Move Over Has-Bean :: Food and Nutrition

Move Over Has-Bean
by author Kathleen Barnes

Recently, while my friends and I were sharing a laugh over a cuppa java, I looked across the table at Amanda’s cup and realized there was no ebony liquid in it. Instead, she was delicately sipping green tea. One of Amanda’s jokes?

“Not at all,” she explained. “It has no calories, tastes great hot or cold, and the scientific evidence is compelling that it can treat countless medical conditions.”

“She’s right,” I conceded, sheepishly shoving my latte to one side. “There’s an amazing amount of research proving that tea is great for your health and green tea may be the best.”

The Basics

Just to get the record clear: Green, black, and white teas all come from the same plant, the Camellia sinensis. The difference is in the processing.

Green tea is minimally processed, so it has the highest levels of four major antioxidants in the catechin family–epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)–that keep cells healthy and prevent the deterioration of oxidative stress that comes with aging and leads to problems ranging from heart disease to cancer.

Any type of tea is healthy, says Tufts University tea researcher Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, but green tea has a higher concentration of those all-important catechins.

Here’s to Long Life

The American Heart Association reports that drinking two or more cups of tea a day reduces the risk of dying of a heart attack by 44 percent. Japanese research shows that people who drink green tea have fewer cancers and less chance of dying from any cause than those who never sip the savory brew.

Researchers from around the world have shown that drinking green tea is one of the best things you can do for your heart. The flavonoids in green tea lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol and help prevent the artery-clogging plaque that leads to heart attacks by relaxing blood vessels, thus allowing blood to flow more freely.

Reduce Your Risk of Cancer

Drinking a cup of green tea a day can cut your risk of breast cancer by 29 percent, according to a study from the University of Southern California, including for those with high risk factors for breast cancer such as family history, low physical activity, or a higher-than-recommended alcohol intake.

Green tea can actually slow the most common form of cancer in men. Mayo Clinic research proves that the catechins in green tea can retard the growth of prostate cancer cells.
Two other studies from Indiana University and New York’s American Health Foundation show that green tea is protective against the cancer-causing effects of smoking and helps slow the growth of cancerous lung tumours.

French research suggests that the catechins in green tea somehow stop the production of an enzyme that encourages cancer cells to grow, effectively stopping the wild cell division typical of cancerous tumours.

Slim Down

If you’re trying to shed some extra pounds, add green tea to your diet plan. Weight loss experts theorize that green tea acts as a natural carbohydrate blocker by inhibiting the body’s production of amylase, the digestive enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates, so they pass through your system unabsorbed.

By delaying the breakdown of carbs until further down the digestive tract, insulin peaks are prevented, adding the special benefit of curbing cravings caused by blood sugar drops, says tea researcher Lester Mitscher, PhD, author of The Green Tea Book (Avery, 1997).

French researchers found that dieters who combined their weight loss plan with green tea before each meal lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t drink tea. Another French study shows that people who added green tea to their daily routine lost 4.6 percent of their body weight and 4.48 percent of their waist circumference in just three months–without changing their diet or exercise routines.

There’s More

It seems Amanda’s already sold, but if you’re not yet totally convinced, consider this: Preliminary studies give even more credit to green tea to help lower blood sugar, prevent the onset of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, protect your teeth from cavities, and even to prevent sunburn when it’s applied in a creme form.

Kathleen Barnes wrote Userâ€™s Guide to Hypothyroidism, Userâ€™s Guide to Natural Hormone Replacement, and is co-author of 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health: A Womanâ€™s Take Charge Program (McGraw Hill, 2004).

Source: alive #279, January 2006

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In her 1957 wedding photos, she is the classic embodiment of the term hourglass figure: generous bust and hips set off by a small waist. Her dress and going-away suit showcase her fashionably abundant figure and nervous smile.

Cancer Research
This is an exciting time in cancer research. From multibillion dollar medical research complexes to smaller university laboratories, cancer researchers are making extraordinary discoveries about the cellular mechanics of cancer.

Hydrate and Rejuvenate
Have you ever gone to bed thirsty and suddenly realized you haven't had a sip of water all day? Life is so busy that although many of us know we should be drinking more water, we have a hard time remembering to do so.

