Tea

Tea drinkers have reduced risk of breast cancer

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Tea is rich in polyphenols, including catechins and gallocatchins, which have been reported to have antioxidant activity and potential anti-tumour effect.

Tea drinkers could have less of a breast cancer risk as it increases the functions of blood vessels, says a new research.

The aim of this latest analysis was to evaluate the links between tea consumption and physical activity and breast cancer risk among Chinese women, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Commenting on the new research, women’s health specialist Catherine Hood said: “Compared with non-drinkers, regular tea drinkers had a 21 per cent decreased risk of breast cancer. This beneficial finding is likely to be associated with the polyphenol content of tea.”

Tea is rich in polyphenols, including catechins and gallocatchins, which have been reported to have antioxidant activity and potential anti-tumour effect.

Hood said 39 studies involving 13,204 breast cancer cases and 87,248 controls were identified for the entire study. Among the total number of studies, 16 involved tea consumption with a total of 28,737 cases and 60,936 controls.

A new study also says that black tea improves the function of the blood vessels.

Looking at this research further, another health expert, Tim Bond, said: “Several previous studies have found that black tea and its flavonoids have direct effects on the blood vessels improving vascular function.”

“The aim of this study was to see if tea improves vascular function by helping to prevent injury of the blood vessels in the face of ischaemia (restriction in blood supply), which is a frequent occurrence in cardiovascular disease.”

Source: khaleej times

Raise a Cup of Tea to Your Health

tea for life 2

 

Delicious and Healthy
Stir up a blend of rich black tea, ginger, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon; add hot water, milk and honey and what have you got? The answer is an exotic, delicious drink that may be one of the best things you’ve done for your health in years. Chai tea is the East’s answer to the morning cup of coffee, a delicious blend of tea, milk and spices that is so smooth and wonderfully tasteful that it’s hard to believe it’s good for you.

Powerful Antioxidants
There’s no disputing the health benefits of tea, though. There have been no less than 2000 studies done to confirm those health benefits in the past year. Black tea, the main ingredient in the chai tea recipe, contains the most powerful antioxidants that science knows. Tea and chai tea help prevent and fight many different kinds of cancer, lower cholesterol and high blood pressure may reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and are being studied for their ability to boost the immune system. That’s an awful lot of goodness – and it’s just a start.

The fact is that every ingredient in the chai tea recipe is good for you, and when you put them all together they pack a powerful punch for your immune system.

The next time you’re considering a hot, spicy, sugar free beverage, think exotic AND healthy, and brew up a cup of delicious, sugar-free chai. Both your body and your taste buds will thank you.

source: chai

Study: Green tea boosts working memory

A beverage with multiple benefits, green tea has inspired a number of research projects in recent years. One of the latest studies on the subject, published in the journal Psychopharmacology, offers additional evidence on how the drink can improve working memory and cognitive performance.

According to various studies, the antioxidant-rich beverage may help in maintaining a healthy weight and fighting bad cholesterol, in addition to improving memory and preventing cognitive decline. The latter benefits in particular were the subject of a key study by Chinese researcher Bai Yun published in Food Science and Molecular Nutrition and Food Research in June 2012.

Eager to evaluate claims of green tea’s power to improve memory and to identify the mechanism behind it, researchers in Basel, Switzerland asked a group of healthy volunteers to consume a soft drink with green tea extract before solving a series of working memory tasks. The test subjects’ brain activity was analyzed using an MRI machine.

The researchers, led by Christoph Beglinger and Stefan Borgwardt, of the University Hospital of Basel and the Psychiatric University Clinics respectively, observed improved connectivity between the frontal and parietal brain regions in the test subjects who were given green tea extract.

This improved connectivity between the two brain regions correlated with enhanced performance of the memory tasks. “Our findings suggest that green tea might increase the short-term synaptic plasticity of the brain,” Borgwardt indicated.

In the future, the findings of the study could be used to assess the effectiveness of green tea extract in treating dementia and other neuropsychiatric illnesses, according to the researchers.
The study was published in the journal Psychopharmacology.

Source: FMT news

Do coffee and tea really dehydrate us?

Every day people around the globe drink 1.6 billion cups of coffee and around twice as many cups of tea.

They enjoy the taste and the fact that the caffeine wakes them up. But when we’re exhorted to drink six or eight glasses of water a day (a disputed figure that I’ve discussed previously), it’s usually emphasised that drinks like coffee and tea don’t count towards your daily liquid total because they’re dehydrating. Or so we’re told. What’s the evidence?

Although tea and coffee contain many different substances the one on which most research focuses is caffeine. Even then there is so little research on the topic, that one of the most frequently mentioned studies was conducted way back in 1928 with a sample of just three people. The three men were studied over the course of two winters. Sometimes they were required to drink four cups of coffee a day; sometimes they drank mainly tea and at other times they abstained or drank water laced with pure caffeine. Meanwhile the volume of their urine was measured regularly. The authors concluded that if the men consumed caffeine-laced water after a two month period of abstinence from both coffee and tea, the volume of their urine increased by 50%, but when they drank coffee regularly again they became inured to its diuretic effects.

