Heaven of Tea

Green tea continues to amaze. A new German study has been released that shows:

An antioxidant found in green tea appears to prevent the development of amyloid fibrils, a toxic protein associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, a new study finds.

HeathDayNews reports that the “miracle” in your cup of green tea is epigallocatechin gallate otherwise known as EGCG. The report explains:

In experiments in the laboratory, the German team found that EGCG seems to change potentially harmful proteins into proteins that are not detrimental to brain cells. “We are able to convert a toxic structure into a less toxic structure,” Wanker explained.

EGCG is a type of catechin and antioxidant that is very abundant in green tea, in particular. And this isn’t the only health benefit of drinking teas containing EGCG, there are many others:

• helps protect skin from UV-raditation
• helps with metabolism
• helps avoid and slow tumor formation in the body
• It is also being tested as a treatment for HIV and multiple sclerosis

In short, EGCG is a super-antioxidant that becomes more amazing as it is studied. And now we may be able to add Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to the list of things green tea helps you avoid. There are still more tests and studies to be done before this is confirmed, but the article notes:

One expert believes the approach could yield real results, however.

“Red wine, yellow curry and green tea have suspected health benefits because of high content of antioxidants,” said Greg M. Cole, a neuroscientist at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System, and associate director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. He was not involved in the study.

“This study provides evidence that a compound called EGCG, one of the major polyphenols in green tea, may be useful for diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, because it can block the formation of the filament-forming protein aggregates implicated in causing disease,” Cole said.

So make that wonderful cup of green tea and do your body some good!