do more than just jolt you awake—they could also help keep your brain healthy, according to a slew of recent studies.
Researchers have linked these beverages with protection from depression, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
One large study investigated the link between depression and the intake of coffee, tea and sweet drinks by following more than a quarter of a million older adults for 10 years. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health recorded consumption of each type of beverage in 1995 and 1996 and then compared those figures with participants’ self-reported diagnoses of depression after 2000. Results showed that coffee intake was associated with a slightly lower risk for depression, according to a paper published last April in PLOS ONE. The paper found little effect from tea, but other work has shown tea to be protective.
A study reported in November 2013 found older Chinese adults who regularly drank any kind of tea had a significantly smaller risk for depression: 21 percent for those who drank tea between one and five days a week and 41 percent for daily drinkers. The researchers also asked about the participants’ leisure activities to ensure that the tea, and not teatime socializing, provided the protective effect.