Green Tea May Prevent Alzheimer’s and Heart Attacks

The health benefits of green tea have been widely promoted and have been known for quite a long time that its properties, such as EGCG, can alter the structures of plaques associated with Alzheimer and could also be effective against the type of plaques which can cause heart attacks and strokes. 

The British Heart Foundation has been researching keys to preventing  attacks and strokes and found this compound, EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) most commonly associated with green tea, binds amyloid fibers and these fibers then convert to a smaller soluble molecules, which are less likely to be create a restriction in the blood vessels, thus preventing heart attacks and strokes. 

Amyloid fibers occur in advanced stages of Atherosclerosis, which is the build-up of fatty material inside arteries that can reduce the flow of blood to the heart and brain.  These amyloid deposits build up within the plaques, therefore increasing the size of the plaque which further restricts blood flow leading to a heart attack or stroke. It seems that studies on the EGCG compound found in green tea, shows its ability to reduce amyloid plaques in the brain of Alzheimer’s disease, and also breaks up and dissolves potentially dangerous protein plaques found throughout arteries and blood vessels.  This is great news for all of us however there is another problem: The scientists are still trying to figure out how they can get effective amounts of EGCG into the bloodstream without it being necessary to drink enormous amounts of potentially harmful quantities of green tea. 

They are currently working on modifying the chemical structure of EGCG to make it easier to be absorbed from the stomach and more resistant to metabolism, or possibly to develop another method to deliver the molecule to the plaques through injection. Dr. David Middleton, professor of chemistry at Lancaster University and the University of Leeds, is very close to developing a compound based on the magic results of the EGCG’s ability to convert the fibers to smaller soluble molecules, and soon to make available a solution to save lives with a workable delivery system for our bodies. 

We wish our brothers in Great Britain the Nobel Prize! 

To their success

And to your health!

Jim