Many specialists could not help noticing that such phenomenon as “post-New Year” or winter depression attacks many people in the beginning of January, when Christmas and New Year holidays are over and we have to be back to our usual routine. Certainly, the factors like temperature fluctuations, decreased duration of daylight periods and lack of sun also contribute to increased feeling of sadness, despair and hopelessness. Winter depression is familiar to many people.

Recently, a group of Japanese scientists publicized the findings of their new study, offering us a new very effective natural anti-depressant. According to the results of the experiments carried out at Sendai’s Tohoku University Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, consuming certain amounts of green tea on a regular basis is linked to stress and depression symptoms alleviation. The trials involved about 1000 older men and women, who consumed 4 cups of this miraculous beverage a day. As a result, about 44% of the participants reported about improvements in their mood and positive impact of tea consumption on the symptoms associated with depression.

Dr. Kaijun Niu, one of the leaders of the study, and his associates at Tohuku University attribute these valuable therapeutic properties of green tea as a natural anti-depressant to the high content of theanine, an amino acid which has positive calming effects on our brain and nervous system. At the same time, the scientists reported that testing other types of tea (including black and oolong teas) did not end up with finding the same anti-depression health benefits as the green tea demonstrated.

The findings of this research were published in in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The properties of green tea as an effective natural anti-depressant were revealed and scientifically proved only lately. Green tea is known for its huge variety of health benefits and therapeutic properties. In particular, it is recommended to those who suffer from diabetes and as an excellent natural remedy for various types of cancer. In addition, regular consumption of green tea is linked to longevity and effective weight management.

Within the last decade, the list of green tea health benefits and therapeutic properties has been growing and expanding in various health-related aspects, starting from preventing cancer and ending with improving our dental health. Recently, one more very important health benefit of this miraculous beverage was discovered by the specialists at the University of Pennsylvania and Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI). American scientists suggest that regular consumption of green tea (to be proper, its component EGCG in combination with DAPH-12 chemical) is linked to lower risks of developing such common brain disorders, as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

The researches revealed that exposure to the combination of the chemicals DAPH-12 and EGCG can have positive effects and block the development of amyloid plaques in the brains. These plaques are made of proteins and have a property to irritate human brain causing memory loss, loss of motor function and various serious brain disorders, including the fatal ones. This discovery is considered to be an optimistic ending of a long scientific work and experiments directed on finding the chemical which can break up and prevent formation of amyloid plaques in human nervous system and brains.

That is why American scientists are very excited and talk about the importance of the laboratory results received. “These findings are significant because it is the first time a combination of specific chemicals has successfully destroyed diverse forms of amyloids at the same time,” says one of the group leaders, Dr. Martin Duennwald of BBR. However, they underline that further research is necessary to investigate the properties of the chemicals and create a mechanism for possible treatment. “Our findings are certainly preliminary and we need further work to fully comprehend the effects of EGCG in combination with other chemicals on amyloids,” Duennwald says. Those who want to read more about this research can be referred to the most recent issue of Nature Chemical Biology journal.

One more important health benefit of green tea was recently discovered and now can be added to the list of numerous therapeutic properties of this amazing herbal remedy. One of the world’s most  reputable medical journals American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the findings of a research by the specialists at the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine,  Japan. The nutritionists found out that drinking 5 cups of high quality green tea on a daily basis is linked to better mental health and can assist in reducing the incidence of psychological distress by up to 20%.

More than 42,000 participants aged over 40 were involved in these experiments, at that 6.6% of them suffered from chronic psychological distresses. After several years of regular green tea consumption, everyone showed certain improvements of mental condition, especially those participants, who were under the effects of psychological distress the most. That is why it’s possible to speak about an inverse association between a regular consumption of green tea and being under effect of psychological distresses.

It is the second very important property of green tea directed on improving an individual’s mental health. Earlier, it was discovered that regular consumption of green tea or taking green tea extract has positive effects on those suffering from such mental problem as Alzheimer’s disease. Also, the experts underline that it is necessary not to neglect such problem as psychological distress. It is estimated that currently more than 450 million people in the world suffer from psychological distress to a great extent, and about 17% of those named stresses to be primary health risk factor.

1. Do not drink tea on an empty stomach. This rule derived from an old Chinese proverb, saying that it is not too good drinking tea on an open heart. Drinking tea, especially very hot or cold tea, on an empty stomach can cause sudden change of temperature in your stomach and spleen, and cause some unwanted side effects.

