If you could have a cup of green tea and fight Alzheimer's disease in the process, how many cups would you have? The ancient beverage has been recognized for millennia as having a dramatic and positive impact on human health, but its potential for improving several aspects of your brain, as well as your heart, is becoming more clear thanks to ongoing research.
After all, nearly 50 million people worldwide - one of every nine people over the age of 651 - are wrestling with this devastating disease, described as a neurodegenerative condition evidenced by a progressively advancing mental decline that affects memory and behavior. Experts say that by 2050, that number could surpass 131.5 million.2
While scientists weren't yet clear on what mechanisms made the green tea-for-Alzheimer's link possible, new research, covered in the Journal of the American Chemical Society,3 has determined that antioxidant compounds called
catechins are the facilitators (and to a lesser degree, theaflavin polyphenols in black tea).4
Lead study author Giuseppe Melacini, from the chemistry and chemical biology departments at McMaster University in Canada, asserts that the best remedy for Alzheimer's is early intervention. He also notes that using either green tea extracts or their derivatives - as far in advance as 15 to 25 years prior to symptoms appearing - is one method of early intervention.
What he's really suggesting is that anyone wanting to avoid the disease or lessen its effects should begin drinking green tea now rather than waiting until symptoms emerge - although there are a multitude of steps to
reduce your Alzheimer's risk beyond drinking green tea.
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