Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention – Can Tea & Apple Juice Be A Cure?

By Linda J Bruton

The research for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease is actually accelerating. This neurodegenerative disease that adversely affects millions of older Americans is receiving continued assistance from the Alzheimer Association. The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading national advocate for Alzheimer’s disease. The National Alzheimer’s Association provides ongoing support and funding for research and education for Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s Disease affects the higher cortical functions of the brain. The functions that are compromised include memory, thinking and orientation. The Alzheimer’s Association in conjunction with the pharmaceutical industry provides ongoing testing and facilitation for research that will stop the progression of this disease.

Qi Dai, MD, PhD, stated in a recent article on Alzheimer’s research that frequent drinking of fruit and vegetable juices resulted in a substantially decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. This research is supported by other studies that confirm the health benefits of polyphenols as well as flavonoids as guardians of brain cells.

Flavanoids are antioxidants that scavenge free radicals. Flavanoids can prevent further damage to critical cellular processes. Fruits and vegetables contain high concentrations of antioxidants. Three cups of green tea and six apples contain about the same about of flavanoids.

These results suggest that the most aggressive products for brain health includes both the polyphenols and flavonoids contained in green tea and fruit juices. Green tea is a very popular beverage in Japan. It is interesting to note that because of the high consumption of green tea in Japan there is a lower incident of Alzheimer’s disease.

This result is only evident in Japanese citizens who reside in Japan. Unfortunately those Japanese citizens who live in American and adopt the American lifestyle show no significant difference in the rate of Alzheimer’s disease.

In another study conducted by the University of Western Australia School of Medicine and Pharmacology, in collaboration with the Royal Perth Hospital Unit, it was confirmed that both tea intake and 4-O-methylgallic acids show consistent results that long-term regular ingestion of tea has a positive effect on the blood pressure of older women.

The substances in green tea known as catechins increase the antioxidant capacity of the human plasma. Cathechins have been shown to be very useful in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. It would not be a frivolous assumption to conclude that the same benefit could be accomplished with the brain. There is a correlation between high blood pressure and Alzheimer’s disease.

Apple juice as well as green tea was used in various studies and also have ingredients that were shown to improve the brain function in mice. These mice had been genetically engineered to get Alzheimer’s disease. The full study will be published in the August issue of the international Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Some of the studies revealed concrete evidence for the first time that a high concentration of catechins and flavanoids present in human plasma may halt or even slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Any major finding that would have a major impact on the quality of life for Alzheimer’s patients and their families is welcome news to the Alzheimer’s community.

For more information on alzheimers statistics, treatment, caregiving, and support resources, please visit www.alzheimersdiseasetips.com for helpful tips. Be sure to read the article on alzheimers disease early symptom detection.

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