Green Tea EGCG Benefit In Heart Disease Prevention
As the public is getting richer, people are more health awake nowadays. In term of beverage, green tea is treated as the healthiest drink as it is not only has the rehydrate ability, but it is also flavonoid rich that manage to guard our body from cardiovascular attack.
Research on green tea drinkers disclose that they are far less vulnerable to a wide range of illness, from viral infection to chronic degenerative illness like stroke, cancer, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.
Research shows that green tea has very high concentration of flavonoids (antioxidant) which consist of catechins and their derivatives. Antioxidant is the biological event that prevents the oxidation which will yield highly reactive free radicals. Flavonoids substance comprises of larger than 30% of the green tea dry weight. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the most prolific catechin in all green tea. It has the highest antioxidant activity of all green tea's catechins and thus is believed to act the most important role in the green tea's anticancer and antioxidant effect. Green tea EGCG is so abundant that a cup of green tea could have 20-35mg of it.
In our arteries, there is a one cell thick lining that works as the interface between the bloodstream and the wall of the artery where blood plaques could form, this is called arterial endothelium. When heart disease happens, a kind of enzyme will quicken the production of free radicals in the artery endothelium, thus amplifies the level of free radicals in arteries sharply. Green tea EGCG will inhibit the enzymes needed in the fabrication of the free radicals and thus shields the endothelium from ruined by free radical. Hence green tea is acting an important role in controlling cardiovascular disease.
EGCG also helps in halting the death of heart muscle cells after ischemia/reperfusion injury, by obstructing the stimulation of inflammation compounds (STAT-1) that will induce oxidative damage which kills cardiovascular cell in reperfusion injury.
Moreover, cancer cells need enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) to create DNA and spread. EGCG will inhibit the DHFR and is practically blocking the development of cancer cells.
Furthermore, EGCG could also accelerate the salvage of injured heart cells, and therefore allowing quick recovery of tissues and reducing organs injury.
In conclusion, green tea EGCG has great benefit in helping heart disease prevention as well as in heart disorder damage healing. Therefore for those who are suffering from heart disease and those who are health sensitive, green tea is the top-notch choice of beverage for them. Having few cups of green tea, especially decaf green tea a day instead of decaffeinated coffee will certainly ensure our long term health.