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The claims made for yogurt vary from brand to brand but they all promise a healthy life. Should you, therefore, take yogurt for this reason?
“No scientist still believes that eating yogurt makes you live longer, but the idea hasn’t faded entirely. A few years ago, (one manufacturer) filmed a tongue-in-cheek commercial on location in Soviet Georgia. The ad showed a spry 87-year-old eating (yogurt), his mother beaming approval. And the idea lives on, in a way, in (the US) National Yogurt Association brochures and press re¬leases, in which there’s heavy hinting of vital, if not mi¬raculous, results,” said the editors of Consumer Reports.
Yogurt’s appeal lies in the friendly bacteria it carries which advertisers have endowed with special – if not magical – properties. These bacteria like Lactobacillus bulgaricus, L. acidophilus or Streptococcus thermophilus transform the natural sugar in milk to lactic acid, thicken¬ing the yogurt and giving it a sour taste. The process by which milk is converted to yogurt is called fermenta¬tion.
Lactic acid bacteria such as the ones mentioned above are among the many micro¬organisms that inhabit the human intestine. Dr. Tomo-tori Mitsuoka, professor of biomedical science at the University of Tokyo, said the intestine harbors about 100 trillion bacteria that com¬prise as many as 100 species. These bacteria along with other microbes are part of the normal intestinal flora.
“The staggering magnitude of (microorganisms in the intestine) can be sensed vividly if one considers that the entire number of cells constituting the human body is estimated to be about 60 trillion…If the entire intes¬tinal bacterial population of (a person) were arranged in a single row, the length of the row would amount to about 100,000 kilometers. Since the circumference of the earth is approximately 40,000 kilometers, this row of bacteria could encircle the earth two and a half times,” Mitsuoka said in “A Profile of Intestinal Bacteria.”
Normally, these bacteria are harmless and we are not even aware of them. Lactic acid bacteria like Lacto¬bacillus addoprdlus and Lactobacillus casei also help maintain the normal bacterial balance in the intestine and aid in the digestion of food.
The problem begins when a disease-causing bacte¬ria from food or air enters and grows within the body. If these pathogenic bacteria are not suppressed by the bodies defenses, they multiply and release poisonous toxins that eventually make us sick.
If the body’s resis¬tance is lowered due to fatigue, overwork, or other reasons, we become even more susceptible to the harm¬ful effects of pathogenic bacteria. Or other organisms that are normally present in the body may multiply and cause trouble the same way invading bacteria from the outside do. Either way, the balance of intestinal flora is upset, causing serious infections.
Since yogurt contains beneficial lactic acid bacteria, does it confer any possible health benefits? Will com¬mercial products protect us from disease just like nor¬mal intestinal microbes?
Bulgarians are said to have long lives because of yogurt and presumably the lactic acid bacteria they
ingest from this food. But no scientific evidence is offered to support this claim. Most reports of long-lived inhabitants of a certain region are anecdotal; there are no medical records or birth certificates to prove this. Even worse, many such tales are fabricated to attract tourists.
What about the other claims made for yogurt? Do they have any scientific basis or are they just a marketing gimmick? Find out in the third part of this series.
In the meantime, to strengthen your body, take Immunitril – your first line of defense in maintaining a healthy immune system. For details, visit http://www.bodestore.com/immunitril.html.
You don’t have to suffer in silence. In most cases of panic attack, it usually starts with depression. A female reporter in Hong Kong who successfully juggled the demands of writing for publications around the world suddenly suffered panic attack. She often had panic attacks as she was overwhelmed by feelings of isolation, hopelessness, inadequacy and failure. She would always excuse herself and pretended to have urgent private calls to make so that she could get out and calm down.
A cartoonist for a famous Japanese magazines; suddenly hit a dry spell in 1986 and she was afraid to get out of bed in the morning. She stopped eating and lost seven kilos within a few days. She was left without getting any assignments for a month and spent her time lying in bed, smoking and drinking and was overwhelmed with thoughts of dying. Both the female reporter and cartoonist were suffering from clinical depression.
