Green tea and weight loss

Green Tea and Eye Disease

Substances found in green tea could help fight eye disease, according to authors of the latest research from the University of Hong Kong.

Scientists from the department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Hong Kong have confirmed that substances found in green tea do penetrate into the tissues of the eye, a fact previously unknown as scientists were unsure if catechins, which are antioxidants thought to protect the body against damage from oxygen, could make their way from the mouth to the gastrointestinal system to the eyes.

The article, which is featured in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, is the first of its kind to document how the lens, retina and other tissues within the eyes absorb beneficial substances such as catechins. The research within the study raises the possibility that among green tea’s long list of already documented health benefits that it might also help to protect against common eye diseases such as glaucoma. 

Catechins contained within green tea, as well as other antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, lutein and zeaxanthin have long been linked with having the capability of protecting the eye from disease, but lack of research has, until now, left this thought unproven. 

The study was conducted using laboratory rats that were fed green tea over a period of time. Subsequent dissection and analysis of the rats’ eye tissue showed significant absorption of individual catechins into various structures of the eye. The retina was seen to absorb the highest levels of gallocatechin, with the aqueous humor absorbing epigallocatechin.

The authors of the research stated that their ‘results indicate that green tea consumption could benefit the eye against oxidative stress’.  The effect of the green tea catechins on the laboratory rats was a reduction in harmful oxidative stress in the eye, which lasted up to twenty hours.

Research:
Pang et al. Green Tea Catechins and Their Oxidative Protection in the Rat Eye. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2010, 58 (3), pp 1523–1534. DOI: 10.1021/jf9032602

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Decaf For Me Please!

In today’s modern world we take our health seriously; watch our weight, blood pressure, alcohol intake and try to exercise regularly. Diets, gym memberships and all sorts of things from books to TV shows tell us not to eat this or cut down on that, often removing those small, simple pleasures in life that keep us going and get us through a hard day.

Caffeine consumption, for one, seems to be an extremely popular subject at the moment. Too much caffeine is bad, so we’re told, and we should cut it out of our diet. So, if you’re one of the ever dwindling few that is sticking to their guns and resolve and is keeping up with that healthy lifestyle resolution from New Year’s then I feel it is my duty to make things a little easier for you.

Being one of the great daily pleasures in life, tea is a must have – even for those of you that can’t or don’t want to have caffeine in your diet. There is a whole host of teas and herbal infusions that can quite easily substitute for your regular cuppa – although it must be said that the decaffeination process does reduce the flavour of tea leaves slightly and hence nothing can truly beat the real thing.

Decaffeinated teas are decaffeinated by using one of two methods, the most gentle and natural being the carbon dioxide process. This process involves dissolving the caffeine in liquid CO2, which as a gas is naturally present in the air we breathe. This produces a decaffeinated tea with most of its original flavour. The alternative caffeine solvent is methyl chloride, which is used for most decaffeinated teas but causes a greater lose of flavour.

I think it’s safe to say that the morning is probably the most difficult time of the day for people trying to give up caffeine. Rudely awoken by the beep, beep, beep of your alarm clock, rushing to get ready whilst your brain still seems to be counting sheep, well don’t panic – decaffeinated teas such as Earl Grey, English Breakfast or even Chinese Sencha offer a refreshing and invigorating taste whilst being totally free of caffeine. These offer a great taste and are only marginally less flavourful than their caffeine counterparts.

So, perhaps before you make up your mind you should take a look at the Saviour of Tea’s articles on decaffeinated tea and reduced caffeine/caffeine free alternatives – you might find something in there that will suit you better than giving up caffeine completely. There are also great tips on how to decaffeinate your own tea and some helpful advice on finding the right type of tea for you.

Enjoy!

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Sri Lanka Pledges $40.7m For Tea Smallholders

Tea Plantation, Nuwara Eliya

The Sri Lankan government is pledging $40.7m to the nation’s tea smallholders.

The Plantation Industries Ministry aims to improve profitability for the marginal tea smallholdings of the mid-country region, as well as the arable farmers in the Moneragala region.

The Smallholder Plantation Entrepreneurship Development Program (SPEnDP), funded by the International Fund For Agricultural Development, will develop 3,500 hectares of arable lands and 3,800 hectares of rubber plantations in Mongerala.

C. Maliyadda, the Project Co-ordinator, says that the programme aims to improve living standards for smallholders and their families by encouraging entrepreneurship and partnership between the smallholders and the tea factories.

75ha of tea gardens have already been replanted under the scheme.

The area covered by the scheme includes Kegelle, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Mongeragal District. 8,700 households are expected to benefit, a total of 32,250 individuals.

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Green tea challenges cancer to a duel

Holy Kaw

Researchers believe that the thousand-year old drink, green tea, may be contain certain compounds useful in treating head and neck cancers. There will be almost 48,000 Americans diagnosed with some form of head and neck cancer this year, and head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the world. Although the research is in its early stages, Emory University researchers note that lab results have shown that an extract from green tea in combination with a current cancer drug can help inhibit certain precancer cells that cause the growth of tumors.

No word yet on whether green tea-flavored ice cream and candy have the same effect.

via !.

Green tea ‘may block lung cancer’

BBC News

Drinking green tea may offer some protection against lung cancer, say experts who studied the disease at a medical university in Taiwan. The latest work in more than 500 people adds to growing evidence suggesting the beverage has anti-cancer powers. In the study, smokers and non-smokers who drank at least a cup a day cut their lung cancer risk significantly, a US cancer research conference heard.

The protection was greatest for people carrying certain genes. But cancer experts said the findings did not change the fact that smoking is bad for health.

Green tea is made from the dried leaves of the Asian plant Camellia sinesis and is drunk widely across Asia. The rates of many cancers are much lower in Asia than other parts of the world, which has led some to link the two. Laboratory studies have shown that extracts from green tea, called polyphenols, can stop cancer cells from growing. But results from human studies have been mixed. Some have shown a protective effect while others have failed to find any evidence of protection.

In July 2009, the Oxford-based research group Cochrane published a review of 51 studies on green tea and cancer which included over 1.5 million people. They concluded that while green tea is safe to drink in moderation, the research so far is conflicting about whether or not it can prevent certain cancers.

Dr I-Hsin Lin, of Shan Medical University, found that among smokers and non-smokers, people who did not drink green tea were more than five times as likely to get lung cancer than those who drank at least one cup of green tea a day.

Among smokers, those who did not drink green tea at all were more than 12 times as likely to develop lung cancer than those who drank at least a cup a day. Researchers then analysed the DNA of people in the study and found certain genes appeared to play a role in the risk reduction.

Green tea drinkers, whether smokers or non smokers, with certain types of a gene called IGF1, were far less likely to develop lung cancer than other green tea drinkers with different types of this gene. Yinka Ebo, of Cancer Research UK, said the findings should not be used as an excuse to keep smoking.

“Smoking tobacco fills your lungs with around 80 cancer-causing chemicals. Drinking green tea is not going to compensate for that. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to make up for the harm caused by smoking by doing other things right like eating a healthy, balanced diet. The best thing a smoker can do to reduce their risk of lung cancer, and more than a dozen other cancer types, is to quit.”