Elderly tea lovers who drink more than five cups a day have been shown to experience significant cognitive benefits, according to a new study.
People 85 and over also showed better accuracy and speed of reaction which could help in a range of daily activities from driving to completing jigsaws.
“The skills we see maintained in this group of the very old may not only be due to the compounds present in tea but may also be due to the rituals of making a pot of tea or sharing a chat over a cup of tea,” said Dr Edward Okello, who led the Human Nutrition Research Centre project at Newcastle University.
The research used data from the Newcastle 85+ Study involving more than a thousand 85-year-olds from Newcastle and North Tyneside.
Started in 2006, studies are still continuing to this day, with about 200 participants as they become centenarians.
Research nurses gather information by visiting participants in their own homes to complete a health assessment made up of questionnaires, measurements, function tests and a fasting blood test. They have been looking for evidence that drinking black tea protects against memory loss.
Results have shown that higher levels of tea-drinking can significantly improve attention span and the ability to perform complex tasks (psychomotor speed). There has been no association found between drinking tea and overall memory function, however. Neither has a correlation been established between drinking tea and the execution of simple speed tasks.
The researchers suggest the findings mean that black tea should be considered for the very old in any diet which aims to improve attention and psychomotor speed.
"We now know that enjoying a cup of tea quenches your thirst and has benefits for over 85s attention span," Dr Okello said. "What better excuse do we need for enjoying a cuppa together?"
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Milner (15' OG), Dzeko (52'), Nainggolan (86', 90 4')
Liverpool 2
Mane (9'), Wijnaldum (25')
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 0
Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')
Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
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The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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