We’ve enjoyed our green tea for any number of reasons. It seems that there may be even more health benefit to the beverage:
Drinking warm green tea has long been touted for its healthful benefits, both real and anecdotal. But now researchers have found that a component of green tea, combined with low doses of Celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor (drugs for inflammation that selectively block the COX-2 enzyme), could slow the spread of human prostate cancer
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Eating the first meal of the day is important but having whole grain breakfast cereals may reduce the risk of developing heart failure by nearly 30 percent.
The conclusion is based on a Physician’s Health Study, one of the longest examining the link between health and diet, and was presented at the American Heart Association’s conference in Florida yesterday.

Black soya beans (the wonderful soybean) could help control weight, prevent diabetes and lower cholesterol, this according to a study on rats:

Experts in Seoul, South Korea, allowed 32 male rats – split into four groups – to gorge on a fatty diet for 28 days. Each group was given differing amounts of black soya, with one group receiving none and acting as a control.
The results showed that those getting 10 per cent of their energy from black soya gained around half as much weight as those in the control group.
Total blood cholesterol also fell by 25 per cent and LDL levels (regarded as “bad” cholesterol) fell by 60 per cent.

I’m trying to figure out what soybean company funded the research. Sanity, however, does still reign: Libby Dowling, care adviser at Diabetes UK, said the results were interesting, but more research would be needed to determine the effects in humans

You know those garlic pills you’ve been taken to lower your choesterol? Well, a new study has concluded that garlic does not lower LDL, the bad-boy of cholesterol:

Although garlic and garlic supplements are widely promoted as cholesterol-lowering agents, a randomized study published Monday has found no evidence that garlic works any better than a placebo in reducing blood lipid concentrations.
The six-month study of 192 adults with mildly elevated cholesterol levels tested raw garlic and garlic supplements, and the authors documented the chemical characteristics of all the test products. The study appears in The Archives of Internal Medicine.

Could the results be any clearer? “No,” says the investigative team:

“We did a bigger and better trial than has ever been done before and with NIH (National Institutes of Health) funding, not with supplement-manufacturer funding. And as far as lowering cholesterol, garlic didn’t work,” said Christopher D. Gardner, study lead author and nutrition scientist and assistant professor with the Stanford Prevention Research Center in Stanford, Calif.

This despite a barage of published reports… consider this one:

Well-designed studies published around the world confirm garlic in several forms can reduce cholesterol and it is an excellent addition to meal-time preparation for women going through pregnancy.

The big story is the one that is rarely reported: most clinical studies will be contradicted by subsequent investigations.

Here’s why:

1. Arthritis - A study in the November issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism suggests turmeric, one component of curry spice, almost completely prevented joint swelling in rats with arthritis. Other studies have suggested that the spice could protect against diseases such as heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease that afflicts nearly 5 million people in the USA.
2. Alzheimer’s- Rates of Alzheimer’s in India are about four times lower than in the USA, says Gregory Cole, a researcher at the University of California-Los Angeles. His studies suggest that curry contains a powerful substance that might protect the brain from damage that leads to Alzheimer’s.
3. Cancer - Curry also may offer some protection against cancer. “Indians eat from 100 to 200 milligrams of curry every day, and that might be enough to prevent cancer,” says Aggarwal of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. The curcumin in curry seems to shut down genes that trigger the development and the spread of breast cancer, animal studies in Aggarwal’s lab suggest. And a preliminary human study suggests curcumin supplements might — in a handful of cases — be able to stabilize pancreatic cancer, he says. Epidemiology studies in humans also have linked frequent use of turmeric spice to lower rates of breast, prostate and colon cancer

Personally, I’ve found the taste of Indian food to be extremely flavorful compared to many of the bland foods American’s have traditionally used as the staples for their diet.
HT: VerumSerum

Research reported in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition dispels the common belief that tea dehydrates. The retrospective study showed that tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, but it can also protect against heart disease and some cancers. Experts believe that flavonoids are the key ingredient in tea that promote health:

[...] These polyphenol antioxidants are found in many foods and plants, including tea leaves, and have been shown to help prevent cell damage.
… Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so its got two things going for it …
… Public health nutritionist Dr Carrie Ruxton, and colleagues at Kings College London, looked at published studies on the health effects of tea consumption.
… They found clear evidence that drinking three to four cups of tea a day can cut the chances of having a heart attack.
… Some studies suggested tea consumption protected against cancer, although this effect was less clear-cut.
…. Other health benefits seen included protection against tooth plaque and potentially tooth decay, plus bone strengthening.
… Also, a cup of tea contains fluoride, which is good for the teeth.

