Drinking two-three big cups of coffee a day can have therapeutic effects and help people to lower the risks of having memory problems associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The scientists from University of South Florida are convinced that all caffeinated drinks (especially coffee) have serious positive effects on our brain function. They say that our regular morning coffee is a key to having perfect memory and possible prevention of memory loss. Read the rest of this entry »
Every person has own idea what is the best and the healthiest diet. In this context, we usually believe that eating certain substances or foods can be harmful for our health. For example, consuming a lot of fat or sugar on a regular basis is considered to be dangerous for normal function of all our body systems. However, many common consumptions connected with the diet are exaggerated or simply not true. Let’s take a closer look at few myths about our nutrition and nutrition-related recommendations and taboos. This will also give you a chance to see how effective and healthy diet you usually eat. Read the rest of this entry »
White teas are one of the most popular type of traditional teas made from the leaves of Camilla Sinensis plant. Silver Needle, Snowbud, White Peony, White Cloud, Fujan, Bai Mu Dan, White Darjeeling, as well as various fruit-flavored White teas are among the best blends in modern tea culture. In contrast to Black teas, this type of tea comes from the buds picked right after they have opened. White tea is the least processed type of tea among all teas. The buds are unfermented, slightly air dried and sometimes a little steamed, that allows receiving a very gentle and a little sweet type of tea taste. White teas have a specific light color, a very delicate and silky flavor.
Millions of people around the planet start their day with a cup of their favorite tea or coffee. This ritual is very common to us all and we all know that morning cup of tea or coffee can help us refresh our mind after the night’s sleep and get focused on the things we need to accomplish during the day. Certainly, such powerful refreshing effects of these morning beverages can be achieved at the expense of high caffeine content in both tea and coffee. Caffeine is an alkaloid which is known for its effects on our nerve system. It causes irritability, anxiety, headaches, increased heart rate and high blood pressure. However, such effects will manifest only in that situation, when the levels of caffeine intake are really high.
Many people wonder, what type of tea contains the greatest amounts of caffeine? For example, some of my friends are convinced that the stronger the tea, the more caffeine it has. At that, some of them think that green tea has less amounts of caffeine than the black tea, because black teas are darker and stronger. Those are quite weird ideas, aren’t they? Specialists argue that high-quality non-flavored green teas have the highest content of caffeine among all teas: up to 80 mg of caffeine in one big cup (8 ounces). High-quality non-flavored back teas contain up to 60-70 mg of caffeine. Green flavored teas contain from 45 to 70 mg of caffeine, and black flavored teas can have caffeine content levels as low as 35-40 mg in a cup.
This is very important to keep in mind the results of this study, 
because as we can see, the strength and color of tea does not play any important role when talking about caffeine content. There are some moms, who give green tea to their infants thinking that green tea is not strong enough to harm their children. Remember that children below 2 are not recommended to have caffeinated drinks at all! And what about the adults? There are certain groups of people, who also have to stay away from caffeine. Those include, first of all, the people who suffer from atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and problems with vessels, as well as those who have gastritis or peptic ulcer. Finally, pregnant and nursing women have to limit their caffeine intake and drink no more than 1-2 cups of tea a day.
At the same time, for the majority of us, moderate doses of caffeine will not bring any harm and can be even useful. Consuming 600-700 mg of caffein every day is considered to be a normal dose of this substance, but maximum daily dose of it should not exceed 800 mg. Since maximum content of caffein in one cup of green tea is 85 mg, drinking 7-8 cups of tea a day should be considered safe. Recently, British specialists discovered that it is optimal to drink 8 cups of fluid every day, so you can include 3-5 cups of strong tea in your daily fluid intake, ejoiy this wonderful drink and benefit from its numerous positive effects on your health.
For many centuries, green tea has been known as a unique and inexhaustible natural source of health, beauty and longevity. Green tea has been used by Chinese and Japanese physicians for more than four thousand years, and still it is difficult to find any other drink or food, which would have more health benefits than this wonderful beverage. Modern scientific researches and studies are providing more and more evidence for numerous positive effects on our health connected with regular green tea consumption. Along with good taste and delicate aroma, green tea has over 300 various useful ingredients: minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, microelements, Vitamines B1, B2, B5, C1, K and P, as well as composites of magnesium, calcium, manganese, phosphorus and other chemical elements. 
The list of known therapeutic properties of green tea is really huge, and there are only some of those:
• Preventing cancer is the most valuable therapeutic property of green tea. Specialists underline that drinking 4-5 cups of green tea can protect you from stomach, pancreas, colon, esophageal, bladder and other types of cancer by about 60%. Green tea contains Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant, which is extremely effective for protecting your cells and DNA from any changes or damage, and this way preventing formation of tumors and cancerous tissues.
• In addition, regular consumption of green tea can cause remission in patients who suffer from cancer. EGCG inhibits the growth of cancerous cells and creates favorable environment for developing healthy cells.
• Another important property of green tea is its effectiveness in breaking down plaque on artery walls, preventing formation of blood clots, stabilizing free blood flow and normalizing blood pressure. This helps prevent thrombosis, which usually causes stroke and heart attack.
• Green tea contains a high concentration of antioxidants, which can help increase your good cholesterol ratio and lower your bad cholesterol ratio.
• Antioxidants in green tea assist with lowering and soothing the effects of such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis by reducing swelling and toxins in problematic areas of your body.
• Antioxidants have excellent antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, so they can kill bacteria and infection in your body, prevent cavities and improve your oral health, as well as stimulate and strengthen your immune system.
• Polyphenols and polysaccharides that can be found in green tea assist in lowering blood sugar and preventing diabetes.
• Antibacterial and antiviral properties of green tea constituents are effective when fighting with some skin problems, including acne.
• Recent studies and clinical evidence suggest that green tea polyphenols have neuroprotectant properties and can help in preventing Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
• Green tea has unprecedented properties as an aid to weight loss. Clinical researches of Swiss experts proved that regular consumption of green tea can help in boosting fat oxidation and metabolism, as well as increase thermogenesis and intensify overall expenditures of energy.
• Green tea has outstanding properties for maintaining an optimal fluid balance in your body. This way it helps in fighting with stresses, depression and fatigue, and also in normalizing your sexual activity
• Antioxidants and primary polyphenols of green tea have properties to slow down aging and promote longevity. Polyphones in green tea lower the amounts of free radicals in you body, that means better skin, fresher look and fewer wrinkles.
Thus, if properly used, green tea can be a real source of new healthy life for practically everyone! However, you must keep in mind that green tea contains great amounts of caffeine, a psychoactive stimulant, which can have negative effects on people with sensitive stomach, problems with kidneys or heart. Also, it is recommended to keep away from drinking a lot of green tea to those people, who suffer from excessive anxiety, panic attacks and other psychological disorders. But still for the majority of people the benefits of this refreshing therapeutic beverage greatly outweigh the effects of caffeine.
Do not forget that green tea must be consumed only when it is freshly brewed, otherwise a great deal of therapeutic properties and nutritional values of this miraculous drink will be lost. That is why bottled green tea is considered to have very little amount of natural therapeutic resources. Generally, green tea must be steeped for about 3-4 minutes, but in order to receive the best result, you can follow the instructions of the manufacturer for every specific variety of green tea. So, if you want to live a long and healthy life, drink your favorite green tea every day!
