Green Tea and Sleep Apnea???

A friend forwarded this to me and I thought I would pass it on.



Green tea may shield brain from sleep apnea effects
By Amy Norton 21 minutes ago
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compounds found in green tea may help ward off the neurological damage that can come with the breathing disorder sleep apnea, a new animal study hints.
Researchers found that when they added green tea antioxidants to rats' drinking water, it appeared to protect the animals' brains during bouts of oxygen deprivation designed to mimic the effects of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
The findings suggest that green tea compounds should be further studied as a potential OSA therapy, the researchers report in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
OSA is a common disorder in which soft tissues in the throat temporarily collapse and block the airway during sleep, causing repeated stops and starts in breathing throughout the night.
The immediate symptoms include chronic loud snoring and gasping, as well as daytime sleepiness. Left untreated, OSA can eventually have widespread effects in the body; it's linked to high blood pressure, and research suggests that the intermittent dips in oxygen to the brain may lead to memory and learning difficulties.
In the new study, Dr. David Gozal and colleagues at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky looked at whether green tea compounds called catechin polyphenols could help shield the brain from this oxygen deprivation.
Catechin polyphenols act as antioxidants, which means they help neutralize cell-damaging particles called oxygen free radicals. Free radicals are normal byproducts of metabolism, but in excess they lead to a state known as oxidative stress.
It's thought that the oxygen deprivation of OSA leads to oxidative stress, and that this, at least in part, explains the cognitive problems seen in some people with the sleep disorder.
Gozal and his colleagues found that when rats were exposed to periodic bouts of oxygen deprivation over 14 days, it did boost signs of oxidative stress in the brain. This didn't happen, however, if rats had been given water containing green tea polyphenols.
What's more, compared with rats given plain water, these animals performed better on a standard test of learning and memory -- a water "maze" designed to encourage the animals to remember the location of an escape platform.
In theory, Gozal told Reuters Health, a regular cup of green tea could be beneficial, used alongside standard OSA treatment.
"However," he said, "definitive proof that green tea would help will have to await a trial in human patients."
SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, May 15, 2008

dieselgal wrote:"However," he said, "definitive proof that green tea would help will have to await a trial in human patients."

Why am I left wondering whether they're going to strangle their human patients to simulate OSA?

Sounds interesting! I drink green tea heaps because I like how it tastes.

Oh those famous rats! I knew green tea was good for one but never dreamed about this affect. I have it in my cupboard and guess I will start brewing away! Certainly can't do any harm and supposedly has a many other productive plus's.

Start Brewing!!!

I can't do any harm so long as you use it in addition to your CPAP

I have never tried Green tea but I have friends that really love it. Wonder if any of them have OSA then I could do my own study!

I switched to Green tea about a year ago, with honey, i prefer Liptons normal tea, but for my good, I use green.

Now it seems Green Tea is toted, for helping everything, short of cleaning up toxic waste dumps and lowering the price of gas to $.50 a gallon.

Due to this market sateration, Sam's Club has stopped selling the brand of green tea it was, and is only selling a much higher priced brand with no caf.

So we have switched back to normal better tasting tea. Live Short and Prosper., I guess. Jim

Goofproof wrote:
Due to this market sateration, Sam's Club has stopped selling the brand of green tea it was, and is only selling a much higher priced brand with no caf.

Not every Sam's, at least not yet. I can't find decaf green tea at Sam's locally. They still carry the Bigelow (I think) of regular, but not decaf. I'd like to get decaf to mix half and half with my regular, but I can only find it in small quantities so far.