There are millions of people like them and they kept the illness to themselves. In Japan alone there are more than six millions people suffering from depression according to Dr Takahashi Toru of the Toru Clinic in Tokyo. It is estimated that one in 13 people aged 24 to 64 suffered from depression according to a study done by Singapore National Mental Health survey.
We seldom hear about depression just thirty years ago but the world is different now. People were different then, but presently many human beings have lost their value of life. Many have lost their conscience and killing is everywhere. People live in fear from many kinds of threats and even in the comfort of their homes, danger is there. There is no peace even to just go marketing for fresh vegetables. A bomb may explode anytime, anyplace.
Financial security is one of the main causes for depression. Jobless people or those hardly can make end meet, are usually victims of depression which can after some time of suffering start to have panic attacks. Depressive disorders range from dysthymia – low grade, chronic depression – to bipolar disorder, or manic depression, which causes extreme swings between depressive lows and manic high. Depression remains widely misunderstood and sufferers lead a double life. One minute full of confidence and another minute worse than a little mouse when panic attack. Depression is a taboo among Chinese and if people know that you are depressed, they will avoid you.
I should say broken heart is the worst mental blues and almost everyone gets the blues once in a lifetime. Those who have not experience it are lucky or maybe they have never fallen in love before. They will not be able to grasp the anguish depression brings. It’s so emotionally intense that it paralyses you and says one sufferer, “You never know when it will end, the pain is so overwhelming that you want to end it all.”
People will sometimes give advice with the best intentions for broken heart but says Siti Mohammad, a young female accountant who has lived with depression for much of her life: “Sometimes my relatives will tell me to look at the positive side of things. They say, ‘You have to be strong and believe in God.’ They make it sound as if I could just snap out of it. If it was that simple, I wouldn’t be like this.”
Depression is often inadequately treated or not treated at all because the truth of broken heart may not be admitted by the sufferers. For instance, many Malays believe the emotions lie in the liver and will complain about stomach soreness rather than admit to depression. Among the Chinese, the heart is often seen as the source of emotions, so they complain about chest discomfort. Singapore National University’s Kua says these cultural factors lead to misdiagnosis or no diagnosis at all in as many as one-third of cases.
For the elderly, physical ailments can mask symptoms of depression (it is often confused with Alzheimer’s disease), and there is a belief, even in the medical community, that depression is simply a fact of an older person’s life. According to a study conducted in the 1980s by Dr Lee Aik Hoe, president of the Malaysian Mental Health Association, showed that three-quarters of people who had attempted suicide also suffered from depression.
Rose Lee’s depression nearly killed her. As a teenager, she tumbled into a black pit and said, “I was severely depressed – the pain was terrible. It seemed logical to kill myself.” Richard Ng of Kuala Lumpur said he lost his father to suicide. “He displayed signs of depression – being withdrawn and losing his appetite – signs that I recognized but did nothing about, but when he committed suicide, I was shattered.”
The road to recovery is a tough one but it can be treated. If it is not because of broken heart, then the chances of recovery is good with medication. If it is because of broken heart, then there is no medicine that can cure a broken heart. There are many drugs that physicians can prescribe and certain antidepressants really work effectively so as to allow the sufferers to get on with life. But drug may have side effects like insomnia and sexual dysfunction, professional help is advised in such a case to take the right type and also avoid the risk of taking an overdose.
One of the best rescues is interpersonal and cognitive counselling. Therapy can help to change a patient’s thinking and reappraise their external circumstances. Interpersonal therapy focuses on specific-related problems, while cognitive therapy tries to counter the feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness that plague those who are depressed. In Malaysia the “Befrienders” is doing an excellent voluntarily job to make life worth living. The 24-hour helpline, modelled on the Samaritans in the United Kingdom, is one of the oldest services in Asia. It has more than 200 volunteers and fielded 24,000 calls a year.
Suicide is a grave sin according to spiritual teachings in almost every religion. Certain religion says that if a person commits suicide, he will also commit suicide for his next seven future lives. I had a relative who committed suicide many years ago. She was one of the most beautiful women in my hometown and married to one of the richest men there. Very fortunate during her younger days because of her beauty, but when her husband passed away early in life, she was cheated of everything she possessed by a conman who only wanted her properties. Unable to take the pain of her broken heart and loss of all her possessions, she took her life.
