Green Tea Polyphenol Heals Stomach Ulcers

Green tea is a good candidate for treating stomach ulcers. (Photo by toughkidcst)

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are generally used for treating pain and reducing fever. The most common NSAIDs are aspirin and ibuprofen. While effective, these drugs have some pretty nasty side effects. For example, up to one in four regular users develop a chronic gastric ulcer at some point.

In addition to causing gastric, peptic and duodenal ulcers, NSAIDs also delay ulcer healing. In the United States, upper gastrointestinal problems from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use result in 16,500 deaths every year. What's worse, almost half of the prescriptions for NSAIDs are estimated to be unnecessary. Anti-ulcer drugs, on the other hand, are expensive and do not prevent the ulcers from recurring.

In a recent Indian study, the effectiveness of the anti-ulcer drug omeprazole and one of green tea's polyphenols, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), was compared in mice (link). The mice were first given enough of a NSAID called indomethacin to cause stomach ulceration. After that they were split into three groups: the first group was given a standard effective dose of omeprazole (3 mg/kg), while the second group was given EGCG in various doses (0.5–5 mg/kg). The third group acted as the control group and was given no treatment.

After three days, the ulcers of the mice in the control group had not healed at all. The omeprazole-treated mice had healed ~75% of their stomach ulcers. The effectiveness of the green tea polyphenol was dose-dependent: with 3 mg/kg, the ulcers healed as effectively as with omeprazole, while the largest dose (5 mg/kg) resulted in ~82% healing.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs cause gastric ulcers through a variety of mechanisms. They increase the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), increase lipid peroxidation and cause an imbalance in cytokines which regulate the immune system. In this study, EGCG improved all three factors even more effectively than omeprazole.

Although both omeprazole and epigallocatechin gallate have antioxidant properties, the mechanisms through which they work differ from each other. The main reason omeprazole works is because it reduces the production of gastric acid, whereas green tea is said to increase gastric acid release. While more studies are probably needed, the authors of the paper consider EGCG a promising candidate for treating stomach ulcers because it has not been shown to have negative side effects even with large doses (although there are potential problems with high-dose green tea extracts).

For more information on green tea, see these posts:

Green Tea Protects from the Psychological Effects of Stress in Rats
Tea, Coffee and Cocoa: All Good for Your Teeth
Green Tea and Capsaicin Reduce Hunger and Calorie Intake
Green Tea Extract Increases Insulin Sensitivity & Fat Burning during Exercise

Lithium in Drinking Water May Lead to Longer Life

Water may have an effect on your longevity. (Photo by anthony_goto)

Lithium is an essential trace element found mostly in drinking water and vegetables. However, nutritional intake of lithium varies considerably, depending on where you live.

In rats, a deficiency of lithium causes health problems such as behavioral abnormalities, but in humans, lithium deficiency is an unknown concept. On the other hand, there have been studies suggesting that  lithium intake, even at low doses, is inversely correlated with suicide risk. High-dose lithium has been used for decades to treat psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder.

Lithium may also have other life-extending properties besides reducing suicide risk. For example, roundworms have been shown to live up to 36% longer when given lithium chloride, but the amounts used are 1000-fold higher than would be obtainable through diet. Such a high dose may not be necessary, however. In a recent paper roundworms were shown to live longer when given a low concentration of lithium chloride throughout their life – with the effect being less pronounced than with high doses (link).

The authors also looked at lithium in drinking water and total mortality in 18 neighboring Japanese municipalities. They found that tap water levels of lithium were inversely associated with overall mortality adjusted for age and gender. Since lithium levels have been associated with lower suicide rates, the authors also adjusted for suicide. The inverse association between lithium and overall mortality remained.

Lithium concentrations in drinking water ranged from 0.7 to 59 mcg/L. The highest value equals a concentration of 8.5 micromoles. A lithium concentration of 10 micromoles was enough to extend the lifespan of roundworms, while a concetration of 1 micromole was not.

The inverse association between mortality and lithium in drinking water obviously does not prove that lithium reduces mortality in humans, but the roundworm experiments show that the idea is not so far-fetched. Although the mechanism is still unknown, I wonder if the mental health aspect has something to do with it.

Too bad there doesn't appear to be any lithium in the tap water where I live, or at least they don't report it. It is also available as a supplement, but some countries may have customs restrictions on some or all forms lithium.

For more information on longevity, see these posts:

High HDL Cholesterol Reduces Risk of Dying in Men
Selegiline and Lifespan Extension
Does Intermittent Fasting Increase Lifespan?
The 7 Types of Aging Damage That End up Killing You

Drinking Coffee = Higher Adiponectin = Lower Body Fat Percentage?

Want to lower your body fat? Coffee might an option. (Photo by annais)

Adiponectin is a protein hormone that modulates several metabolic processes related to weight gain. Adiponectin levels are inversely correlated with body fat percentage (link) – for example, diabetics have lower levels of adiponectin than non-diabetics, and losing weight increases adiponectin levels.

Since adiponectin affects glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity, and low adiponectin levels are a risk factor for developing diabetes and metabolic syndrome, it raises the question of whether increasing adiponectin levels might be a good thing.

