New Benefit to Drinking Green Tea? Is it an Antidepressant?
Depression is depressingly common: it is the most common mental health condition. Drinking green tea is easy, inexpensive, safe and perfectly pleasant. And it may be antidepressant. This study set out to see if it is.
This new study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of eight studies of green tea and depression. Green tea is rich in powerful antioxidants known as catechins. Catechins are a type of flavonoid known as polyphenols. The polyphenols in green tea have greater antioxidant activity than more famous antioxidants like vitamins C and E. They also increase levels of noradrenaline and dopamine, which may play an important role in fighting depression. Green tea is also loaded in an amino acid called theanine, which is found almost exclusively in green tea. Theanine is remarkable for stress.
So, given all the good things in green tea, could drinking it prevent depression? The answer is yes!
When all the research was put together, drinking green tea was found to reduce the risk of depression by a significant 34%.
Cutting the risk of depression by a third by simply sipping green tea is an amazing find that could change the lives of a lot of people.
J Nutr Sci Vitaminol 2022;68:155-61