Very large doses of caffeine are known to increase the blood flow to the kidneys and to inhibit the absorption of sodium which explains why it could act as a diuretic, dealing with the sodium which hasn’t been absorbed. But the exact mechanism is still a matter of debate.

But when you look at the studies of more realistic quantities of caffeine, the diuretic effect is not nearly so clear. A review of 10 studies by Lawrence Armstrong from the University of Connecticut concluded that caffeine is a mild diuretic at most, with 12 out of 15 comparisons showing that people urinated the same amount, regardless of whether the water they drank contained added caffeine or not.

So why do so many people think they need the loo more often when they’ve been drinking tea or coffee? As the review indicates, most studies give people pure caffeine added to water, rather than cups of actual tea or coffee as you might drink at home. Is there something about the combination of substances contained in coffee and tea that make the difference?

In a rare study where people drank nothing but tea for the 12 hour duration of the trial, there was no difference in hydration levels between them and the people who drank the same quantity of boiled water. When it comes to the consumption of coffee, one study did find a 41% increase in urine, along with a rise in the excretion of sodium and potassium. But these participants had abstained from caffeine before the study, so this doesn’t tell us what would happen in people who are accustomed to drinking coffee.

Source: BBC news

Are you tea or coffee addict? Check for caffeine use disorder

If you can’t live without your cup of coffee early morning or that tea to prevent the after-lunch slump, you may be suffering from caffeine use disorder.

Researchers at American University in Washington, DC, indicate that more people are dependent on caffeine to the point that they suffer withdrawal symptoms.

“They are unable to reduce caffeine consumption even if they have another condition that may be impacted by caffeine – such as a pregnancy, a heart condition or a bleeding disorder,” said psychology professor Laura Juliano at American University.

The negative effects of caffeine are often not recognised as such because its consumption is socially acceptable and is well integrated into our customs and routines.

“While many people can consume caffeine without harm, for some it produces negative effects, physical dependence, interferes with daily functioning, and can be difficult to give up, which are signs of problematic use,” Juliano added.

The study, published in the Journal of Caffeine Research, shows how widespread the caffeine dependence is and the significant physical and psychological symptoms experienced by habitual caffeine users.

Caffeine is found in everything from coffee, tea and soda to OTC pain relievers, chocolate, and now a whole host of food and beverage products branded with some form of the word ‘energy’.

“Genetics research may help us to better understand the effects of caffeine on health and pregnancy as well as individual differences in caffeine consumption and sensitivity,” Juliano contended.

Based on current research, Juliano advises that healthy adults should limit caffeine consumption to no more than two to three cups.

Pregnant women and people who regularly experience anxiety or insomnia – as well as those with high blood pressure, heart problems, or urinary incontinence – should also limit caffeine.

Source: khaleej times

Chocolate, Tea, Berries May Cut Diabetes Risk

A diet that includes substances found in chocolate, tea and berries could help protect people against diabetes and other diseases, new research shows.

The study included nearly 2,000 healthy women in the United Kingdom who completed a food questionnaire and were tested for blood sugar (glucose) regulation, inflammation and insulin resistance.

“Our research looked at the benefits of eating certain sub-groups of flavanoids. We focused on flavones, which are found in herbs and vegetables such as parsley, thyme and celery, and anthocyanins, found in berries, red grapes, wine and other red or blue-colored fruits and vegetables,” study leader Aedin Cassidy, of the University of East Anglia in England, said in a university news release.

The investigators found that consuming high levels of flavones and anthocyanins was associated with lower insulin resistance, better blood sugar regulation and lower levels of inflammation. Chronic inflammation is associated with diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The study was published in the Journal of Nutrition.

“This is one of the first large-scale human studies to look at how these powerful bioactive compounds might reduce the risk of diabetes,” Cassidy said.

Earlier research that took place in laboratories suggested that these types of foods might affect blood sugar, which plays a role in type 2 diabetes risk, she noted. However, it was unknown how regular consumption of these ingredients might affect a person’s blood glucose and inflammation levels and insulin resistance, Cassidy said in the news release.

What remains unclear is exactly what amounts of these compounds are needed to reduce the risk of diabetes, the study authors added. Also unclear is how much of a health benefit the compounds really carry — the study found an association between consumption and seemingly better health but not cause-and-effect.

According to study co-author Tim Spector, of King’s College London, “This is an exciting finding that shows that some components of foods that we consider unhealthy like chocolate or wine may contain some beneficial substances. If we can start to identify and separate these substances we can potentially improve healthy eating,” he said in the news release.

Source: webmd

White Tea Facts and health benefits

Many people who want to lose weight and improve their overall health in general have been turning to tea to help them be healthier and prevent many different types of diseases. The health benefits of tea have been proven time and time again, and people have used it for centuries to help them live longer and stay healthy.

There are many different types of tea, from white tea to black tea to green tea. One of the rarest types of tea is white tea, which is found only in China and is actually harvested from the same plants that green and black tea come from as well.

White tea is harvested from the leaves before the buds have completely blossomed; this makes it so the tea is as close to its natural state as possible and goes through less processing than other types of tea. Where black and green tea have both been cured and oxidized, white tea has not.

