Iced and Hot Tea, a pleasant way to enjoy health benefits.

Teas can naturally be anti bacterial, prevent bad breath, be a source of anti oxidants, and also curb hunger pangs to help dieters. 01-13-12

"There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea," wrote Bernard-Paul Heroux. (http://www.quotegarden.com/tea.html)

What is it about a cup of hot tea that is so...soothing? I happen to think it's the warmth that emanates from pretty tea cups. But scientists credit a host of naturally-occurring compounds in tea with beneficial health effects.

All tea comes from the same plant: Camellia sinensis. And over the centuries as this plant grew in the sun, says the USDA Agricultural Research Service, it formed chemicals called "polyphenols" to protect it from the elements. Polyphenols are family to "flavonoids" - health-promoting antioxidant substances found in many fruits and vegetables.

When tea leaves are processed into the various forms of tea, the flavonoid content changes, say researchers. Green tea, for example, contains more simple antioxidant flavonoids while black tea contains more complex varieties.

Green, black and oolong teas are all from the same C. sinensis plant...just processed differently. Green tea is minimally fermented - the process of exposing to air and drying. Black tea is maximally fermented. And oolong tea is somewhere in the middle.        

Beside the fact that tea contains zero calories and soothes your soul, here are some other compelling reasons to enjoy a cup of tea:

Curb food cravings.  "Afternoon tea" was supposedly started by the 7th Duchess of Bedford (England) to keep her hunger pangs at bay between lunch and dinner. And (from personal experience) it also seems to work in those munch-prone hours after dinner.

Lower cholesterol. Tea drinking has shown to help lower "bad" LDL cholesterol levels in some studies. Powerful antioxidant substances in tea are believed to be the reason.

Fight infections. Several compounds have been found in black and green teas that work like antibiotics to fight off the bad bugs that make us sick.

Prevent halitosis (bad breath). Swish with tea to suppress foul mouth odor? Researchers at the University of Illinois found that some of the polyphenols in tea inhibit the growth of bacteria in the mouth that can cause this unpleasant smell.

What about herbal teas? While not officially "tea" from the Camellia sinensis plant, infusions from the leaves of other plants may have their own benefits, according to scientists at Tufts University.

Chamomile and peppermint teas, for example, appear to have infection-fighting capabilities. Peppermint tea is also rich in antioxidants that help fight against cancer growth. And a clinical trial with hibiscus tea showed a blood pressure lowering effect in volunteers who drank 3 cups a day for six weeks.

How to make a perfect cup of tea? Here are some key steps, according to Cindy Bigelow, whose grandmother invented Constant Comment:

-Start with cold fresh water every time, not the leftover in your tea kettle. "It's the oxygen in the water that opens up the tea leaf for full flavor extraction," says Bigelow.

-For black and oolong teas, bring the water to a rolling boil and then pour over leaves or tea bag. Steep for 1 or 2 minutes.

-Green teas are more delicate.  Use water that has just begun to boil and steep for 3 to 4 minutes.

-Do not, do not squeeze your teabag into your tea, says Bigelow. This releases bitter tannins that destroy flavor.

Lastly, "Remember the tea kettle," someone once said."It is always up to its neck in water, yet it still sings!"

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=12131&Section=NUTRITION

Even 15 minutes of exercise daily can extend your life, reduce stroke risk.

Berlin (dpa) - Taking a minimum of 15 minutes of exercise a day can extend life expectancy by up to three years, according to Germany's Society of Neurologists and the Stroke Society.

A regular program of exercise can reduce the risk of stroke, cardiovascular illness, cancer and diabetes. The advice is based on a study of over 400,000 participants in Taiwan whose health status was checked regularly over eight years.

The study discovered that 15 minutes of exercise a day made a surprising contribution to improving overall health. The mortality rate for those who took the exercise was 14 per cent lower than the inactive participants.

Extrapolating the results over 30 years resulted in a projected extended life expectancy of three years as well as a reduced chance of developing cancer and diseases of the cardiovascular system. The conclusion was that the more a person exercises, the less chance they have of falling ill.

The recommended 15 minutes a day is half what the World Health Organisation advises people to take.

Copyright 2012 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

PET / Proton Therapy confirmed effective for Prostate Cancer.

U.S. researchers suggest proton therapy -- a type of external beam radiation -- is effective for localized prostate cancer with minimal side effects.

In one study, researchers at the University of Florida in Jacksonville studied 211 men with low-, intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer. The men were treated with proton therapy, a specialized type of external beam radiation that uses protons instead of X-rays.

