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Green Tea Fights Blood "Stickiness"
According to a current theory, coronary artery
disease begins with an injury to the lining of a blood vessel. To help
the injury heal, the blood platelets release thromboxane, a
substance that makes them clump together (aggregate) to form a plug. The
plug attaches itself to the injured part of the blood vessel wall and
protrudes into the bloodstream, where it tends to snag things like
cholesterol, blood fats and cellular debris that would normally float on
by. Because of this, the plug may eventually become so enlarged it can
stop the blood flow entirely. Or it may break off from the blood vessel
wall and float downstream until it gets stuck in a smaller blood vessel,
where it blocks the flow of blood.
While some platelet aggregation is absolutely necessary (we
don’t want to bleed to death!), clot formation inside a blood vessel can cause a
heart attack or stroke. That’s why many people take aspirin, warfarin or
coumarins to keep the blood “thin.” But these medications, like all others, have
side effects. What we really need is something that can “thin” sticky blood
without producing unwanted side effects. And that something may be green tea.
In animal studies, hot water extract of green tea
(specifically EGCg) inhibited the formation of blood clots just as effectively
as aspirin, the best-known, the most widely used blood thinner in existence.1
Further research found that tea helped to prevent platelet stickiness and
clumping, reduce blood coagulation, decrease cholesterol deposited on artery
walls and even break down already-formed blood clots.2 A 2008 review
article on green tea catechins and cardiovascular health confirmed that the
catechins suppress platelet clumping, thereby inhibiting the formation of
unwanted clots.3 For these reasons and others, the catechins may be
useful for the prevention and treatment of blood “stickiness” and resultant
cardiovascular disease.
1Sagesaka-Mitane
Y, Miwa M, Okada S. Platelet aggregation inhibitors in hot water extract of
green tea. Chem Pharm Bull 1990;38(3):790-98.
2Lou
FQ, Zhang MF, Zhang XG, et al. A study on tea-pigment in the prevention of
atherosclerosis. Chin Med J (Engl) 1989;102(8):579-83.
3Babu
PV, Liu D. Green tea catechins and cardiovascular health: an update. Curr Med
Chem 2008;15(18):1840-50.
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Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D. presents
GreenTeaLibrary.com, the most
comprehensive collection of scientific information describing the
health benefits of green tea.
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