Energy Medicine

Over the past few years, we have heard a lot about green tea. Study after study shows beneficial effects of green tea are real. In our society, we eat too much, we consume the wrong foods, we work too many hours, and we take too little time for ourselves. To balance things out, many people are searching for a way to improve health that still fits in with a busy lifestyle. Green tea is an excellent option since it can be consumed as a liquid drink or used in baking and cooking.

In this article, we wanted to address some of the top beneficial effects of green tea so you can see for yourself why all the fuss. This type of tea is highly rich in epigallocatechin gallate, otherwise known as EGCG, a powerful and effective antioxidant. This type of antioxidant has been studied in-depth with the results showing just how powerful it is.

For starters, EGCG can inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Even better, beneficial effects of green tea also confirm the prevention of cancer cells while not harming surrounding, healthy tissue. With cancer on the rise in this country, this news is truly remarkable. Another green tea benefit is the lowering of LDL cholesterol, also called “bad cholesterol”. Many of the foods we eat are loaded with saturated fat, which increases cholesterol levels that ultimately lead to heart attack and even stroke.

Even more fascinating is that green tea beneficial effects include a study performed by the French. Most people know that French food, as good as it is, is loaded with fat. However, for some reason, French people are shown to have a much lower occurrence of heart disease than people living in the United States have. The reason is directly linked to the resveratrol in red wine. What makes this information so great is that EGCG found in green tea is 50% more powerful than resveratrol, thus reducing risk of heart disease in people who consume it.

If you look at the Chinese and Japanese cultures, they have very few heart problems. The key is the consumption of green tea. However, the difference between Asian cultures and our own is that they steam the leaves rather than boil them. As a result, EGCG is not lost, making it far more effective. Therefore, to enjoy the beneficial effects of green tea, we suggest you purchase a steamer specifically designed for tea leaves.

Other green tea beneficial effects include diet. Our country is in an obese epidemic with numbers on the rise. New evidence has been released showing that green tea taken or consumed daily helps curb the appetite, thus aiding with weight loss efforts. In fact, some of the current studies show that drinking green tea or using it in cooking helps burn far more calories than other forms of caffeine.

Finally, beneficial effects of green tea connect with tooth decay. Cavities form from bacteria found in the mouth. Even frequent brushing and rinsing cannot eliminate all the harmful bacteria. However, green tea destroys bacteria, which causes plaque. As you can see, the beneficial effects of green tea address many of the health issues each of us face every day.

Julie Health writes about the health benefits of drinking green tea at her website.

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Brain Windows is a blog devoted to reporting, analyzing and interpreting the latest results in the field of brain imaging technologies, particularly at the levels of systems, circuits, single cells and below. Pretty cool geeky stuff.

A bill is winding its way through Congress which seeks to remove the term "abuse" from the name of two NIH institutes. The goal is to attribute addiction as a disease and not as abuse. The two institutes would be renamed as follows:

1. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) would be renamed National Institute on Disease of Addiction (NIDA)
2. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism would be renamed National Institute on Alcohol Disorders and Health (NIADH)

Senator Joe Biden's bill (S1011) has a Findings section which is very helpful in reframing the perspective about addictions:

S1011: SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain's structure and manner in which it functions. These brain changes can be long lasting, and can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who abuse drugs. The disease of addiction affects both brain and behavior, and scientists have identified many of the biological and environmental factors that contribute to the development and progression of the disease.

(2) The pejorative term `abuse' used in connection with diseases of addiction has the adverse effect of increasing social stigma and personal shame, both of which are so often barriers to an individual's decision to seek treatment.

Senator Joe Biden's bill (S1011) was introduced on 3/28 with Kennedy and Enzi. It is a companion bill to Patrick Kennedy's (HR1348), which was introduced on March 3 with Rep. Sullivan (R-OK) as the co-sponsor. The name of S1011 is "Recognizing Addiction as a Disease Act of 2007" and HR1348 is `NIDA and NIAAA Name Redesignation Act'.

Scientists at the MIT Media Lab have invented a way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light, offering the prospect of controlling the haywire neuron activity that occurs in diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson's. Such diseases often must be treated by removing neurons that fire incorrectly. The new MIT research could lead to the development of optical brain prosthetics to control neurons, eliminating the need for surgery. "In the future, controlling the activity patterns of neurons may enable very specific treatments for neurological and psychiatric diseases, with few or no side effects," said Edward Boyden, assistant professor in the Program in Media Arts and Sciences and leader of the Media Lab's new Neuroengineering and Neuromedia Group. As usual, Emily Singer at Tech Review covers this development.

Some of these are pretty witty.