A study from last year looked at the effects of coffee on adiponectin levels in 665 Japanese males (link). Adiponectin levels were measured from serum samples, and coffee consumption was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire also included green tea consumption, so that the effects of green tea and coffee could be compared.

The participants who drank more coffee tended to be younger, more likely to smoke, and less likely to drink alcohol. The mean age of non-drinkers was 49.9, while the mean age of those who drank at least three cups per day was 48.2. Interestingly, non-drinkers had the highest mean blood pressure (systolic 129.5 and diastolic 80.7 mmHg) of all groups, while those who drank 1-2 cups per day had the lowest (123.1 and 76.7) – although this could just be due to the age difference. There were no significant differences in BMI or physical activity between coffee drinkers and non-drinkers. Unfortunately, body fat percentage was not measured.

However, adiponectin levels were significantly higher in those who drank coffee compared to non-drinkers. In those who drank none, 1–5 cups per week, 1–2 cups per day, and >2 cups per day, adiponectin levels were 5.95, 6.51, 7.05 and 6.89 mcg/mL, respectively.

When confounding factors such as age, smoking status and BMI were adjusted for, adiponectin levels were still positively associated with coffee consumption. There was a significant dose-response relationship between coffee consumption and adiponectin levels. However, there were no significant differences in adiponectin levels between those who drank 1–2 cups and those who drank >2 cups per day.

Green tea was not associated with adiponectin levels. There was also no association between coffee consumption and total cholesterol, HDL or LDL.

Although this study included only men, similar findings have been reported in women. In one study, diabetic and non-diabetic women who drank at least four cups of coffee per day had higher adiponectin levels than those who didn't drink coffee regularly (link). Interestingly, caffeine consumption was also associated with adiponectin levels. Perhaps the adiponectin-increasing effect of caffeine is diminished or blocked by other compounds such as L-theanine in green tea.

There's also one interventional study on habitual coffee drinkers that found coffee consumption increased adiponectin levels (link). Unlike in the study on Japanese males, total cholesterol and HDL also increased – possibly because the intake of coffee was higher (8 cups per day) at the end of the experiment.

Based on this and other studies, the key points are:

a) those who drink coffee have higher adiponectin levels than those who don't
b) those who have higher adiponectin levels have lower body fat percentage

All in all, while correlation does not prove causation, it seems plausible that drinking coffee could help maintain a lower body fat percentage and avoid type II diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

If you have personal experiences with coffee and weight loss, feel free to share them in the comment section below. For more information on weight and fat loss, see these posts:

Why Are Thin People Not Fat?
A Year of Intermittent Fasting: ADF, Condensed Eating Window, Weight Loss, And More
Green Tea and Capsaicin Reduce Hunger and Calorie Intake
The Twinkie Diet: Thoughts on Weight Loss and Cholesterol

Want to Increase Your HDL Cholesterol by 50%? Sage Tea May Be the Answer

Common sage tea increases HDL and reduces LDL. (Photo by Kelly Johnson)

Salvia officinalis, also known as common sage or garden sage, has been used for hundreds of years both for cooking and healing purposes. It's the variety you can find in most grocery stores – not to be confused with the psychoactive herb Salvia divinorum.

While you might not get hallucinations from common sage, it does have a wide range of health benefits. For instance, sage is commonly used for its antibiotic and antispasmodic properties. In medieval times, sage was generally associated with longevity.

One less well known use for common sage is cholesterol. Nonetheless, a 2009 pilot trial with six healthy female volunteers (aged 40–50) looked at how drinking sage tea would affect their blood glucose regulation and lipid profiles (link). They also evaluated the antioxidant properties of sage tea.

To prepare the tea, 300 mL of boiling water was poured over 4 grams of dried Salvia officinalis plant material and allowed to steep for 5 minutes. Each participant drank the tea twice a day for four weeks.

The graphs above show total cholesterol (A) and HDL cholesterol levels (B) of the participants at baseline (white bar), after two weeks, after four weeks (grey bars) and after a two-week washout period (black bar).

While total cholesterol decreased only marginally after two and four weeks of drinking sage tea, there was a 16% drop in total cholesterol two weeks after the treatment ended. HDL cholesterol, on the other hand, increased after just two weeks. After four weeks, HDL levels were up by ~50%. Two weeks later, they were still ~38% higher than at baseline.

The graphs above show the LDL cholesterol levels and LDL/HDL ratios of the participants. There was a gradual reduction in LDL levels during and after treatment, with a ~20% drop seen after the two-week washout period. Consequently, the LDL/HDL ratio improved throughout the four weeks and remained significantly better after the washout period compared to baseline.

Although the sample size is very small, and this was a non-randomized crossover trial, the figures look very promising. I mean, a 50% increase in HDL in just four weeks? Where else are you going to see improvements like that in healthy people?

The authors also evaluated the antioxidant properties of sage tea by measuring erythrocyte antioxidant status. Both superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity increased significantly after two weeks. Unlike the effect on cholesterol levels, however, there was no significant difference after four weeks compared to baseline. It would be interesting to see a comparison between drinking sage tea daily and cycling it. Who knows, maybe something like two weeks on, two weeks off would be better than drinking it constantly.