2. Do not drink too hot tea. Hot tea disturbs our throat, feeding tube and stomach. Prolonged consumptions of too hot tea can result in fatal changes in these body parts, in particular – bring to throat cancer.  According to scientists, the temperature of the tea should not be higher than 56C.

3. Do not drink too cold tea. If drinking warm and moderately hot tea is inked to numerous health benefits, drinking cold tea will result in nothing else but constant cold and effective cough.

4. Do not drink too strong tea. High content of caffeine and tannin in too strong tea can bring to migraines and insomnia.

5. Do not brew your tee for too long. When you brew your tea for too long, the tea polyphenols and oils start going through oxidation process, making your tea less transparent, aromatic and much less therapeutic. In particular, the most of vitamins can be lost.  So, brew your tea only for the required time, depending on the type of tea leaves.

6. Do not brew your tea several times. In the first brewing you receive about 50-60% of the tea useful elements, in the second brewing you receive 30%, and the third brewing gives you more of harmful elements, that go out of tea leaves on the last place.

7. Do not drink tea right before your meal time. Drinking tea right before having meals usually leads to dilution of saliva, loss of appetite and problems with meal digestion. It is recommended not to drink tea 30 minutes before the mealtime.

8. Do not drink tea right after having meal. It can result in slowed down digestion process and affect the whole digestion function. Best of all is to drink tea 20-30 minutes after having meal.

9. Do not use tea to help swallow medicines. All types of tea have very high content of tannin, which negatively affects medicine digestion. Ancient Chinese therapist and medical practitioners used to say that tea destroys medicines.

10. Do not drink yesterday’s tea. Such tea loses the majority of its nutritional values and health benefits. Moreover, it is an ideal environment for many harmful bacteria. Therefore, you can use yesterday’s tea only for external treatments (for example, to treat tired eyes, for skin treatment, etc.).

For the last decades, the army of true green tea lovers has become really huge. I guess, we all know everything about numerous curative properties and therapeutic effects of green tea. The benefits of this miraculous herb are associated with longevity, cancer-free and diabetes-free life, perfect skin and absence of tooth cavities, low cholesterol levels and effective weight management, lower risks of having problems with the function of cardio-vascular and digestive systems. However, consuming something, even very useful and therapeutic, in large quantities will not do anything good to us. Therefore, doctors warn us about harmful effects of taking too much of even such beneficial herbal remedy as green tea.

Joshua D. Lambert and Chung Yang of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, worked on reviewing the known curative properties of green tea. However, soon they got concentrated on studying green tea harmful side effects and the dangers connected with green tea overdosing. The specialists have had an experience on this subject before: during his earlier research, Joshua Lambert found out that great amounts of antioxidants in green tea can cause kidney damage, liver toxicity and serious oxidative stresses (Lambert, J.D., et al., (2007) Possible Controversy over Dietary Polyphenols: Benefits vs Risks, Chem Res Toxicol).

A lot of alarming information came out. A group of American specialists at Toxicology Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Chicago, carried out a series of experiments with dogs, aiming on studying the effects of exposure to green tea extracts. Severe intoxication, body organ damage and mortality of the animals made the scientists terminate their experiments much earlier (Toxicology, 2009 Jun 16; 260(1-3):28-36). Finally, the results of these studies were confirmed by another famous specialist H.L. Bonkovsky, who recorded hepatoxisity in people associated with polyphenols in green tea (published in Journal of Hepatology).

In addition to all this, the experts from a scientific lab in the University of Mississippi published the findings of their new study. They say that green tea overdose may lead to increased tumor growth. The mentioned green tea harmful side effects can be observed only when consuming this herbal remedy in really high doses, but low doses are usually associated with the property to suppress tumor development and growth. Read more about this study in the Journal of Natural Products.

Actually, the researchers underline that drinking up to 10 small cups of green tea a day is not connected with any serious danger. But taking green tea supplements which have increased amounts of polyphenols is linked to the mentioned health problems. “Problems are likely in people who take supplements, which can contain up to 50 times as much polyphenols as a single cup of tea,” Professor Young comments. Thus, we should be really cautious while taking products containing green tea extracts. Those who are interested can read more about this interesting summarizing research in Chemical Research in Toxicology, vol 20, p 583-585.

Has anyone of you, my friends, ever tried Pu-erh tea? I wonder so much, how you felt about it… This summer I had a chance to try a high quality Pu-erh tea, and it was some really weird experience, even for an advanced tea lover like me. Now, here’s the story. My brother Marc, who lives in Italy (where my family comes from), has been always making fun of my habit of drinking 6-7 big cups of tea a day. And, certainly, I have been always promoting excellent health benefits and beautiful tastes of various teas. This time he decided to prove me that not all therapeutic teas have a great taste, so he decided to send me some Pu-erh tea. He knew that I will not resist and try, in spite of warnings about its…well, a little unpleasant taste and aroma.