Nancy Mendenhall of the university's Proton Therapy Institute said the treatment was effective and the gastrointestinal and genitourinary -- reproductive organs and the urinary system -- side effects were generally minimal.

In a second study, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group in Philadelphia performed a case-matched analysis comparing high-dose external beam radiation therapy using a combination of photons (X-rays) and protons with brachytherapy (radioactive seed implants).

Over three years, 196 patients received the external beam treatments. Their data was compared to 203 men of similar stages who received brachytherapy over the same time period.

"For men with prostate cancer, brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy using photons and protons are both highly effective treatments with similar relapse rates," said Dr. John J. Coen, a radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "Based on this data, it is our belief that men with prostate cancer can reasonably choose either treatment for localized prostate cancer based on their own concerns about quality of life without fearing they are compromising their chance for a cure."

The findings were published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology

SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy (SPDT): More results, safe cancer treatment.

More and more cancer patients are turing towards SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy (SPDT). Here is another account of a recently treated cancer patient. 

One of those aggressive therapies is SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy (SPDT). Dr. Jimenez is considered the world expert in this treatment method. Patients are given a natural chlorophyll powder under the tongue, which is quickly absorbed by all the cells. Within 24 hours, normal cells wash it back out, but it remains in the cancer cells. Then sound and light frequencies are pulsed through the body. When sound and light hit chlorophyll, it causes photosynthesis, which is a chemical reaction that explodes free radical oxygen right into the cancer cells and kills them. Tumors shrink up to 30% in just the first 14 days of treatment.

"I did my research," Miller explained. "In the US, anything other than standard of care - surgery, chemotherapy and radiation - is considered 'alternative'. Even chiropractic, acupuncture and massage are considered alternative. What the word really means is that if it doesn't include drugs or surgery the FDA doesn't consider it effective. Yet dozens of countries with higher success rates than the US use these treatments as front line therapy. Twenty years ago, doctors were run out of the country for using Vitamin C infusions. Now they are done by medical doctors all over the country. Hopefully someday we'll learn that drugs aren't always the answer, and these more natural therapies will become the norm. Our medical establishment just hasn't caught up yet."

Read the entire story here: 

http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=12139&Section=DISEASE

Acupuncture: More studies show link to Migraine relief.

From Web MD 

Jan. 12, 2012 -- Acupuncture helps reduce days with migraines and may have lasting effects, according to a new study published in theCanadian Medical Association Journal.

In the study, almost 500 adults were treated with either traditional Chinese acupuncture or a sham treatment in which acupuncture needles were inserted in nonspecific points. The acupuncture treatment points were previously used to study migraine. Participants did not know which type of acupuncture treatment they were receiving during the four-week study.

After completing the study, all of the participants -- including those in the sham group -- reported fewer days with migraines than before the study began. Prior to the study, most suffered monthly migraines, on average six days of migraines a month. After the completing the study, they reported migraines on an average of three days in the month.

In the month following the treatment, all of the participants also reported improvements in the frequency and intensity of migraines.

However, lasting effects were seen only in study participants who received traditional acupuncture. Three months after treatment, people who received traditional Chinese acupuncture continued to report a reduction in migraine days, frequency, and intensity. People who received the sham treatment did not.

Although the study only showed a marginal benefit of real acupuncture over sham acupuncture, researcher Claudia Witt, MD, of University Medical Center Charité in Berlin, says previous research suggests that people who respond best to acupuncture treatments are those who have not been helped by other treatments and those who had past positive experiences with acupuncture.

Albrecht Molsberger, MD, a medical acupuncture specialist who wrote an editorial on the study, says that even in sham acupuncture, the simple insertion of needles into the skin, regardless of the exact points of insertion, can lead to fewer migraines and reduced pain.

“Putting needles in the patient twice weekly over six weeks does have a [physical] effect, but if we did it the Chinese way, we might be better off,” he says.

A previous study of 300 people showed that acupuncture is more effective than no acupuncture in the treatment of migraine. Another study of nearly 800 people showed that 11 acupuncture treatments over six weeks were at least as effective as the blood pressure drugs called beta-blockers -- often used for migraine prevention -- taken daily for six months, Molsberger tells WebMD. 

“Acupuncture should be an option for the first-line treatment of migraine to supplement other non-[drug] treatment options,” he writes in his editorial.

Read Full Article Here: 

http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/news/20120112/acupuncture-may-be-effective-for-migraines