Although it has been suggested that sage improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, the results of oral glucose tolerance tests did not change after four weeks of drinking sage tea. While the participants were healthy, they did belong to a risk group for developing pre-diabetes based on their age. It may be that sage is helpful in those who are already pre-diabetic or diabetic but not in healthy people. On the other hand, the expression of the heat shock protein Hsp70, which is involved in insulin sensitivity, increased by 2.8-fold in lymphocytes after two weeks and remained elevated after the washout period.

For more information on improving HDL and reducing LDL, see these posts:

Hibiscus Tea Increases HDL, Lowers LDL and Triglycerides
Anthocyanins from Berries Increase HDL and Lower LDL
Low-Carb vs. Low-Fat: Effects on Weight Loss and Cholesterol in Overweight Men
Niacin Raises HDL, Lowers LDL, VLDL & Triglycerides

High HDL Cholesterol Reduces Risk of Dying in Men

Strawberry margarita – the perfect longevity drink. (Photo by bookgrl)

According to conventional wisdom, LDL is the "bad cholesterol" and HDL is the "good cholesterol". While there is plenty of evidence showing this is an oversimplification, it is generally agreed that the higher your HDL is, the better. In fact, I've never seen anyone suggest a "maximum" HDL level for a healthy person.

One of the many strange things you hear most doctors recommend is that you reduce your total cholesterol once it's above a certain level, despite what your LDL and HDL are. That is, even if HDL makes up most of your total cholesterol, you may still get a warning that your total cholesterol is "too high". But why would you want to reduce your HDL cholesterol?

High HDL is generally believed to be associated with longevity, at least to a degree. For example, centenarians and supercentenarians tend to have higher HDL than the general population. To my knowledge, large population studies on HDL and longevity are relatively rare, however – which is why I found this new paper from the American Journal of Cardiology pretty interesting (link).

The study (which began in 1979) looked at the probability of 652 men, aged 65 years, to reach 85 years of age. The authors hypothesized that men with higher HDL cholesterol levels in middle age would be less likely to die before 85 years of age than men with lower HDL levels.

For the analysis, participants were categorized into three groups based on their HDL cholesterol: <40, 40–50 and >50 mg/dL. Converted to mmol/L, the ranges are <1, 1–1.3 and >1.3 mmol/L. To me, these categories seem like they're in the lower range of the healthy spectrum, but then again, average HDL levels in men in the US are said to be 40-50 mg/dL. According to the American Medical Association, less than 40 mg/dL is undesirable and higher than 60 mg/dL is desirable.

The age-adjusted hazard ratios for death before 85 years of age in the three groups were as follows:  1.00 for those with HDL < 40 mg/dL, 0.99 for those with HDL between 40–50 mg/dL, and 0.77 in those with HDL > 50 mg/dL. In the fully adjusted model (which accounted for age, LDL, hypertension, smoking, BMI, etc), the hazard ratios were 1.00, 1.01 and 0.72, respectively. That is, men with HDL higher than 50 mg/dL had a ~28% lower risk of dying than those with HDL lower than 50 mg/dL.

Immediately we can see that it doesn't make much difference whether the participants' HDL was below 40 or between 40 and 50 mg/dL – the risk of dying before 85 years of age was pretty much the same for both groups. Only once their HDL cholesterol levels were above 50 mg/dL was there a significantly lower risk.

Furthermore, when the authors analyzed the data further, they found that each 10-mg/dL increment in HDL cholesterol was associated with a 14% decrease in risk of dying before 85 years of age. In other words, the higher their HDL, the higher the survival rate.

This is all very good news. Reaching a HDL level of, say, 80 mg/dL (~2.1 mmol/L) is not at all impossible as long as you plan your diet properly, and would give you a significantly lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease – which is the number one killer in the 65–85 age group.

The baseline characteristics of the participants reveal some interesting things too. First, the LDL cholesterol was pretty much the same in all groups: around 160–168 mg/dL. Body mass index, on the other hand, was inversely correlated with HDL levels: those with the lowest HDL levels had a mean BMI of 27.5, while those with the highest HDL levels had a mean BMI of 25.8.

While alcohol is known to increase triglycerides in the short term, it also increases HDL. Indeed, alcohol consumption was positively correlated with HDL levels. The percentage of participants who drank at least 2 alcoholic beverages per day was ~14% in those with the lowest HDL, ~18% in those with average HDL and ~38% in those with the highest HDL. This might explain, in part, why moderate alcohol consumption is associated with increased longevity.

So, if your total cholesterol is high and it's mostly due to high LDL, that may be a potential cause for worry – although it's good to keep in mind that there are several types of LDL, some more harmful than others. However, if you have high cholesterol due to high HDL, well then you should be happy!

For more information on HDL cholesterol and how to increase it, see these posts:

Hibiscus Tea Increases HDL, Lowers LDL and Triglycerides
Refined vs Red Palm Oil and Cholesterol
What a "Heart-Healthy" Diet Does to Your Cholesterol Levels
Anthocyanins from Berries Increase HDL and Lower LDL