Tea Time: Eternal Now

[Guest guest]

Drink This Every Day. Live Longer

 

Whether it's iced or steaming hot, tea may be the ultimate elixir for your

good health.

 

Previous research has shown it can do a wonder of medical miracles, from

helping to prevent cancer to slowing down the aging process to even curing

bad breath. Now researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center say

there is a direct relationship between consuming tea and lowering

cholesterol levels, reports Reuters.

 

Lower cholesterol can help prevent heart disease. Drink tea every day and

you may just live longer.

 

The study: The Vanderbilt researchers tested their theory using a " tea

pill " --a 374-milligram tablet that contained extracts from green tea and

black tea that was enriched with the antioxidant theaflavin. Some 240 men

and women in China, all of whom had elevated cholesterol levels,

participated in the study. Every day for 12 weeks they popped either a tea

pill or a placebo. The ingredients in the pill were the equivalent of

drinking 35 cups of high quality black tea and seven of green tea.

 

The results: The researchers called it a " robust " reaction. There was a 16

percent drop in the so-called bad cholesterol--low density lipoprotein

(LDL) cholesterol--among the subjects who took the tea pill. Mind you,

cholesterol-lowering drugs work better, but this is quite impressive

considering tea is not a drug.

But there is a mystery. Reuters notes that because the tea pill was

actually a " cocktail " of antioxidants, it's not known which ingredient in

the tea or combination of ingredients is responsible for the effect on

cholesterol. That means more testing is needed.

 

If you want to get the most health benefits from tea, CNN's Dr. Sanjay

Gupta recommends green tea over black tea since green tea is richer in

antioxidants. Also, be sure to steep the tea at least 5 minutes.

 

Here's the gotcha: Just drinking tea every day is not enough to lower your

cholesterol. You need to have healthy lifestyle habits as well. Mind the

alcohol, cigarettes, and weight gain or the tea won't help.

 

The study findings were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

 

 

Singularly radiating is the wondrous Light;

Free is it from the bondage

Of matter and the senses.

Not bound by words and letters,

The Essence is nakedly exposed

In its pure eternity.

Never defiled is the Mind-nature;

It exists in perfection from the very beginning.

By merely casting away your delusions

The Suchness of Buddhahood is realized.

 

- Seng T’san (d.606)