White tea provides the body and the mind with a number of benefits, many of which are more powerful than green or black teas. Some of the facts about white tea, especially in relation to green and black teas, are:

• Higher anti viral properties. White tea provides more antiviral properties than both green tea and black tea, as a result of its minimal processing.

• More amino acids. Because it is harvested from buds and leaves that are much younger than when black and green tea are harvested, it also has more amino acids.

• More antibacterial abilities. White tea also contains a stronger concentration of antibacterial qualities than do green or black tea. High levels of catechin and gallic acid are also beneficial to the body.

• Higher antioxidant capabilities. Most teas contain antioxidants that are good at cleansing the body of toxins that accumulate throughout the years as a result of pollutants in the air, undigested particles of food, and waste build up. The high levels of antioxidants found in white tea are better at flushing out these toxins, leaving you healthier and more energized.

• Greater cancer fighting abilities. Certain types of teas have been shown to help fight harmful cancer cells and build up cancer-fighting cells within the body. White tea contains the most properties of the various types of tea to help ward off certain types of cancer.

• Greater effect on stress levels. The higher levels of amino acids found in white tea have a better effect on stress levels than black and green teas as well. These acids contain more properties that enhance the mood and lower the stress levels.

Because it is rare, white tea is frequently more expensive than black, green, and other types of tea. However, the health benefits you will receive from drinking white tea are worth it!

One way to get enough white tea is to try White Tea with Acai, which combines the power of white tea with the super fruit Acai berry to give you even more powerful health benefits.

Source: Healthy lifestyle

Drinking three cups of tea a day can cut stroke risk by 20

Drinking three cups of tea a day can cut the risk of a stroke by a fifth, research claims.

An overview of previous studies found Britain’s favourite drink protects against the brain clots that kill 200 people every day.

A new study has revealed that just three cups of tea a day can slash the risk of a stroke by around 20 percent.

Source: Express

 

Why chocolates, olive oil and tea are healthy for you

Researchers are focusing on the healthful antioxidant substances in red wine, dark chocolate, olive oil, coffee, tea, and other foods and dietary supplements.

Researchers are focusing on the healthful antioxidant substances in red wine, dark chocolate, olive oil, coffee, tea, and other foods and dietary supplements.

The American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, is holding a symposium on those substances during its 246th National Meeting and Exposition.

Reports in the symposium involve substances that consumers know best as ‘antioxidants,’ and that scientists term ‘ phenolic derivatives.’

These ingredients, found naturally in certain foods and sold as dietary supplements, have been linked with health benefits that include reducing the risk of heart disease and cance

Tea made from mamala tree may help fight AIDS

The prostratin compound shows both preventing HIV from infecting human cells and awakening dormant HIV viruses that are hiding inside human

A compound found in a medicinal tea brewed from the bark of a tree could help fight AIDS, scientists have found.

The tea used by tribal healers on the South Pacific island of Samoa to treat hepatitis contains the compound prostratin, extracted from the bark of the mamala tree.

Scientists have found a way to isolate the compound and synthesise it so it is 100 times more potent.
The new version of prostratin shows promise in laboratory tests for both preventing HIV from infecting human cells and awakening dormant HIV viruses that are hiding inside human latently infected cells.

Latent HIV cell reservoirs are untouchable by today`s antiviral medicines. Antiviral medicines reduce active virus levels in patients` blood and keep patients healthy.
But when patients stop the medication, the hibernating HIV in reservoirs awakens to resupply active virus. Prostratin flushes HIV out of its cellular sanctuaries so that antiviral drugs can attack and hopefully eradicate the HIV from the body.

Speaking at the American Chemical Society`s meeting in Indianapolis, Paul A Wender from Stanford University described efficient new ways of making prostratin.
Wender and colleagues first developed a way to make the tea ingredient, prostratin, in large amounts from readily available ingredients.

He described how that initial synthesis broke down a major barrier to probing prostratin`s antiviral effects. Until then, scientists had to extract prostratin from the bark of the Samoan mamala tree, and only tiny and variable amounts were so obtained.

Samoa is where another scientist, Paul Cox, in 1987 heard a native healer praise mamala bark tea as a remedy for viral hepatitis. It led scientists at the National Cancer Institute to analyse the bark and identify prostratin as a key ingredient.
Wender`s synthesis of prostratin opened the door to research on the substance and enabled his team to change prostratin`s architecture.

“We now have made synthetic variants of prostratin, called analogs, that are 100 times more potent than the natural product,” Wender said.

Wender`s group also synthesised bryostatin, a substance that occurs naturally in sea creatures called bryozoans, and appears even more effective for AIDS and have applications for Alzheimer`s disease and cancer.

“Bryostatin has shown great promise in laboratory experiments as the basis for development of potentially transformative medicines for cancer, Alzheimer`s disease and the eradication of HIV/AIDS,” Wender said.

Researchers have designed simpler and more readily synthesised analogs of bryostatin which are up to 1,000-fold more potent in flushing HIV out of its hiding places than prostratin.

Source Zee News/health