We have all heard others talking about the great health benefits of green tea. Few of us, until recently, have known that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at lest 4,000 years to treat everything from pain to depression. Recent scientific research in Japan and other Asian countries have given us a better idea of just how green tea provides health benefits, especially for weight loss and maintenance.
Green tea contains high concentations of catechin polyphenols which increase fat oxidation and thermogenesis. Thermogenenesis is heat created in our bodies by burning fuels such as fat. The thermogenesis that green tea creates was at first thought to be because of its caffeine. Research has shown that green tea stimulates brown fat thermogenesis with far more effectiveness than an equal amount of caffeine alone. The catechin plyphenols contained in green tea, especially epigallocatecin gallate, EGCG, works with caffeine synergistically to stimulate thermogenesis and prolong sympathetic thermogenesis. Research has shown that green tea increases energy expenditure and fat oxidation during a whole 24 hour period whereas caffeine only increases metabolism at the time it is ingested. Green tea helps burn an extra 78 calories per day.
We gain weight because excess sugars and fats are stored in our fat cells. Green tea inhibits the movement of glucose, i.e. excess sugars and fats, in fat cells. Green tea also causes carbohydrates to be released more slowly therefore preventing spikes in blood insulin levels which can produce false hunger feelings. For a long time researchers have wondered why the French have fewer excess weight concerns and heart disease concerns since the French diet is so rich in fats. Their answer was that the resveratrol, a polyphenol, found in red wine limited the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. The University of Kansas found that the EGCG in green tea is twice as powerful as resveratrol found in red wine.
It has been found that epigallocateching gallate, EGCG, contained in green tea is at least 100 times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times more effective than vitamin E in protecting cells and DNA from damage. This makes green tea one of the most powerful antioxidants available. Antioxidants have been shown to fight viruses and slow the aging process. EGCG is very effective in lowering LDL cholesterol and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Green tea has been shown to relax blood vessels which is also important for the prevention of heart attack and stroke. The powerful antioxidant content of green tea because of its high amounts of polyphenols and flavenoids greatly strengthens our immune system and slows the aging process.
EGCG contained in green tea inhibits the grown of cancer cells and kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. The National Cancer Research Institute of Tokyo suggests that green tea may be a very effective way of preventing cancer.. Green tea has been shown to lower all types of cancers, especially in digestive and urinary tracts. Green tea applied topically has been shown to protect skin against cancer and actually slow the progress of skin cancer that is already present. Green tea is being used more and more in topical natural skin care products. Green tea has been shown to benefit white blood cells during chemotherapy treatment.
Because of its antibacterial qualities, green tea is effective in preventing tooth decay, gum disease, dental plaque and greatly reduce the harmful bacteria in the mouth. Green tea’s antibacterial qualities also helps in the prevention of food poison and decrease in harmful bacteria found in our digestive systems.
So why is green tea more beneficial than other teas. The answer is in the processing. Green tea leaves are steamed. This prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. Black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves. Fermentation causes EGCG to be converted into compounds that are not as effective in helping with weight loss and in antioxidant value. Therefore, green tea with it’s steam processing retains all the effectiveness and amounts of EGCG, which results in its weight loss and antioxidant benefits.
Most of us are drinking something during most of our day. If we make green tea our drink, we have found a very simple and consistent way of adding great health benefits to our lives. By drinking green tea, we have found a simple and consistent way of eliminating our body weight concerns, building our immune system, improving our oral health, improving our digestive health and slowing the aging process. Using topical skin care products containing green tea improves our skin condition and appearance. Green tea is also available in supplement capsule form if we are wanting to obtain it’s benefits without drinking green tea.
Ayurveda, the ancient science of health means “The Knowledge of Life”. Inspired by nature itself, the unique and holistic science, addresses the mind, body and soul simultaneously. Kundalini Yoga is an ancient system of exercise, breath control and meditation using safe and comprehensive techniques that enhance awareness and increase vitality.
