BY SHARE CARE

Tea time. What better way to give your body and mind a little breather? But if you choose a certain color of tea, you may really do your brain a favor.

A large study in Singapore showed that black tea might have the power to slash Parkinson's disease risk by almost a third.

Hormone Helper?
In the study, people who drank the most black tea were 29 percent less likely to develop Parkinson's disease (PD), compared with the least enthusiastic black-tea drinkers. Although the researchers were poised to credit the caffeine in black tea for the benefit, it turned out not to be so. Instead, it may be that black tea somehow affects estrogen levels in a favorable anti-Parkinson's way (the disease is less common in women than in men). Interestingly, green tea showed no protective effects against PD. But there are still plenty of reasons -- like these -- to sip green.

More Tea-Time Extras
There's no shortage of other reasons to drink tea, including:

• A healthier heart. The brew is bursting with cardioprotective polyphenols. Just make sure to skip the milk.
• Lower odds of female cancers. Drinking tea may cut the risk of ovarian cancer by almost half. 
• Less stress. In a study, men who drank a black-tea-like beverage recovered more quickly from a stressful event.