Compound found in green tea dissolves dangerous plaque found in blood vessels

( Natural News ) Green tea already gets a lot of attention for its potential to fight cancer, but there’s another very important benefit that is making the beverage an even more attractive option than it already is. Scientists have found that a compound in green tea can dissolve the protein plaques in blood vessels that can cause heart attacks . Scientists already know that EGCG, or epigallocatechin-3-gallate, a compound found in green tea, can reduce the amyloid plaques in the brain that lead to Alzheimer’s disease. It turns out that this effect also carries over to blood vessels in general, and the life-saving potential of this discovery is huge. When fatty material builds up within the arteries and reduces blood flow to the brain and heart, a protein known as apoA-1 causes further deposits to build up quickly and raises a person’s risk of stroke or heart attack. In this study, researchers from the University of Leeds and Lancaster University found that EGCG can bind to amyloid fibers in apoA-1 and convert them to smaller molecules that are soluble and less likely to cause damage to blood vessels. The researchers are looking for ways to help people increase the EGCG in their blood without drinking massive quantities of green tea. Delicious as it may be, the amounts needed are simply too difficult for many people to get from drinking green tea alone, and there could be side effects from drinking so much of it. They are looking into ways of making EGCG more easily absorbed from the stomach and better able to stand up to metabolism; they’re even considering developing injections that could deliver the molecule directly to the plaques so it can do its work more quickly and effectively. Sponsored solution from CWC Labs: This heavy metals […]

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