The Brain Gain from Green Tea

It has been a long-held belief that the flavonoids in green tea protect the brain from dementia. What remained unknown, however, was whether the process of digestion rendered those compounds inactive and, therefore, of no value.

Researchers at Newcastle University have found that digestion renders green tea more protective: the digested flavonoids prevent accumulated toxins from attacking and destroying brain cells. Digestion also boosts the ability of these compounds to slow tumour growth.

D.

Psychology Today, September/October 2011, "The Real Tea Party", Rebecca Searles, p. 46.

Psychoactive Substance: Caffeine Revisited

It seems that research continues to unearth more and more information about caffeine.  Caffeine, which is found in substantial amounts in coffee and to a lesser degree in tea and dark chocolate, appears to have positive benefits beyond those which may initially spring to mind. More and more neuroprotective effects of the world's most popular psychoactive substance are indicated in a survey of new studies which should be of interest to our aging population. 

Caffeine belongs to a family of central nervous system stimulants known as methylxanthines.  Caffeine stimulates us, making us more focused and alert, by blocking adenosine. This prevents the brain from detecting exhaustion. Additionally, it causes a stream of adrenaline to be released which also makes us more alert. Caffeine can also enhance physical endurance by inhibiting the perception of pain in muscles and by diminishing a sense of muscle fatigue by blocking the adenosine receptors on sensory nerve endings. 

Several metabolites of caffeine - paraxanthine, theobromine, theophylline - have been indicated to assist persons suffering from Parkinson's disease.  The chemicals protect against the loss of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, in the region of the brain called the stratium.  This, in turn, reverses the impaired motor control which is one of the hallmark symptoms of the disease.  These chemicals also keep dopamine-producing  neurons from deteriorating.

Regular daily consumption of at least three cups of coffee has been found to prevent cognitive decline in seniors.  It also appears to preserve - perhaps even restore - working memory in those suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. It does this by inhibiting the production of beta-amyloid protein. This protein can accumulate in the brain, forming plaques that theoretically give rise to brain degeneration.

There is also some evidence that drinking five or more cups of tea and coffee per day can help to prevent the development of glioma, a type of tumor that arises in the supportive tissue of the brain.  Further research indicates that a mere half cup of tea or coffee per day reduces the risk by 34 percent.  The exact mechanism of how this actually works has not been determined.

Caffeine boosts mood in most people. Consuming caffeine beyond one's tolerance level, however, can cause angry outbursts, agitation, increased blood pressure, tachycardia and insomnia.

D.

This article has been adapted from Psychology Today, March/April 2011, "The Case for Caffeine", Katherine Schreiber, p. 46.

New Thoughts on Creativity

According to some new studies outlined in the recent issue of Psychology Today, you may want to ditch your old ideas as to what fuels creativity and  consider one or more of the techniques outlined below.

1.  If you are usually a morning person, try creating at night when you are sleepy.  Creativity requires non-specific thinking.  When your tired brain wanders, it can make random connections.  This may kick-start new ideas.

2.  Good time management practices may improve creativity.  Setting aside specific creative time each day reduces stress and allows for space where ideas can flourish.

3.  Embracing conflict can lead to novel thinking so don't shy away from it.  Recognize the potential in making sense in contradictions, butting heads, and thinking outside the box.

4.  Background noise can enhance creativity, but too much noise can be distracting because it impairs the ability to process information.  Abstract thinking requires about the volume you would find in a coffee shop.

Psychology Today, May/June 2012, "Four Secrets of Creativity", p.9.

The Attraction Paradox

A strong trait that initially attracts you to a mate can often become, to you, your mate's most annoying feature.  According to an article in the January/February 2012 edition of Scientific American Mind, repeated exposure, disillusionment and the day to day contact in a long-term relationship go a long way toward making each other's traits more annoying than the quirks of other people.  "Learning to reclassify annoying behaviors, increasing awareness of one's own flaws and sharing new experiences can help turn those peccadilloes back into perks." (1)

Extreme traits in individuals tend to be valued and awarded.  For instance, strong independence in a person can be highly valued in today's society.  Turn this trait around though, and after some time has passed in a relationship, the partner who is 'too independent' may leave his mate feeling quite unneeded.  That can spell death for a relationship.

Other so-called positive qualities can also be viewed from the opposite end of the spectrum so they become highly irksome:
- People who are nice and agreeable can later be seen as weak-willed and passive;
- People who are strong-willed can later appear stubborn and unreasonable;
- Extraverted, lively people can later be seen as non-stop performers who always have to be the center of attention;
- The caring suitor, who listens well and responds to your every need can later be seen as clingy and needy;
- An exciting risk taker can come across over time as an irresponsible parent;
- A physically attractive partner can later be viewed as 'high-maintenance';
- Laid back can later be seen as lazy; and
- The driven, high-achieving partner can later be seen as a workaholic. (2)

D.

(1) and (2), Scientific American Mind, January/February 2012, "The Partnership Paradox", J. Palca and F. Lichtman, p. 61. 

Berries Can Help Prevent Cognitive Decline

According to a recent study published in the "Annals of Neurology", cognitive aging - the ability to think, to reason, to remember - is delayed by up to 2.5 years in seniors who eat greater amounts of berries. Adding more berries to the diet may counteract the inflammation which contributes to cognitive decline. 

Harvard scientists looked at information gleaned from the Nurses Health Study which began in 1976.  It was found that women over the age of 70, who consumed a higher intake of berries, had a delay in cognitive aging by as much as 2.5 years.

