High Miles
2013-07-02 01:28:20 UTC
/By Melanie Haiken <http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/>, Forbes
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/06/30/green-tea-may-prevent-alzheimers-say-four-new-studies/>
Contributor/
Could something as simple as drinking green tea protect you from
developing Alzheimer’s? A host of new studies have looked at various
aspects of how green tea affects the brain, and concluded yes.
Writing in the University of Michigan’s NeuroHealth blog
<http://uofmhealthblogs.org/6253/green-tea-and-its-effects-on-alzheimers/>
last week, prominent neurologist Henry L. Paulson, MD describes the
powerful properties of ECGC (official name: epigallocatechin-3-gallate),
a flavonoid in green tea. ECGC, Paulson says, appears to protect the
brain from the accumulation of amyloid plaques that scientists believe
cause the brain deterioration associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.
/*RELATED: 10 Fitness Myths Exposed
<http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eigl45gkgg/exercise-can-erase-a-bad-diet-2/?utm_source=comcast.net&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=green+tea+alzheaimers&partner=comcast>*/
Paulson describes new research published in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences
<http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/02/19/1220326110.abstract> by
Chinese scientist Mi Hee Lim and her team that shows ECGC binds to
beta-amyloid, the protein that forms into amyloid plaques, and changes
it to prevent that from happening.
In a closely timed and related study published in the Journal of
Biological Chemistry,
<http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/3365/green_tea_and_red_wine_extracts_disrupt_alzheimers>
A team of British researchers at the University of Leeds added green tea
extract and resveratrol, an extract from red wine (See my recent
reporting on resveratrol and weight loss here
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/06/22/3-new-fat-busting-supplements-for-speedy-weight-loss/>),
to balls of amyloid protein and found that the bioflavonoids prevented
the plaques from sticking to nerve cells.
All of this research, and more, is described in the June 2013 issue of
the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, which appeared in my
in-box recently. In a fascinating article titled Green Tea Protects
Brain Cells,
<http://www.tuftshealthletter.com/ShowArticle.aspx?rowId=1240>the
editors describe four new studies showing that “green tea may someday be
a potent weapon in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms
of dementia.”
/*RELATED: 10 Tricks To Reverse Aging
<http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eigl45gdgk/10-tricks-to-reverse-aging/?utm_source=comcast.net&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=green+tea+alzheaimers&partner=comcast>*/
To my mind, the most interesting study of those described was published
last August in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
<http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v66/n11/abs/ejcn2012105a.html>.
Unlike most of the current crop of green tea studies, this one was done
in humans, albeit just 12 of them. (And it was double blinded and
placebo-controlled.) Most importantly, it’s the first study to use MRI
technology to actually look at people’s brains to see the effect ECGC
might have.
Participants were given a beverage to drink after which they performed a
memory-stimulating task while researchers monitored their brain
function. Two different doses of green tea were tested against a placebo
drink that contained no green tea. In those who had received green tea
extract, the researchers observed increased activity in the dorsolateral
prefontal cortex, which is an area of the brain responsible for
processing working memory. They also noted a dose-response, meaning
there was an even greater increase in brain activity at the higher
dosage of green tea, which backs up the cause and effect relationship.
*So what does this mean for you?* Studies like this are always published
with caveats saying that the evidence can’t be considered definitive
until larger and more definitive human studies are done.
/*RELATED: 3 New Weight Loss Supplements Getting Buzz
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/06/22/3-new-fat-busting-supplements-for-speedy-weight-loss/?utm_source=comcast.net&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=green+tea+alzheaimers&partner=comcast>*/
But when it comes to green tea, there really isn’t much of a downside to
argue about. No one has ever shown green tea to be harmful to health,
and studies have also shown it to be protective against breast cancer
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2646205/> and possibly
other conditions such as Parkinson’s. I’m guessing the researchers who
performed these studies are pouring themselves cups of green tea right
now, and I’m about to do the same.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/06/30/green-tea-may-prevent-alzheimers-say-four-new-studies/>
Contributor/
Could something as simple as drinking green tea protect you from
developing Alzheimer’s? A host of new studies have looked at various
aspects of how green tea affects the brain, and concluded yes.
Writing in the University of Michigan’s NeuroHealth blog
<http://uofmhealthblogs.org/6253/green-tea-and-its-effects-on-alzheimers/>
last week, prominent neurologist Henry L. Paulson, MD describes the
powerful properties of ECGC (official name: epigallocatechin-3-gallate),
a flavonoid in green tea. ECGC, Paulson says, appears to protect the
brain from the accumulation of amyloid plaques that scientists believe
cause the brain deterioration associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.
/*RELATED: 10 Fitness Myths Exposed
<http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eigl45gkgg/exercise-can-erase-a-bad-diet-2/?utm_source=comcast.net&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=green+tea+alzheaimers&partner=comcast>*/
Paulson describes new research published in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences
<http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/02/19/1220326110.abstract> by
Chinese scientist Mi Hee Lim and her team that shows ECGC binds to
beta-amyloid, the protein that forms into amyloid plaques, and changes
it to prevent that from happening.
In a closely timed and related study published in the Journal of
Biological Chemistry,
<http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/3365/green_tea_and_red_wine_extracts_disrupt_alzheimers>
A team of British researchers at the University of Leeds added green tea
extract and resveratrol, an extract from red wine (See my recent
reporting on resveratrol and weight loss here
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/06/22/3-new-fat-busting-supplements-for-speedy-weight-loss/>),
to balls of amyloid protein and found that the bioflavonoids prevented
the plaques from sticking to nerve cells.
All of this research, and more, is described in the June 2013 issue of
the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, which appeared in my
in-box recently. In a fascinating article titled Green Tea Protects
Brain Cells,
<http://www.tuftshealthletter.com/ShowArticle.aspx?rowId=1240>the
editors describe four new studies showing that “green tea may someday be
a potent weapon in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms
of dementia.”
/*RELATED: 10 Tricks To Reverse Aging
<http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eigl45gdgk/10-tricks-to-reverse-aging/?utm_source=comcast.net&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=green+tea+alzheaimers&partner=comcast>*/
To my mind, the most interesting study of those described was published
last August in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
<http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v66/n11/abs/ejcn2012105a.html>.
Unlike most of the current crop of green tea studies, this one was done
in humans, albeit just 12 of them. (And it was double blinded and
placebo-controlled.) Most importantly, it’s the first study to use MRI
technology to actually look at people’s brains to see the effect ECGC
might have.
Participants were given a beverage to drink after which they performed a
memory-stimulating task while researchers monitored their brain
function. Two different doses of green tea were tested against a placebo
drink that contained no green tea. In those who had received green tea
extract, the researchers observed increased activity in the dorsolateral
prefontal cortex, which is an area of the brain responsible for
processing working memory. They also noted a dose-response, meaning
there was an even greater increase in brain activity at the higher
dosage of green tea, which backs up the cause and effect relationship.
*So what does this mean for you?* Studies like this are always published
with caveats saying that the evidence can’t be considered definitive
until larger and more definitive human studies are done.
/*RELATED: 3 New Weight Loss Supplements Getting Buzz
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2013/06/22/3-new-fat-busting-supplements-for-speedy-weight-loss/?utm_source=comcast.net&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=green+tea+alzheaimers&partner=comcast>*/
But when it comes to green tea, there really isn’t much of a downside to
argue about. No one has ever shown green tea to be harmful to health,
and studies have also shown it to be protective against breast cancer
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2646205/> and possibly
other conditions such as Parkinson’s. I’m guessing the researchers who
performed these studies are pouring themselves cups of green tea right
now, and I’m about to do the same.