AyurvedaYoga shares its crux with Hatha Yoga which was designed to heal both the mind and the body. Bikram Choudhary is regarded as the founder of Bikram Yoga. Bikram Choudhary’s life itself is an instance for the healing power of Bikram Yoga. He developed Bikram Yoga after he had an injury in a weight lifting accident. He was so determined that he had discovered some healing benefits in practicing some exercises.
Some people practice Bikram Yoga for healing and physical therapy purposes. And to the believers and practitioners it has brought holistic benefits. Testimonials say that even those who suffered from serious injuries have experienced speedy recovery by means of constant Bikram Yoga practice. All you need for a successful outcome from Bikram Yoga is absolute devotion in the practice.
The poses and postures of Bikram Yoga flush the toxins off our body and refill the cells. It also oxygenates blood throughout our body keeping it clean and healthy. Just like Ashtanga Yoga, there is no use of practicing Bikram Yoga too, unless the aspirant has a well functioning body system.
Bikram Choudhary developed Bikram Yoga with the help of some scientists. The medical benefits of Bikram Yoga have been approved by the scientists from the University of Tokyo University Hospital. Repairing of tissues and curing of chronic ailments have been identified as the major benefits of practicing Bikram Yoga. Please Purchase Online http://ayurvedasbeautycare.com
Reiki is a simple yet mysterious healing technique from Japan, founded about 100 years ago by a Bhuddhist called Usui Mikao, who also invented this name that sounds strange to modern Japanese ears. Some people in Japan even get a little frightened when they hear the word, because “Rei” can also mean something like “ghost”. Reiki instead doesn’t care so much about the meaning of the words and spreads itself all over the planet, where it has become quite popular within the scene of western spiritual healers and seekers.
Reiki started its triumph in Hawaii in the late 1940s, when a Hawaiian Lady called Hawayo Takata began treating people with Reiki, she had learned from Churijo Hayashi. As in Hawaii Pearl Harbor was located, it’s not that surprising, that Mrs. Takata made up her own version of the origin of Reiki, to sort of veil the Buddhist and Shinto roots of the system, as they may have triggered a whole lot of negative emotions in American people at this particular time. From this long passed time there are still some legends passed on and around the world by not so well informed Reiki practitioners, e.g. the myth Usui Sensei had been a Christian Monk, studied in Chicago and many other biographical details invented by Mrs. Takata.
In the beginning of the 1980s Reiki came to Europe. At first only the Takata myths were known and taught, until a German Reiki Teacher moved to Japan and started teaching Reiki there. To his big surprise he found Reiki to be alive in Japan, which contradicted another Takata myth: She had claimed to be the one and only living Reiki teacher in the world, even calling herself a “Grand-Master” (a title Usui Sensei himself neither used nor ever gave to anyone!). From these days on, more and more informations about the origins of Reiki and its founder Usui Sensei came to light. The doors of the Usui Gakkai – the Organization founded in Tokyo to preserve Usui Sensei’s work – stayed closed to westerners until today. But Japanese Reiki Teachers like e.g. Doi Hiroshi – the founder of Gendai Reiki – or Inamoto Hyakuten – who founded Hayashi based Komyo Reiki Kai made many details known also to western Reiki practitioners and teachers, so there is a much broader picture of what Reiki is and how it can serve us in the 21st century.
There are five basic rules, the Japanes Meji Emperor had invented. Usui Sensei adored this man very much (some might know him in his young years from the movie “Last Samurai” with Tom Cruise) and so he applied these five principles to his Reiki path. Let’s have a look, how they can serve our personal development in the western realm even today about 100 years after Reiki had been founded and took its way from traditional sittings with the master himself to advanced online courses available e.g. in the Reikifriendship, the Online Reikischool founded in 2004:
1.Just for today – don’t be angry! It’s not easy to understand the first step, being brought up with a western mind. Simply and habitually expressing our anger will burn us internally, which can threaten our lives. So kind compassion is not some luxury for sunny Sundays, but basic life-saving insight. So the first reason for learning Reiki online is to be reminded daily that letting anger take over simply destroys our lives. Reiki has some smart suggestions how to get over it again and again.
2.Just for today – don’t worry! This is another big one. As we all know from many self-development programs, worries are very contra-productive. Failure can be the immediate result, if we don’t stop this negative trip right away. It’s such a big help for us in these stressful times to remember again and again, that worries can kill our integrity and thus the basis of our health and wealth!