No, the study doesn’t mean that you should stop drinking water and start just drinking tea, this could be dangerous in some people – particularly those that may have a problem with anemia. However, in terms of fluid intake, 1.5-2 litres per day is recommended, and a large percentage of tha can include tea.
My recommendation for tea is combining green tea with rooibos, about 2:1 (I always use loose tea of high quality), which makes for an incredibly healthy and delicious beverage with a very powerful mix of flavonoids with diverse beneficial biochemical and antioxidant effects – and are more bio-available than antioxidants like vitamins C and E. The benefit of drinking green tea instead of black tea (both are very good for you), is that the green tea has a tendency to make you very alert – but relaxed as well.
Cross posted from New Hope Blog

This is why:

Americans have sipped and slurped their way to fatness by drinking far more soda and other sugary drinks over the last four decades, a new scientific review concludes.
An extra can of soda a day can pile on 15 pounds in a single year, and the “weight of evidence” strongly suggests that this sort of increased consumption is a key reason that more people have gained weight, the researchers say.

… people who drank more than six cups of green tea per day had a 33 percent lower risk of diabetes, compared to people who drank less than one cup per week. Drinking three or more cups of coffee per day was associated with a 42 percent lower risk of diabetes.
New research from Japan suggests that people who drink lots of green tea or coffee every day could lower their risk of diabetes by 33 percent – a result linked to caffeine content.

A team led by a Canadian researcher has discovered a process by which a small protein acts directly within muscles to increase the body’s metabolism to burn fat while simultaneously suppressing appetite. These findings suggest that the protein, known as the ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) – a cytokine expressed by glial cells, could play a key role as a weight loss agent.
Of particular interest to diabetics is that there is data that supports the use of CNTF as a potential therapeutic means to combat lipid-induced insulin resistance.

… and lower the risk of the onset of diabetes by improving the body’s use of the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin. However, the type of fiber is apparently important. There are two main types of fiber — soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like material, and it’s believed to lower cholesterol and blood sugar. Foods like oatmeal and beans, as well as apples, berries and certain other fruits are high in soluble fiber. Although scientists have not been able to explain why, intake of insoluble fiber is correlated to an improvement in insulin sensitivity.
The study investigator, Dr. Martin Weickert, a researcher at the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Nuthetal, noted that it is best to get fiber from its natural sources, namely plant-based foods. But since most people fall far short of the recommended fiber intake — 20 to 35 grams per day — fiber supplements might be a reasonable “second choice,” he added

New research may help explain why eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts helps protect the heart and prevent diabetes. The key may be the mineral magnesium. According to the study, people who ate magnesium-rich diets seemed to be protected against developing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
The risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome include elevated blood pressure, low levels of HDL “good” cholesterol, elevated triglycerides (blood fats), elevated fasting-glucose (blood sugar) levels, and abdominal obesity as determined by waistline measurement.

