I know this topic may not sound that enticing, but bear with me. You might find it of some value.
A couple of weeks ago, while sitting at the coffee shop, one of the old[er] timers, who we used to ride with, stopped by. We hadn’t seen him in awhile, and were surprised to learn he was recovering from bypass surgery. He had a heart attack.
WOW! A heart attack. That’s not something I think about a lot, or at all for that matter. Why should I? I have Mantle Cell Lymphoma, and I’ve planned my life around that. Not having a heart attack.
I was more interested to find out he didn’t realize it at the time. It was only after he went to the doctor, because he wasn’t feeling so good, and had a blood test, did he learn he had a heart attack. I’ve heard that before, but it never dawned on me it actually happens.
The explanation he was given for the mildness of the heart attack was while he had [I think it was] 2 blocked arteries, because he was in such good physical condition the body compensated for that by producing additional blood vessels around the blocked arteries to allow for blood flow to and from the heart. A process known as angiogenisis.
I’ve known about angiogenisis. It’s the process by which cancers (hard tumor cancers) metastasize, and stopping it is a major consideration in the treatment of cancer. What I didn’t know is it’s also the body’s natural response to healing, including blocked arteries, and while I couldn’t find any studies disputing the correlation between physical condition and angiogenisis, it’s doubtful, at least in my opinion, that was the case.
Coincidentally, there has been some discussion on one of my message boards relating to angiogenisis, where I learned it’s the result of the body releasing a cytokine known as Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). I also learned, based on a Phase I study performed at the Mayo Clinic, it is believed the use of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the major component of green tea, can inhibit the VEGF cytokine, and result in the reduction of the number of leukemia cells in patients with CLL. Something I have direct knowledge of.
Since starting to drink large quantities of green tea (6 to 8 cups a day), I have seen a marked decrease of 25% in my absolute lymphocyte count, with all other counts remaining stable, except for a drop in my platelet count (although still above normal), another direct result of the green tea.
So at least for me, my embrace of green tea has been vindicating, but it may not be for everyone. Nothing is without consequence. You always have to take some bad with the good. If you’re worried about a heart attack, green tea might not be for you, but if you have CLL [or MCL] you might want to consider it.
It’s true I don’t have CLL, and while I have been cautioned by at least one expert, not to correlate my MCL with CLL, I do it anyways, since I have the leukemic phase of MCL, and my gut tells me otherwise. Remember, medicine is not an exact science.
