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Archive for the ‘Nutrition Articles’ Category

Tips on Minimizing Caffeine in Green Tea

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

When someone mentions green tea, what comes in your mind? Antioxidants? Health benefits? Weight loss? Caffeine? There are a lot of benefits that can be taken from green tea. Although, caffeine is not really best for most green tea drinkers. They might have some objections or 2nd thoughts when it comes to drinking tea because of insomnia that can be caused by green tea’s high caffeine content.

Worry not dear drinkers and suggests of green tea. There is a improved way of drinking green tea without experiencing the effects of caffeine or otherwise minimizing it.

Tip # 1 – Begin moderately

Fact is, a cup of green tea contains a caffeine level of about 20-70 milligrams. With this kind of caffeine in your diet, it’s assured to keep you awake from dusk till dawn if your body is not used to drinking such dosage. Best advise is to take in small doses and try to observe your reactions. Begin with a cup a day, then, when things still feel normal, increase gradually. Each time you increase, always observe for adjustments in your body. If you feel uneasy and somewhat irritated, then you can decrease to the level that your body can tolerate. If you are including it in your meal, and you are feeling more calm and contented, green tea is for you.

Tip # 2 – Get to know your tea

There are many kinds of green tea, Different kinds mean different levels of caffeine. It is said by researchers that, the type of tea leaf used, the more caffeine it can produce. You cannot indicate caffeine levels through color. Gyokuro is highly caffeinated compared to Lapsang Souchong which is a kind of dark tea.

Tip # three – Brew half strength

Very good solution for caffeine intolerance. To control your intake of green tea, you can select to buy loose green tea to grant you to adjust the way your green tea is brewed. The normal loose green tea brewing is at least 2 teaspoons. You can cut off the dosage in half. If you obtain the effects weak, increase it bit by bit.

Tip # four – Drink it while it’s hot

Cathechin, the 1 that contains powerful antioxidants and theanine, this provides freshness and sweetness, can both decrease the level of caffeine activity of in the body. Brewing lets the molecules of catechin and theanine to combine together with caffeine in hot temperature. This will render caffeine to be less effective. If you let your hot green tea to cool off after brewing, the molecules that is bonded with caffeine will breakdown and releasing caffeine.

Tip # five – Avoid teabags

Compared to loose green tea leaves, green tea bags cannot give you enough nutrition thus, giving you more caffeine in the process. Quality suffers from teabags. Rather select green tea leaves that are loose.

Tip # six – Be familiar with your tolerance level

Several experts would advocate the consumption of not more than three hundred milligrams of caffeine daily. Green tea has been found out that it can provide a stable and gentle source of stimulation. Side-effects like headaches and nervousness might be felt.

With these tips on how to minimize the effects of caffeine contents in your green tea, you can enjoy more tea with less caffeine.

Lose weight with green tea

The Side Effects of Green Tea During Pregnancy

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

It is very key to monitor the health of pregnant women to ensure the health of the mom and the baby. Some expectant moms are quite anxious because of the various changes that take place in their body. Physicians often recommmend a diet regimen for pregnant moms and if you are among those pregnant women out there, you ought be additional careful with your food intake to avoid any problems or complications.

According to some studies, drinking too much green tea during pregnancy is not good. Why is that? Well, physicians and researchers were capable to prove that green tea contains caffeine. Caffeine intake is discouraged during pregnancy because of certain side effects.

Despite the numerous health benefits of green tea which includes preventing cancer, improving the heart’s health, boosting the immune system, aids digestion, lowers cholesterol, dental health, lowers the level of blood sugar, and numerous others, it is not advisable to drink green tea when you are pregnant.

Studies have proven that green tea contains EGCG or epigallocatechins which affects the use of folate in the body. Folate is very key during pregnancy because it can help in preventing birth defects in the neural tube. EGCG becomes harmful in pregnancy because it resembles the structure of methotrexate. The latter can get rid of cancer cells by bonding an enzyme called DHFR or dihydrofolate reductase.

The folate pathway contains these enzymes and since the EGCG is similar to methotrexate, it also binds with the enzyme and when this happens, the enzyme is inactivated. Once the enzymes are inactivated, the body cannot use folate effectively. There hasn’t been any conclusive studies which show how much green tea a pregnant woman ought consume or how much folate can be affected.