"Reduced cognitive aging was also associated with a higher total consumption of flavonoids and anthocyanidins (chemical compounds that give fruits and vegetables their pigment - some of the most colorful and deeply colored fruits and vegetables are the richest in anthocyanidins)."(1) 

In addition to berries, look to black and red grapes, cranberries, red cabbage, beets, red onion, purple potatoes and eggplant.

D.

(1)  "Berries Keep Aging Minds Sharp", Sylvia Booth Hubbard, April 25, 2012, www.newsmaxhealth.com

The Caffeine Ritual

The morning caffeine ritual (in the form of tea or coffee) is never something that I have been a part of, but countless others have been and still are.  It is a normal part of daily life around the world that billions of consumers enjoy.  It's calming.  It helps to order the day. 

The British have turned their afternoon tea ritual into quite the pageant of pomp and luxury.  In certain locations in London, afternoon tea is served amid marble pillars and huge floral displays, in delicate cups made with the finest bone china.  Finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, and fruit tarts are served along with traditional teas such as Earl Grey and English Breakfast.

In Japan, the tea ritual has grown to transcend the tea itself.  The elegant tea ceremony matters as much, if not more than, the tea itself as kimonos glide across the floor, the wearers pouring tea into hand-molded earth-tone cups.

In southern India, junior monks deliver kettles of butter tea (black tea with milk, butter, and salt added) to more senior monks as a way of fueling early morning hours of prayer and spiritual debate.

Americans and Canadians sit in casual places like Starbucks sipping their javas while reading their newspapers as others grab coffees to take on the run to offices, meetings, or gyms. A flood of new, upscale coffee shops (which also sell tea) has turned the cheap cup of coffee, refills free, into a three to four dollar beverage brewed and blended to one's personal taste by a personal barista.  Howard Schultz, the man who invented Starbucks, turned a single espresso bar in a corner of a coffee company into a Fortune 500 company over the period of two decades.  (Earlier, Schultz had visited Milan where he fell in love with the ambience of the great Italian institution, the espresso bar.  Not only did he observe that the Italian coffee experience was about fine coffee, he also gleaned that it was about conversation and community, and he wanted to bring that whole concept to Seattle, Washington.)

The average person living in Finland, where coffee consumption per capita is the highest in the world, ingests an estimated 145 grams of caffeine a year. (1)

Much of the research investigating the health effects of caffeine indicates benefits for human health at moderate levels of consumption (about 300 mg caffeine per day which is about 2 medium-sized cups of brewed coffee).  Caffeine can help to "relieve pain, thwart migraine headaches, reduce asthma symptoms, and elevate mood.  As a mental stimulant, it increases alertness, cognition, and reaction speed; because it combats fatigue, it improves performance on vigilance tasks like driving, flying, solving simple math problems, and data entry." (2)

Caffeine is rarely abused (although at least one student committed suicide by ingesting 150 caffeine pills and more and more incidents of mixing caffeine-laden energy drinks like Red Bull with alcohol leading to negative health consquences are coming to light).  For most people, once they reach the jittery stage, they stop ingesting the caffeine which caused the jitters in the first place.  The point at which people reach the jittery stage varies greatly among individuals.  "Some people seem to be genetically more susceptible to caffeine's effects and may have increased anxiety after consuming even small amounts.  In a minority of people, doses of 300 milligrams or more may prompt an increase in tension, anxiety, even panic attacks, which may account for why studies show that nervous people generally have lower caffeine consumption." (3)

Some coffee users find that even a day without caffeine causes headaches, irritability, a lack of energy, and sleepiness.  Withdrawal symptoms, however, usually dissipate within a few days.  The desire to avoid withdrawal may explain why billions around the world continue to consume the beverage.  In fact, any improvement in mood or performance after consuming caffeine could simply be relief from withdrawal symptoms.  According to Derk-Jan Dijk, a physiologist at the University of Surrey's sleep research centre, "it may be that we are all on one of those endless cycles (in which) you take caffeine, and you are more alert.  Then, the next morning, the effect has worn off and you need more of the drug to restore the alertness.  But maybe we could step off the cycle.  For those of us who work during the day, we might do just as well without caffeine." (4)

D.

(1)  National  Geographic, January 2005, "Caffeine", T. R. Reid, p.20.
(2)  National Geographic, January 2005, pp. 26 - 27.
(3)  Ibid., p. 27.
(4)  Ibid.,  p. 29.

Notes on Mindfulness

People tend to spend much of their time trying to quell negative thoughts or emotions. This can take a lot of energy - energy which would be better utlized elsewhere in life - energy to do something positive.  Practising mindfulness does not involve the avoidance of negative emotions and emotional distress in general.  Rather, thoughts and feelings of negativity are experienced and then accepted by cultivating the ability to look at the thoughts/emotions in a detached fashion, in a non-judgmental way.  They are then experienced as less unpleasant and less threatening.  This in turn leads to a better ability to withstand distress without needing to resort to psychological defenses or maladaptive coping strategies in order to decrease the intensity of the emotions.

Thoughts and feelings are not assumed to be valid or permanent - they are seen as subjective and transient.  This type of decentered detachment has been shown to be assoiciated with a lowered risk of depressive relapse.

D.

Adapted from "Mindfulness Matters", www.mindfulness-matters.org/what -is-mindfulness/