Green
Tea Antioxidants Fight
Arthritis...............(I have been taking
green tea (in caplet ) and drinking it for 3 years now..this article is
very
very true. I am living proof..."Trish")
NEW
YORK - Studies in mice
suggest that green tea antioxidants may have
a powerful effect in reducing the incidence and severity of rheumatoid
arthritis.
Polyphenols
-- antioxidants
found in green tea -- "possess much more
potent antioxidant activity than well-known antioxidants such as
vitamin C and vitamin E," explained study lead author Dr. Tariq Haqqi
of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Recent
studies have indicated
that green tea polyphenols reduce levels
of oxidative stress within cells, lowering risks for heart disease and
certain cancers.
Haqqi's
team focused on the
effect of these polyphenols in rheumatoid
arthritis, an autoimmune disorder in which joints are gradually
infiltrated by inflammatory cells. The disease is most common in
middle-aged women and is characterized by painful swelling and
destruction of cartilage and bone.
Mice
used in the Cleveland
study were fed either plain water or water
enriched with green tea polyphenols, with dosages roughly equivalent to
a human drinking four cups of green tea per day.
Each
of the mice were then
injected with collagen, rendering them
vulnerable to collagen-induced arthritis -- a condition very similar to
human rheumatoid arthritis.
Haqqi's
team reports in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences that mice fed green tea polyphenols "were significantly less
susceptible to the development of collagen-induced arthritis, and if
they developed arthritis, the disease was late in onset and mild in
comparison to mice not given green tea polyphenols." Overall, just 8
out of 18 mice receiving polyphenols developed arthritis, compared with
17 of the 18 mice who did not receive the compounds.
Microscopic
examination of
joint tissues revealed "only marginal...
infiltration" of autoimmune cells in the joints of mice receiving
polyphenols, versus "massive" infiltration in mice on normal diets,
according to the investigators.
In
a related Case Western
Reserve University statement, Haqqi noted
that "for many generations, in some parts of the world -- including
India, China and Japan -- green tea has been considered to possess
health-promoting potential by preventing many illnesses." Anecdotal
evidence suggests that rates of rheumatoid arthritis in these countries
may be much lower than those seen elsewhere.
Haqqi
says green tea has
already proven effective in reducing rates of
other chronic illnesses. "Perhaps now arthritis can be added to the
list," he said in a statement.
SOURCE: Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences
1999;96:4524-4529.
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Some of you may want to know what I take. It is
called B-Safe.
It has Green
tea extract in it. B-Safe also has grape skin extract and
many
other great stuff. I have been taking B-Safe for 2 years now. It has
made
the pain and swelling in my hands (from RA) go completely away. When I
miss
taking B-Safe for a few days. I really know it. My hands start hurting
and
swelling again.