Hunger Free Forever: The New Science of Appetite Control
by Michael Murray and Michael Lyon Atria Books, 2007; 304 pages; hardcover $29.95,also available as an e-book at simonsays.com ISBN 978-1-4165-4904-8

The Last 15
Dr. Joey Shulman's new book, The last 15: a weight loss breakthrough, addresses controlled and permanent weight loss beyond an individual's plateau point-those hard-to-lose extra pounds that prevent 98 percent of the overweight population from achieving complete, healthy success.

The Sunshine Vitamin
Vitamin D may be one of the most important nutrients for preventing a host of diseases and improving longevity. This month's Research Watch discusses the new research about this long-overlooked vitamin and how it may be critical to long-term health.

Superfood in a Nutshell
What nuts lack in size they more than make up for in nutrition.

Summer Drinks
The hot and lazy days of summer just beg for icy cold drinks. But many traditional recipes for summer drinks are made with simple syrup, a sugar and water mixture that is boiled, cooled, and then refrigerated until needed.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
Many of us come home from vacations packing a few extra pounds, but it doesn't have to be that way. On your next vacation plan to indulge yourself with healthy gourmet food and a variety of activities.

Picnic Wines
September brings us the last days of summer and the year's final opportunity for sun-drenched picnics. But how do we choose a suitable wine to ease us out of fancy-free summer and into the formality of fall?

Acne's Oily Secret
From sunburn to psoriasis, acne to eczema, inflammation is often the common thread in unwanted skin conditions. Now, as nutritional medicine advances, it is becoming increasingly clear that dietary choices can influence inflammation in all parts of the human body, including the skin.

Potent Pomegranates
In ancient cultures, pomegranates were symbols of life, regeneration, health, and vitality. In Babylon and Persia, soldiers chewed pomegranate seeds before battle, believing that the exotic fruits would reward them with superior skills and invincibility. The Egyptians placed pomegranates in King Tut's tomb, to help him in his afterlife.

Remember Rhodiola
A herb that was widely used by ancient Nordic seafarers is still being used by monks of the Himalayas. The therapeutic properties of this Arctic herb, rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea), have also been impressing modern researchers.

Losing Weight
The New Year kicks off with parties presenting irresistible desserts, delicious eggnog, and those tasty little appetizers that are so hard to refuse! With the alcohol flowing and office or family gatherings happening all around you, temptation is at an all-time high.

Build a New You
Our bodies are in a continual state of renewal and repair. In one year the over 100 trillion cells that make up the body will all be new.

Probiotics
There is a newfound interest in probiotics, and food companies haven't missed a beat. They have put these latest nutritional money-makers into flavoured sticks, special drinks, yogourts, cheese, and anything else you can put a bite on.

Weight-loss Aids
If you're like the majority of Canadians whose Day-Timers include notations such as "exercise every day, "drink more water, and "eat more salads, don't forget to add "research health supplements, because there are some great products that may help in shedding those extra post-holiday pounds.

Deal Out Cancer
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, about 40 percent of women and nearly 45 percent of men in this country will face a personal battle with this fearful disease.

This Might Save Your Life
"I'm going to call an ambulance, I told my patient, a woman in her early 50s. She knew that something was wrong, but I knew she wasn't convinced that her symptoms were serious. Most women, and many men, aren't aware of the more subtle signs of a heart attack.

Squeeze some sunshine
Have you ever wondered why an apple turns brown after you cut it in half? But cut any citrus fruit in half and it remains virtually unchanged. The difference is the high level of ascorbic acid and other antioxidants in the citrus; they protect it from oxidation-like natural rustproofing.

Milk Thistle
Even though milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is not a new herb to the health food industry, the studies and clinical evidence of this amazing medicinal botanical continue to expand each year.

Amazing Acai
For thousands of years the people of Brazil have known about the many beneficial secrets of the small purple acai (pronounced ah-saw-ee) berry. This amazing berry grows in the Eastern Amazon region and in Northern Brazil. To the people of South America, acai has been a mainstay for centuries.

On Tap
A tall glass of ice water: clear and simple. Whether it’s safe to drink, however, has become a complicated issue.

Change It Up!
Are you burned out or bored with your fitness routine? Did you start out eager to make improvements to your strength, conditioning, and healthy lifestyle, but now find yourself sidetracked?

Beverages with Benefits
It used to be that we drank water or tea when we were thirsty. But today, beverage choices seem endless, ranging from vitamin-enhanced waters to the increasingly available antioxidant drinks.

Whole Leaf Tea
Every household has its favourite way of making tea. But there’s more to your cuppa than just leaves and boiling water.