If one of your New Year's resolutions was to swap at least one of your daily mugs of coffee for a cup of green tea, then according to new research from Newcastle University scientists you'll be doing your memory some good too.
Green tea may help boost your memory, say scientists. Photo: Stock.xchng, lino1234
It wouldn't be the first time scientists have suggested drinking green tea might help protect your brain against memory problems, including Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. This latest study, however, aimed to find out what happens in the body when you drink green tea, rather than look at the properties of the tea before it's digested.
And what they found was that the chemicals in green tea that are thought to help protect against memory problems are more effective when they're passing through your digestive system - which is an even better excuse to indulge in the fragrant brew more often.
Not just that, but the scientists - whose study has just been published in the journal Phytomedicine - discovered compounds in green tea that have been digested may also protect against cancer by slowing down the growth of tumours.
So what's not to like? A cuppa with zero calories (if you don't add sweetener or anything else, that is), a refreshing taste and it's incredibly good for you too.
"Green tea has been used in Traditional Chinese medicine for centuries and what we have here provides the scientific evidence why it may be effective against some of the key diseases we face today," says Dr Ed Okello, the leader of the Newcastle research team.
Time to put the kettle on, perhaps?