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“Overall summary odds ration [a measure of risk] showed an approximately 20 per cent statistically significant reduction in risk of breast cancer associated with high intake of green tea” …

A meta-analysis of previous studies indicates that drinking five cups of green tea a day can reduce the risk of breast cancer by 22 per cent, the same studies that the FDA recently said contained very little science to support the claims. Although this article is a couple of weeks old, the information is still just as useful.
This particular meta-analysis involved relative risk of green and black teas with breast cancer, but there have been animal studies that indicate both green and black teas show inhibition in dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) – induced carcinogenesis. I’ve previously worked on research with natural compounds in attempting to prevent DMBA induced carcinogenesis, and have to admit that I’m impressed with the fact that green and black teas shows inhibition in the face of such a powerful tumor promoter.
By the way, I’ve been a real fan of green tea for almost five years, drink 6 to 8 cups of strong tea a day (5 minute seeps of a high quality tea I order out of Japan), and take capsules of green tea extract with 470 mg. each of EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) along with my daily nutritional regimen. I’m not a heatlh nut, just had to adapt due to my own personal health issues (I have MS and am a five year survivor of head and neck cancer – rather rare for Stage IV when found). Although drinking much greater quantities of green tea are not only safe but healthy, taking capsules of green tea extract should be done with caution, owing to some reports of liver toxicity.
For those that wish to have the health benefits of green tea but don’t like the taste of it, consider doing what I often do. Use 1 tsp of high quality sencha green tea to each 1.5 tsp of high quality unfermented Rooibos tea -of your favorite flavor (not flavoring, rather natural citrus peel). If you absolutely have to have it sweetened, use a very small amount of stevia instead of sugar or artificial sweetner (stevia actually lowers glucose levels).
Diabetics should also be interested in green tea for it’s effects on glucose metabolism.

Green tea promoted glucose metabolism in healthy human volunteers at 1.5 g/body in oral glucose tolerance tests. Green tea also lowered blood glucose levels in diabetic db+/db+ mice and streptozotocin-diabetic mice 2-6 h after administration at 300 mg/kg without affecting serum insulin level, whereas no effect was observed in control mice (+m/+m and normal ddY mice).

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Have you heard about nutrigenomics, a new-generation science that studies the interaction of individual nutrients on the genetics and the metabolism of the consumer?
Think about going into your local supermarket and along with your shopping list you take in the results from your latest genetic tests so you can be sure to buy the correct foods and supplements necessary to cut your risk of certain diseases!
But before you get too excited about doing this, you’re going to have to wait. They’re not on the market yet, neither are the tests. However, scientists are actually already working on this.

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Following a doctor’s advice on how to keep diabetes in check is always the best course of action and researchers are constantly on the lookout for compounds that someday could help physicians better treat the disease. Of special interest to chemists are naturally occurring compounds found in certain healthy foods and beverages. Often these compounds become the model or the active ingredient for new drug therapies that maximize the food’s beneficial effects.

Some examples of such compounds and their effects include:

New research in animals suggests that tea may be a simple, inexpensive means of preventing diabetes and its ensuing complications, including cataracts. Researchers fed green and black tea to diabetic rats for three months and then monitored the chemical composition of the rats’ blood and eye lenses. At levels that would be equivalent to less than five cups of tea per day for a human, both teas significantly inhibited cataract formation relative to a control group, which did not get tea, according to Joe Vinson, PhD, a chemist at the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania) and lead author of the paper.

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Growing up, there wasn’t a day that went by when my family didn’t eat potatoes for dinner. Mashed, fried, boiled or baked, they were a staple to our midwestern diet. I now try to stay away from the food because it has the same effect on my blood sugar as candy. You see, though potatoes do have some healthful attributes, they also have a high glycemic index (GI), meaning their carbohydrate content is rapidly absorbed by the body and converted to glucose. Carbohydrate foods that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes. Their blood sugar response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that breakdown slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes.
Intestingly, a recent study conducted by researchers at Harvard University have linked potato consumption with diabetes risk:

In a long-term study of nearly 85,000 U.S. women, researchers at Harvard University found that those with the highest potato intake had a modestly elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 

This is particularly problematic for overweight or sedentary adults – so lay off the taters and order a side salad instead of french fries.

Yes, it’s true:

Moderate consumption of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged and younger women, according to a new report.
… In general, higher coffee consumption, both caffeinated and decaffeinated, was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, the team reports in the medical journal Diabetes Care. The reduction in risk was 13 percent with one cup of coffee per day, and as much as 47 percent with four or more cups.
-Reuters

The only question is whay kind of coffee to consume, Sumatran or Ethiopian?