This Drink Will Help Protect Your Memory

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This Drink Will Help Protect Your Memory

 

Sit back. Relax. Sip a cup of hot tea. Drinking tea seems to have the same

protective impact on the brain as do drugs prescribed for Alzheimer's disease,

according to new research from Newcastle University's Medicinal Plant Research

Centre in the United Kingdom.

 

Reuters reports that both green and black tea--but not coffee--inhibit the

activity of enzymes associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease. In

other words, just by drinking tea, you could protect your mind from the ravages

of this memory-robbing, fatal disease for which there is no cure.

 

Tea works its magic by inhibiting the activity of three specific enzymes

found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients: acetylcholinesterase,

butyrylcholinesterase, and beta-secretase. What is most exciting is that tea

does this in the

same way as do the Alzheimer's drugs Exelon and Aricept.

 

" Although there is no cure for Alzheimer's, tea could potentially be another

weapon in the armory which is used to treat this disease and slow down its

development, " lead researcher Dr. Ed Okello explained in a statement announcing

the research findings. That said, it's important to note that Okello admitted

to Reuters there is no published evidence showing that rates of Alzheimer's

disease are any lower in tea-loving countries such as Great Britain, China, and

Japan.

 

The next step: If the researchers can determine which components of tea

inhibit the activity of those three enzymes, they may be able to develop a m

edicinal tea for Alzheimer's disease patients.

 

The research findings were published in the journal Phytotherapy Research.

 

2007 Netscape.