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Green Tea
and Strokes
To test the effects of
green tea catechins on the development of strokes, Japanese researchers
used rats that were specially bred to develop severe high blood pressure
(a major risk factor for strokes) and suffer strokes at early ages.
The rats were divided into two groups: Beginning at 5 weeks of
age, the control group of rats received plain water while the other group
received water containing 0.5% green tea catechin extract. Then the researchers
monitored the animals’ blood pressure and noted the age at which they suffered
strokes.
In the green tea group, the increases in blood pressure in the
latter stages of life were significantly lower than those in the control group.
And the average age at which a stroke occurred in the green tea group was 89
days, compared to 79 days in the control group. This means the rats that
received green tea extract lived an average of 10 days longer than those that
received plain water. Although 10 days may not sound like much, for the rats
it’s an increase of over 10% of the lifespan!
The researchers concluded that continuous ingestion of green tea
catechins from an early age prevented the development of stroke in stroke-prone
hypertensive rats, probably by inhibiting the further development of high blood
pressure at later ages.
(Ikeda
M, Suzuki C, Umegaki K, et al. Preventive effects of green tea catechins on
spontaneous stroke in rats. Med Sci Monit 2007;13(2):BR40-45.)
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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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