Theanine and Longevity
Summary
- L-theanine is a component found in green tea.
- L-theanine is one of the reasons why green tea is healthy.
- L-theanine increases the production of aging-protective proteins like FOXO1.
- L-theanine can reduce crosslinking, a process that occurs during aging making our tissues stiffer.
- L-theanine can protect brain cells against cellular stress.
- L-theanine improves blood vessel health.
L-Theanine Impacts Aging Via
The role of theanine in aging and longevity
L-Theanine is a substance found in green tea. It’s one of the reasons why green tea is healthy.
L-theanine can extend lifespan in different organisms (R,R,R).
L-theanine upregulates important aging-protective proteins, like FOXO1 and antioxidative enzymes.
Theanine also inhibits formation of Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) (R).
AGEs are crosslinks made of sugary molecules that link different proteins. AGEs “glue” proteins together. This makes tissues more stiff and less flexible.
For example, crosslinking of collagen and elastin proteins in the skin and blood vessels makes these tissues less elastic and more stiff, contributing to wrinkles and high blood pressure.
More specifically, theanine can inhibit crosslinks by using its free amino group to compete with proteins for the Maillard reaction of sugars, among other mechanisms (R).
Theanine can protect the brain against cellular stress, induced for example by toxins or oxygen deprivation (ischemia) (R, R,R,R). For example, it could significantly decrease the size of cerebral infarcts one day after occlusion (R).
Theanine can enhance alpha wave activity in the brain which has been shown to help people to better concentrate. Theanine can also help to reduce stress and anxiety (R,R).
Theanine can also support weight loss (R) and improve the health of blood vessels (R,R,R).
This agrees with what is seen with regular green tea consumption, which is also known for it’s beneficial effects on the blood vessels.
NOVOS CORE & theanine
Theanine is one of the 12 ingredients in NOVOS Core.
1 sachet of NOVOS Core contains 150 mg of L-theanine.
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