Some physicians advocate pregnant women to drink moderate amount of tea as well as coffee. If you are still unaware, green tea also contains caffeine and when you are pregnant, it’s not good to drink a lot of beverages which contain caffeine. So if you desire to be additional sure, do not forget to ask your physician next time you have an appointment. Always keep in mind that your health and that of your baby is of great importance.

Besides, there are already studies which proves caffeine to cause miscarriage and lower birth weight among babies. Drinking around 6 cups of coffee per day can definitely affect your baby’s weight at birth. If you do not desire your baby to suffer, you can have a cup of coffee a day or if you want, you can merely stop drinking coffee. The caffeine content in green tea is lower than that of coffee and so you can drink more than 1 cup; but as stated earlier, ask your physician about it first.

Pregnancy will only take 9 months and so you require to enjoy it. Even if you experience a lot of body changes, merely think that you will rejoice the day your precious baby comes. If you can avoid drinking caffeined drinks, then try to stay away from them.

Although the health benefits of green tea are remarkable, it does contain caffeine and no study has yet established the right amount of green tea intake especially among pregnant women. If you are not pregnant and you do not have any problems related to caffeine intake, then you can drink as numerous tea as you like. Right now, be careful in drinking green tea; perhaps you can settle for a small cup each other day merely to satisfy your thirst for it.
When you feel anything abnormal, seek the help of your physician at once. Besides, its merely going to be for 9 months and after that, you can resume in drinking tea again. Aside from not taking caffeinated drinks, you are also not granted to take merely any kind of medicine because it can be harmful to your baby.

It goes without saying always think of your baby’s safety before you do anything.

Lose weight with green tea

The Benefits of Green Tea: Why It’s Good For You

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

For thousands of years, the Chinese have been drinking green tea that has long been attributed for its medicinal properties, which the Chinese believe to be responsible for treating different kinds of illness, and it is also linked to longevity where the Chinese have the highest rate for people over the age of a hundred. However, even though the Chinese have been drinking this kind of tea for centuries, it was only recently that green tea has been ushered in and became common throughout the planet.

Scientists and nutritionists have found that this wonderful brew does indeed have medicinal properties that can help in preventing many types of illnesses, which even includes cancer. In fact, there are even physicians who advocate green tea and even endorses that this specific tea plays a great role in maintaining good health.

Health professionals all over the world advocate that people ought drink three to four cups of green tea a day in order to help in protecting the body against various ailments.

So, merely what are the benefits of this so called miracle brew that it even baffled health professionals from all over the world?

First of all, this tea contains high levels of antioxidants, which are called polyphenols or flavonoids.

What are antioxidants you might ask?

First of all, you require to comprehend that the body does millions of processes occurring at all times. Even when you are asleep, the brain is active and will require oxygen in order to function properly. However, the oxygen that we breathe in can create harmful side effects, or what most people know as oxidants. These oxidants or commonly known as free radicals are ushered in to our system through external sources, such as pollution, stress, smoking, diet, and even exposure to the sun.

And, these free radicals are known to be 1 of the main contributors in the growth of cancer cells.

So, in order to counteract the effect of oxidants or free radicals, we will require to introduce antioxidants in our body. And, green tea has a lot of them. Even though some foods do have antioxidants, you will see that green tea has a lot more.

In fact, the antioxidants found on green tea are much higher than that found in grape juice and red wine. This explains why there are a lot of scientists who are studying the benefits of green tea.

Besides antioxidants, this brew also contains vitamins, such as vitamin B6, which plays a vital role in the metabolism of the body, as well as vitamins B1 and B2, which are necessary for releasing energy from food.

Another great thing about this tea is that it has important minerals and contains magnesium, which is necessary for bone growth and body development as well as potassium, which helps in keeping the heart pumping normally and maintain the body’s fluid levels.

All in all, green tea can provide great benefits to the body. It can inhibit the growth of cancer cells, it discourages diabetes from developing, and it also is a very good treatment for bad breath.

And that is not all; there are some studies that found that green tea can also fight acne, Alzheimer’s disease, and fights of bad cholesterol which are the sole contributors for heart diseases and stroke.

Today, there are also some scientists that claims to obtain that green tea might contain the important ingredient for finding a cure to HIV as it helps boosts the body’s immune system.

These are merely some of the great benefits of green tea. So, the next time you feel like drinking tea or coffee, you might desire to go for green tea. With this brew, you can be sure that you will be capable to enjoy a refreshing drink as well as a healthier body.

Lose weight with green tea