Green tea again - for bone health and inflammation

Everyone knows green tea is celebrated for its healthful benefits, polyphenols and antioxidants combined with that little caffeine-like boost. Now, Dr. Chwan-Li Shen, an associate professor and a researcher at the Laura W Bush Institute for Women’s Health at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center now suggests that green tea may be good for lowering chronic levels of inflammation.

There have been scores of tests which show the healthful benefits of green tea’s polyphenols. Studies have shown that people who regularly consume green tea have lower risk of degenerative diseases including cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Studies also show green tea properties can help combat senility and Alzheimer’s disease. Now Shen believes that the same mechanism that makes green tea good for those things will also make it good for treating inflammation and bone strength in postmenopausal women.

She looked at green tea combined with moderate aerobic activity like tai chi. After a six month study, she discovered that women who drank the equivalent of 4-6 cups of steeped green tea and participated in tai chi showed enhanced markers of bone strength. The subject reported significant benefits from the exercise including increased flexibility and quality of life. Best of all, the women showed improved oxidative stress which is the main precursor to inflammation. This could help alleviate some of the effects of osteoporosis.

Source: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, ScienceDaily