Go the tea route and save your arteries !

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Here's how tea helps your health:

 

Saves arteries. Drinking black tea helps prevent deadly clogging of arteries

and reverses poor arterial functioning that can trigger heart attacks and

strokes, two major new studies have found. In a large 10-year study in the

Netherlands, men who consumed the amount of antioxidants called " catechins "

found in

three cups of black tea were 50% less likely to die of ischemic heart disease,

caused by narrowed clogged arteries, than were men who consumed only the

catechins in half a cup of tea. In another recent test, Joseph Vita, M.D., of

the

Boston University School of Medicine, had heart patients drink either plain

water or four cups of black tea daily. In a month, impaired blood vessel

functioning (a risk factor for heart attack and strokes) improved about 50% in

the

tea drinkers.

 

Inhibits cancer growth. Tea has long been tied to a lower risk of stomach,

colon and breast cancer, although the connection is not proven. Now lab studies

find that tea chemicals actually may stop cancer growth. Rutgers University

researchers showed that a compound in black tea called TF-2 caused colorectal

cancer cells to " commit suicide " ; normal cells were unaffected. " The effect is

quite dramatic, " said Rutgers professor Kuang Yu Chen, who speculates that the

chemical might one day be made into an anti-cancer drug.

 

Tames inflammation. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University gave

arthritis-prone mice either green tea or water. The human equivalent of four

cups

of green tea daily halved the mice's risk of developing arthritis. Also

intriguing: TF-2, the newly discovered anti-cancer compound in black tea,

suppresses

the Cox-2 gene that triggers inflammation, says research at Rutgers. That's

the same way the drugs Vioxx and Celebrex work. Also, in a UCLA study of 600

Chinese men and women, drinking green tea halved the risk of chronic stomach

inflammation, which can lead to cancer.

 

Wipes out viruses. Previous tests prove tea can neutralize germs, including

some that cause diarrhea, pneumonia, cystitis and skin infections. New research

by Milton Schiffenbauer of Pace University finds that black and green tea

deactivates viruses, including herpes. When you drink tea, he says, chances are

good you will wipe out viruses in your mouth. Flu viruses, too? Possibly. A

recent Japanese study showed that gargling with black tea boosted immunity to

influenza. Recent research at Harvard indicated that tea chemicals stimulated

gamma-delta T-cells that bolster immunity against bacteria and viruses.

 

Burns calories. Most surprising, green tea's antioxidant EGCG stimulates the

body to burn calories, notably fat. In a Swiss study, a daily dose of 270mg

EGCG (the amount in 2 to 3 cups of green tea) caused men to burn 4% more energy

- about 80 extra calories a day. Green tea did not increase heart rate, and

the calorie burning was not due to caffeine.

 

For the best benefit ... Drink both black and green tea, the regular kind

sold in bags or leaves in grocery stores. Their antioxidants are equal. But

green

tea boasts special-acting EGCG. Bottled tea and instant tea have few

antioxidants, research shows. Herbal teas do not have the same health properties

as

real tea (Camellia sinensis). Tea with caffeine has slightly more antioxidant

activity. Steep tea leaves or bags in hot water 3 to 5 minutes to thoroughly

release antioxidants. Adding milk to tea does not block absorption of

antioxidants, new Dutch research finds. Don't give much tea to kids. Tea

" chelates " iron,

removing it from the body. That may help combat chronic disease but can cause

anemia in young people.

 

SCIENTIFIC SOURCES

 

Tea saves your arteries Arts IC, Am J Clin Nutr 2001 Aug; 74(2): 227-32.

Vita, J, Circulation, July 10, 2001.

 

Tea tames inflammation Haqqi TM, Proceedings of the Nat. Academy of Sciences,

1999; 96;4524-4529. Zuo-Feng Zhang, International Journal of Cancer 2001;

92:600-604.

 

Tea wipes out viruses Chou CC. Int J Food Microbiol 1999; 48:125-130.

Interview with Milton Schiffenbauer of Pace University. Kansenshogaku Zasshi

1997

Jun; 71(6): 487-94. Jack F. Bukowski, Harvard Medical School, Science News,

August 21, 1999. p. 127.

 

Tea burns calories Dulloo, AG. Am J Clin Nutr 1999; 70:1040-5.

 

Tea vs. cavities Touyz LZ, Quintessence Int 2001 Sep; 32(8): 647-650.

 

Tea vs. cataracts Thiagarajan G., Exp Eye Res 2001 Sep; 73(3): 393-401.

 

Tea vs. Parkinson's-like brain damage Levites Y. J Neurochem 2001 Sep; 78(5):

1073-82.