This is interesting, but I'm always suspicious of articles that seem to hand-pick their science. This isn't a critique of tea being good for you (I'm sipping on a chai right now and feeling dandy) but a little healthy skepticism from seeing years of nutrition/health effects studies contradict each other. For more detailed thoughts on the problem see John Ioannidis' "Why Most Published Research Findings are False."
I have written 200+ articles in health and medicine and looked into L-Theanine specifically.<p>It has benefits and does work to enhance the benefits of caffeine. That said, this article over-hypes it, and it's really not that big of an impact.
Pretty much any amino acid will help brain function, but with any study, they always give absurdly high amounts to their test subjects in comparison to what the average human consumes. Plus, these are scientific research papers. Even a 1% improvement is enough for them to be quoted as saying "improves brain function."<p>Drinking tea is good for you, we've known this for years. Keep drinking it.
Tony - I never thought I'd say this on HN, but you should totally open up a brick and mortar store. There's so few places in Chicago to go and get good loose leaf tea, shipping seems silly (I live <1 mile away), and a great tea shop is such a cool thing to have around. There's all sorts of empty storefronts (one under my place, even) just begging for something interesting.<p>I guess "you should" is the wrong language. Perhaps supplant with "it would be incredibly inconvenient but way cool if you were to"
Thanks for screwing up my tea. Can't I just drink it to enjoy it? Now, I have high expectations from my tea which I am sure will not be met. Thanks a lot.<p>PS: I drink probably 3 cups a day. I am still not a genius and I get sleepy by mid-day.
Theanine is supposed to increase GABA levels in the brain by passing through the blood brain barrier.<p>From <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theanine" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theanine</a><p><pre><code> Rather, its primary effect seems to increase the overall
level of the brain inhibitory transmitter GABA.
</code></pre>
But doesnt GABA make one relaxed and sleepier and hinder formation of new memories ?<p>From <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Aminobutyric_acid#Pharmacology" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Aminobutyric_acid#Pharmac...</a><p><pre><code> Drugs that act as agonists of GABA receptors or increase
the available amount of GABA typically have relaxing,
anti-anxiety and anti-convulsive effects.,. Many
of the substances below are known to cause anterograde
amnesia and retrograde amnesia.
Followed by a list of substances that increase GABA levels
</code></pre>
I am not knowledgible about these things but I recollect reading that in vertebrates the primary function of GABA is to inhibit synaptic activity. It is probably good for someone who is high-strung or epileptic. But for a normal person is it good to boost GABA levels in the brain ?<p>Caffeine, I guess, will counter some of these effects, but still it makes me worried to play with brain chemistry. Particularly with supplements.<p>Edit: To one who downvoted, could you tell me what you found objectionable ?
Caffeine can decrease anxiety? That's highly contradictory to a bulk of medical wisdom out there. People can experience spikes in their heart rate due to stimulants like caffeine.<p>Also, tea is more of a cultural phenomenon in that region of the world. It's not thought of as a tool for meditation. In fact, in yogic traditions, you're supposed to stay away from caffeine.
I can't speak for the science, but anecdotally this has been very true for me.<p>I used to never drink coffee or tea; when I really needed to "wake up" I'd have an espresso and I'd be good for 10-12 hours.<p>Then I had a kid and found myself needing it daily. After a few months of daily coffee I started to realize that I was exhausted until I drank some coffee; then I wasn't so tired but still couldn't concentrate very well.<p>Having read a similar article a few weeks ago I switched to tea instead of coffee and I must say I've felt much more productive on tea as well as slightly less exhausted before I drink it.<p>Would love to hear of others' anecdotal evidence.
hey, OP here... Researchers are still out to lunch as far as tea goes with: weight loss, cancer prevention, anti-aging, and diabetes as many conflicting studies have been made. The affects L-theanine, and the combination of L-theanine with Caffeine have been studied and there has been little variance in their conclusions. Myself, along with a few other tea industry-ites have been following these reports. We scoff at all of the weight loss tea spam out there and question each study that comes out. This is only to serve as a culmination of several studies done specifically about the combination of L-theanine and Caffeine. Enjoy! Questions? Find me on twitter: @worldoftea
This seems relevant: <a href="http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/snake-oil-supplements/" rel="nofollow">http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/play/snake-oil-supplem...</a>
It says that green tea may be beneficial to people's health- although doesn't specify L-Theanine or the attentiveness.
<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11897173?dopt=Abstract" rel="nofollow">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11897173?dopt=Abstract</a>
We have created some great comments here, but they are disconnected or disassociated with the original article. When I write a comment I typically write in hacker news and on the original publication page.
My response was too long, so I wrote my thoughts here:<p><a href="http://russell.ballestrini.net/response-to-l-theanine-a-4000-year-old-mind-hack/" rel="nofollow">http://russell.ballestrini.net/response-to-l-theanine-a-4000...</a>