Green Tea: real, beneficial effects, or beer flatus?

[Gvac]

Hey chief! Is green tea really as beneficial as some people claim or is it a load of horseshit?

[jauble]

Hey chief! Is green tea really as beneficial as some people claim or is it a load of horseshit?

It works better if you drink it, but you're the boss of your own shit

http://paxarcana.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/neti_pot.jpg

[Thebazile78]

Hey chief! Is green tea really as beneficial as some people claim or is it a load of horseshit?

Tea, both green and black, and coffee have health benefits, among them an increased incidence of antioxidant compounds which are thought to improve your overall health.

Since more people drink coffee, and it's tricky to brew green tea properly so it doesn't get bitter, if you already drink coffee, feel free to keep it up.

[Dr Steve]

Hey chief! Is green tea really as beneficial as some people claim or is it a load of horseshit?

eh, I could tell you, but let this review article from the literature speak for itself:

Histol Histopathol. 2008 Apr;23(4):487-96.

Tea polyphenols, their biological effects and potential molecular targets.

Chen D, Milacic V, Chen MS, Wan SB, Lam WH, Huo C, Landis-Piwowar KR, Cui QC,
Wali A, Chan TH, Dou QP.

The Prevention Program, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Department of
Pathology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201,
USA.

Tea is the most popular beverage in the world, second only to water. Tea contains
an infusion of the leaves from the Camellia sinensis plant rich in polyphenolic
compounds known as catechins, the most abundant of which is (-)-EGCG. Although
tea has been consumed for centuries, it has only recently been studied
extensively as a health-promoting beverage that may act to prevent a number of
chronic diseases and cancers. The results of several investigations indicate that
green tea consumption may be of modest benefit in reducing the plasma
concentration of cholesterol and preventing atherosclerosis. Additionally, the
cancer-preventive effects of green tea are widely supported by results from
epidemiological, cell culture, animal and clinical studies. In vitro cell culture
studies show that tea polyphenols potently induce apoptotic cell death and cell
cycle arrest in tumor cells but not in their normal cell counterparts. Green tea
polyphenols were shown to affect several biological pathways, including growth
factor-mediated pathway, the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase-dependent
pathway, and ubiquitin/proteasome degradation pathways. Various animal studies
have revealed that treatment with green tea inhibits tumor incidence and
multiplicity in different organ sites such as skin, lung, liver, stomach, mammary
gland and colon. Recently, phase I and II clinical trials have been conducted to
explore the anticancer effects of green tea in humans. A major challenge of
cancer prevention is to integrate new molecular findings into clinical practice.
Therefore, identification of more molecular targets and biomarkers for tea
polyphenols is essential for improving the design of green tea trials and will
greatly assist in a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying its
anti-cancer activity.





I highlighted the passages that should be of interest.

So the answer is, it certainly seems so. Polyphenols rule.


your pal,



steve

[Sinestro]

I knew humans were animals.

[Foster]

eh, I could tell you, but let this review article from the literature speak for itself:
Histol Histopathol. 2008 Apr;23(4):487-96.

Tea polyphenols, their biological effects and potential molecular targets.

Chen D, Milacic V, Chen MS, Wan SB, Lam WH, Huo C, Landis-Piwowar KR, Cui QC,
Wali A, Chan TH, Dou QP.

The Prevention Program, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Department of
Pathology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201,
USA.