Pu-erh tea (also known as Puer tea) is one of the oldest types of traditional Chinese teas produced from broad tea leaves (older variety of the tea plants) in Yunnan Province of China, where the famous Six Tea Mountains (Mansa, Manzhuan, Mangzhi, Gedeng, Yibang and Youle) are located. You can find Pu-erh tea both in loose leaves, but mostly it comes in compressed forms (bricks, bird nests, disc, bowl, etc.). So called cooked (shou)  Pu-erh tea is produced by watering the tea leaves (to speed fermentation up), then leaving them to dry and transformed to back tea, and the raw (sheng) type undergoes secondary oxidation and fermentation (this type of Pu-erh tea is always sold as compressed).

Pu-erh tea is known for its very powerful and unique therapeutic properties, which other teas do not have. First of all, regular consumption of only 1 cup of this tea can assist greatly in decreasing blood cholesterol level. Also, Pu-erh tea can alleviate the ailments connected with the digestive system. It contains huge amounts of antioxidants and, at the same time, it has quite low levels of caffeine. In addition, it assists in maintaining normal fat metabolism, therefore it an be useful in effective weight management. Finally, Chinese health care specialists also point on good antimicrobial properties of this tea.

It is interesting the Pu-erh tea preparation requires initial steaming and removing the water, followed by the usual process of tea brewing. If you drink a high quality Pu-erh tea for the first time, it may taste quite robust. And you will definitely be disturbed by the smell coming from the cup of tea (to be very honest, after reading that the tea has “an extremely balanced flavour with a delicate sweetness reminiscent of Japanese plum“, I did not expect that it will have a distinctive whiff of a stable). Tea gurus say that you will like Pu-erh tea only in case when the tea have chosen you. Well, well – it seems to be true, and it seems that I was not the lucky one.  Should I give it another try?

Bad news for all dedicated tea lovers, like myself. Those, who like drinking black or oolong tea on a regular basis should be careful and limit the consumption of these types of tea to 3-4 small cups a day. A group of Japanese specialists at Toyama Institute of Health in Toyama Prefecture studied chemical content of the most popular tea beverages (which are considered to have a great number of absolutely unique health benefits and therapeutic properties), and came to quite disappointing conclusions.

They found out that oolong and black tea have increased content of such element as fluorine, which plays an important role in our dental health and good condition of our bones. As a result of more than 130 experiments, the scientists discovered that the levels of fluorine in the mentioned tea beverages considerably exceed the levels of this element in tap water. Therefore, regular consumption of black and oolong tea should be linked to certain dangers to our health, including the risks of damaging our tooth enamel and weakening of bones.

Tetsuo Shimmura, one of the leaders of the study, comments on the findings as the following: “In our study of people’s health in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (in China), we found that the bones of those who consumed water and beverages containing high fluorine density over a long time could develop a propensity to break.” He also underlined that there is no clear information about fluorine content in green tea, which has been gaining popularity for the last decades. The results of the research were recently presented at a meeting of Japan Society for Biomedical Research on Trace Elements in Japan.

In these hot summer days, sometimes we feel like plants. I mean, all we need for feeling good when the weather is hot is to learn how to use natural energy of sun. What can help us to stay refreshed and healthy? Certainly, our friends: natural superfoods, herbs, fruit and vegetables. Many nutritionists recommend drinking natural squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, which can assist us greatly in stress, fatigue and weight management. Today, I would like to share with you some interesting ideas for making herbal teas, fruit and vegetable juice mixes.

In summer, we usually feel more tired and exhausted, more sensitive to various problems and stresses, so we need to support our mind and soul with some relaxing and calming down herbal remedies. That is why I recommend to everyone, whose job or daily activities are connected with stresses, to prepare and drink regularly a miraculous anti-stress herbal tea. Take 5 gr of dried lime-tree blossom, 5 gr Chamomile, 5 gr dried lavender flowers and 1 Cinnamon stick. Brew this mixture for 5-7 minutes and drink every evening before the bedtime. You’ll feel more relaxed and forget about your tension for long time.

If you want to charge yourself with great energy for a new day, in the morning you can try drinking a glass of juice squeezed from green apples mixed with several drops of lemon juice and 1-2 teaspoons of red juice of sugar-beet root. This mixture is extremely useful for our blood and has a perfect property to remove toxins from our body systems. By adding a stick of cinnamon you can make this drink very pleasant and refreshing, a perfect summer breakfast!