3.Just for today – be grateful! In the movie the Secret the say: If you can say thank you to something you’re attracted to, it’s almost yours!” So gratitude is one of the huge attractor factors for wealth, health, happiness and success. The third reason to learn Reiki online is to daily be reminded to be grateful. It’s so helpful, and you Won’t want to miss this one another day!
4.Just for today – work hard on yourself! This one is a little more challenging to get, but not less important than the first three principles: If we don’t take 100% responsibility, we won’t achieve what we came here for. If we forget who is the most important person in our life, we can’t master this principle: Ourselves! Working on others will only show poor results compared to what is possible if we take the full responsibility and live from that.
5.Just for today – be kind to everyone! This last principle of course also starts with me! If I’m not kind, friendly and compassionate with myself in the first place, my friendliness to others will be a mere gesture without life and power. Online we have the daily opportunity to practice kindness to ourselves and all other Reiki students.
As we can see very clearly here, learning Reiki in an Online school can be far more supporting and challenging, than learning in an ordinary weekend class, with regular meetings following only once a month. The Reiki principles as presented by Usui Sensei are so precious for our daily success and well-being, that having the support of being reminded to them daily can be very useful for making the progress desired in one’s life, may it concern business, health, relating or other areas of the human realm.
Japan was still trying to figure out what hit it today, after 685 people were taken to hospitals with seizures, convulsions or loss of vision after watching a popular television cartoon on Tuesday. Some 200 victims, mainly children, remained hospitalized today.
Outraged mothers accused television networks of ignoring children’s health in the competition for ratings in the multi-billion-dollar animation business. Some called for introduction of an electronic screening device, comparable to the American V-chip, to help parents block out intense animation.
“We are gravely concerned about this escalating race, this competition by the television networks to show ever more stimulating images, targeting even children,” the country’s largest mothers’ organization said in a statement.
The victims, who range in age from 3 to 58 and live throughout the country, suffered attacks during a fast-action cartoon serial called “Pokemon,” or “Pocket Monsters.” The scene that apparently triggered the neurological episodes involved a bright-white explosion followed by brilliant red, white and blue lights that flashed like a strobe for about five seconds.
In the hour following the show, emergency service telephone lines all over the country began lighting up as people called ambulances. Some families reported that children stopped breathing momentarily; others reported seizures similar to those suffered by epileptics. Newspapers reported that even more people were stricken later in the evening when television news rebroadcast the scenes that made people sick, in an editorial decision not likely to be nominated for any public service awards. The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported today that education officials had identified 12,950 children who suffered at least minor symptoms after watching the show.
The popular program was immediately yanked off the air and a major video rental chain removed taped versions. Shares of Nintendo, which invented the characters on which the show is based, took a nearly 5 percent shellacking on the Tokyo stock market.
And Japan, which produces some of the most creative and distinctive animation in the world, including some of the most violent, was left to ask itself: Is there really such a thing as a killer cartoon?
“It is already well known that television has a tremendous impact on human beings, and in the centuries to come it will become bigger and bigger,” said Kikuo Asai, a researcher at the Media Education Development Center in Tokyo. “But in many ways that mechanism has not been fully understood. Perhaps the `Pokemon’ case will help make it clearer.”
A grave Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto offered this Buck Rogers-ish comment: “Rays and lasers have been considered for use as weapons. Their effects have not been fully determined.”
The incident has struck almost everyone here as the most bizarre thing that’s happened in Tokyo since a bearded guru with a Christ complex ordered his disciples to gas the city’s subway system in March 1995, killing 12 people and sending 5,500 others to the hospital.
About the only people who weren’t too surprised were neurologists and the makers of video games. As it turns out, there is ample precedent for intense optical stimulation causing epileptic seizures. Illness related to video games has increased in the past 10 years as video games have proliferated and their visual effects have become more intense.
After several teenagers suffered seizures while playing Nintendo games a few years ago, the company now includes a warning label on much of its software, saying that the games could cause a “shigeki,” or a strong stimulation, from bright lights, resulting in unconsciousness or convulsions. The warning advises users prone to such episodes to consult a doctor before playing. Sega also places a similar warning on its video games and software.
