Drinking green tea and practicing Taichi may promote bone health of
postmenopausal women and reduce the risk of inflammation, a new study
suggests.
The
study, conducted by researchers at the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's
Health at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, focused on
postmenopausal women and investigated the potential for green tea to work
synergistically with Taichi in enhancing bone strength of postmenopausal
women.
Originating as a martial art in China, Taichi is a mind-body exercise
that utilizes slow, gentle movements to build strength and flexibility, as well
as deep breathing and relaxation, to move qi, or vital energy, throughout the
body.
The
study findings were published Sunday at EurekAlert.org, the website of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS).
Carried out as a double-blind, placebo-controlled, intervention trial
(the "holy grail" of scientific studies), this experiment involved 171
postmenopausal women with the average age of 57 who had weak bones but not
full-fledged osteoporosis. Subjects were divided into 4 groups -- placebo:
starch pill (placebo) and no Taichi; GTP or green tea polyphenols (500 mg/day)
and no Taichi; Placebo plus Taichi (starch pill and practising Taichi three
times a week); and GTP plus Taichi.
The
study lasted for 6 months, during which blood and urine samples were collected
and muscle strength assessed.
The
results show that consumption of GTP (at a level equivalent to about four-six
cups of steeped green tea daily) and participation in Taichi independently
enhanced markers of bone health by three and six months, respectively. A similar
effect was found for muscle strength at the 6-month time point. Participants
taking Taichi classes also reported significant beneficial effects in quality of
life in terms of improving their emotional and mental
health.
Perhaps most remarkable, however, was the substantial effect that
both GTP and Taichi had on biological markers of oxidative stress. Because
oxidative stress is a main precursor to inflammation, this finding suggests that
green tea and Taichi may help reduce the underlying etiology of not only
osteoporosis, but other inflammatory diseases as well.
In
the study, the researchers developed an animal model (the ovariectomized,
middle-aged female rat), with which they could effectively study the effects of
green tea consumption on protection against breakdown of the bone's
microarchitecture, according to the AAAS.
In
humans, this can lead to osteoporosis, a condition common to older women. The
researchers say what they have learned from the animal models might also be
applicable to postmenopausal women.
There
is a "favorable effect of modest green tea consumption on bone remodeling in
this pre-osteoporotic population," said lead researcher Dr. Chwan-Li (Leslie)
Shen, an associate professor at the institute.
The
researchers plan to soon complete a more long-term study utilizing more
technically savvy measures of bone density, according to the AAAS.
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