Tea is the most popular beverage in the world, second only to water. Tea contains
an infusion of the leaves from the Camellia sinensis plant rich in polyphenolic
compounds known as catechins, the most abundant of which is (-)-EGCG. Although
tea has been consumed for centuries, it has only recently been studied
extensively as a health-promoting beverage that may act to prevent a number of
chronic diseases and cancers. The results of several investigations indicate that
green tea consumption may be of modest benefit in reducing the plasma
concentration of cholesterol and preventing atherosclerosis. Additionally, the
cancer-preventive effects of green tea are widely supported by results from
epidemiological, cell culture, animal and clinical studies. In vitro cell culture
studies show that tea polyphenols potently induce apoptotic cell death and cell
cycle arrest in tumor cells but not in their normal cell counterparts. Green tea
polyphenols were shown to affect several biological pathways, including growth
factor-mediated pathway, the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase-dependent
pathway, and ubiquitin/proteasome degradation pathways. Various animal studies
have revealed that treatment with green tea inhibits tumor incidence and
multiplicity in different organ sites such as skin, lung, liver, stomach, mammary
gland and colon. Recently, phase I and II clinical trials have been conducted to
explore the anticancer effects of green tea in humans. A major challenge of
cancer prevention is to integrate new molecular findings into clinical practice.
Therefore, identification of more molecular targets and biomarkers for tea
polyphenols is essential for improving the design of green tea trials and will
greatly assist in a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying its
anti-cancer activity.





I highlighted the passages that should be of interest.
So the answer is, it certainly seems so. Polyphenols rule.


your pal,



steve

is it me or is Dr. Steve getting lazy?

[Dr Steve]

is it me or is Dr. Steve getting lazy?


ha ha, in my defense, I've used the technique of reprinting something from the medical literature before, especially when the answer is controversial, just to give it some gravitas.

that, and yeah, I'm getting kind of lazy, too. :-)

[Farmer Dave]

Probably unrelated and uninteresting but here it is anyway. My wife has been around horses all her life and has trained horses for some old timers. If a horse had an eye problem (Swollen or mattery,etc.) the solution was to rinse it with and hold a warm compress of tea on it. Most of the time that took care of it.

[redbri]

Now the which green teas give the most benefit. You can but a thousand different kinds/brands in the grocery stores but which gives you the most health bang for your buck.

[Thebazile78]

Now the which green teas give the most benefit. You can but a thousand different kinds/brands in the grocery stores but which gives you the most health bang for your buck.

Whichever one you will drink.

They're pretty much all the same but some brands brew up a bit more bitter than others because they use what amounts to tea leaf dust in the teabags rather than full leaves.

In general, I've found loose, whole-leaf tea to be the best, followed by Celestial Seasonings and, occasionally Tetley in the round tins.

You need to be finicky about brewing it or it will turn bitter, astringent or both, resulting in a pretty undrinkable brew.

Green tea should be brewed with cooler water than black, rooibos or herbal teas, but not as cool as white tea. On most green tea boxes, they advise you to use water that's just come to a boil ... if you use a teakettle to boil your water, that'll be just when you're getting the first wisps of steam out of the spout. (If you use a whistling model, this is LONG before it starts to whistle.)

Put your teabag or leaves into the cup FIRST and then pour the water over it. Dunking doesnt' brew good tea.

Let it steep for 2-4 minutes; any longer results in a nasty brew.
Add honey and/or lemon if desired ... I drink mine straight.

If you're making it at work, and you have a choice between hot water from a coffee maker/coffee machine and a water cooler, opt for the hot water tap on the water cooler because the water temp will be set lower than the coffee maker/coffee machine.

[Ritalin]

ha ha, in my defense, I've used the technique of reprinting something from the medical literature before, especially when the answer is controversial, just to give it some gravitas.

that, and yeah, I'm getting kind of lazy, too. :-)

Oh.

gravitas.

Big fancy word from the Doctah.

[jlehane3]

get a coffee maker with the heating circle at bottom where the (glass) charafe rests.Park it within arm's reach of your computer chair.Rest your cooled off or warm cup of tea or coffee on the warming circle (caution:no melting :furious: materials like :glurps:plastic).You can add some water in the coffee maker for a little extra hot water or leave empty.But you have to time it so you can press upward on the springy sealer over the coffee warming circle where the top of the container would hit and dump the hot water.I use a spoon to guide the stream into the cup. Most people would use a microwave with mixed results/tepid or scalding. My method delivers a more even temp,and the cup itself lets you know whether or not you'll burn your mouth,because it sat there evenly heated,while you blogged,glued to your chair. http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a65/j3lehane/CoffeeSteamer41X0GY947HL_AA400_.jpg This particular $25 model mister coffee,can tip the top(I think) and steam your room/humidify.