Summer is the best time for all of us to enjoy therapeutic properties of berries. Use your blender to make a mixture of 400-500 g of raspberry and 1 orange, then add 100-200 g of fresh low-fat yogurt or a little bit of cream to the mixture. Or, mix 300-400 g of apricot with 1-2 oranges, add several drops of lemon juice and a little of low-fat yogurt. These ideas will help you prepare a very easy and nourishing breakfast, which will not make you fee hungry again in 1 hour or so.

Finally, we all know that the mixtures of vegetable juices have been becoming more and more popular among modern people. You can use your blender to prepare fresh and natural drinks, like this one. Take 2 carrots (shredded), 3 tomatoes and 80-100 g lettuce, add 100 g water and mix the indregients. Or, you can use the most popular and the easiest vegetable juice recepie (cucumbers + celery + fennel), which is very good for the beginners and is easily tolerated. Always use a little of dried dill or peppermint leaves to give a good taste to vegetable juice mixes. Enjoy your summer days, and stay always healthy, happy and loved!

I suppose that tea is definitely a subject of the largest number of various researches and scientific studies. And there’s nothing surprising about it! Tea is a miraculous therapeutic beverage which has a special place in every single culture of the world. It can be considered the most popular drink which can help us relax and enjoy its beautiful aroma, quench our thirst, get warm, forget about our problems and stresses, get closer with someone and so on. Moreover, for many of us tea is much more than just a beverage. Tea is linked to the most precious and romantic moments in our life. Drinking a cup of tea can help us to get focused and settle our mind, or can be an invitation for a friendly talk. And, there’s no need to mention numerous health benefits of various types of tea.

Recently, nutritionists came to the conclusion that tea has excellent properties to protect us against coronary heart disease. Two independent researches were carried out in France and Finland, and both groups of the scientists found evidence of the fact that true and loyal tea lovers have smaller chances of having a stroke or other heart problem. New scientific evidence was found to prove that the flavonoids and polyphenols containing in tea have positive effects on functioning of our cardiovascular system. This fact should be added to a great anti-cancer and anti-aging potential of black, green and white tea.

According to the results of the researches in Helsinki, drinking 2 cups of tea a day can help to lower risks of having a stroke up to 21%. At the same time, French specialists say that those people who drink 3-4 cups of tea every day can decrease their chances of blood clot formation in blood vessels up to 32%. Dr. Carrie Ruxton from the British Tea Advisory Association, comments on the researches as the following: “Research shows you do not need to drink gallons of tea to get real improvements – just three or four cups of tea a day are enough.” Here, in the UK, we annually consume more than 130,000 tons of tea.

It is difficult to imagine that such a therapeutic drink as our favorite tea, which is known for its anti-aging and anti-cancerous properties, can contribute to possible development of cancer. But, it is not really about tea itself, it is all about its temperature. According to the results of a recent study published in the British Medical Journal, regular drinking really very hot tea at the temperature above 70C drastically increases the risks of having esophageal cancer. At the same time, the researchers are convinced that drinking hot tea (65-70C) also increases the risk of having esophageal cancer twice. Annually, this type of cancer kills about a half million of people.

The study was initiated by an international group of scientists in Northern Iran, in Golestan province, where the rates of esophageal cancer occurrence is extremely high. 300 residents diagnosed with esophageal cancer and 570 healthy locals were interviewed and asked questions about their tea drinking habits. Overwhelming majority of the participants with cancer (about 98%) reported about their habit of drinking very hot tea in under two minutes. In cooperation with the British, American, Australian, French and Swedish medical specialists, the researchers continued their study and analyzed tea drinking habits of nearly 50,000 Iranian tea lovers. The results proved the fact that there is a strong connection between regular consumption of very hot tea and developing esophageal cancer.

“These findings are not cause for alarm, however, and they should not reduce public enthusiasm for the time-honored ritual of drinking tea,” says David C. Whiteman, PhD, one of the leaders of the research. His colleague, Oliver Childs, a spokesman for Cancer Research UK, commented on the study as the following: “People in the region of northern Iran often drink very hot tea as part of their daily routine. We’re a nation of tea lovers in the UK, but we don’t tend to drink tea at such high temperatures and we usually add milk, which cools it down.” If you do not like adding milk to your tea, in order to avoid negative effects of the hot beverage you should wait for about 3-4 minutes before drinking freshly boiled black, green or herbal tea.