In Britain in 1994, the Independent Television Commission, which regulates commercial TV, limited the rate of flash to three per second.
The guidelines were instituted after a 1993 incident in which an ad for noodles aired that “had a great number of fast-moving computer graphics” and other quick variations in brightness, said Suzanne Prance, a spokesman for the commission. “A number of people complained about it, and there were three cases of people actually suffering seizures.”
But “it’s very difficult to eliminate the problem entirely,” Prance said. The issue “is flashing images but also quick changes in patterns such as a black-on-white star changing to a white-on-black star. All our broadcasters have to preview programs to ensure they are in compliance with our code.” Several Japanese television networks today said they would screen their animated programming to ensure that it does not contain the kinds of visual effects that caused Tuesday’s problems.
Animators said the “Pokemon” episode that sickened people contained no special effects or techniques that had not been used hundreds of times before. Animators said the technique known as “paka-paka,” or the use of different-colored lights flashing alternately to create tension, is quite common. “We cannot understand why it turned out this way,” said Takemoto Mori, the show’s producer.
Akinori Hoshika, a neurologist at Tokyo Medical College, said it is well established that optical stimulation can produce dizziness, nausea, fainting, loss of vision, seizures and other symptoms. Hoshika said children are especially susceptible because their brains and central nervous systems are not fully developed.
Hoshika said strong flashes of red and blue, which are at opposite ends of the color spectrum, tend to be particularly hard on the eye and brain and more likely to produce a reaction.
Japanese homes, many of which are very small and have large-screen televisions, may have made the problem worse. Watching TV in a Japanese apartment can be a little like sitting in the first row at a movie theater.
Today’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported that one 14-year-old boy who was sitting less than three feet from his big-screen television was unconscious for more than 30 minutes. A fifth-grade girl sitting seven feet from a 35-inch set suffered a seizure and felt, her family said, “as if she were under the spell of a hypnotist.”
A pediatrician in Osaka said he treated two children who were eating dinner in front of the television when they collapsed and fell into convulsions. The seizures lasted for about five minutes, but the children were conscious by the time they arrived at the clinic.
Still, having bright lights strobed into your face from 2 1/2 feet away would be enough to make anyone queasy. Having your senses assaulted with a bizarre kaleidoscopic explosion of light in the middle of your sushi and rice has got to be worse.
On 27th October, Tokyo held the International Glasses Trade Fair this year. Like usual, there were various innovations, catching people’s eyes fully, which led the future trend of glasses all over the world. Well, in this year, a few glasses with high tech really gave all a wider horizon, like the Winking Glasses.
Winking Glasses, from a company named Masunaga, is a newly invented kind of glasses, which is designed for the people who have to work in front of computer for long time everyday. This kind of glasses has a human function, which is avoiding people watching computer screen for a long time. When eyes are still over five seconds without winking naturally, the lens will become foggy and then the eyes are forced to wink. It is a convenient tool to protect eyes. It gets its power just by two batteries, or directly connects to the computer by USB line. How wonderful the glasses are! It is the very one for the myopia people who already have poor eyesight.
According to the worker’s words from Masunaga, this kind of Winking Glasses will be published soon and now they are just trying the best to improve it more convenient and durable on the basis now. By the way, some relative products are in preparation. The final aim of their company is to bring about more blessing to people with poor eyes and to avoid their eyesight becoming worse because of using computer for a long time. Thanks to fast development of high technology, we, the human being, do gain more help.
For the health of eyes, I am longing for to own such a pair of glasses. In daily now, I still wear a pair of plain glasses without any magic, but eye protection should not be ignored, indeed. Some trifle-seeming things must be done patiently, just like winking eyes more. Especially, when working with the computer, we are easy to keep eyes unmoving in the situation full of concentration. At this time, eyes are in danger. They are getting dry and some eternal hurt may be following then. So in order to keep a pair of healthy eyes, more movement is needed, though there is no the Winking Glasses.
What are the health benefits of drinking green tea? Green tea has extensively been researched in China and Japan. Drinking green tea positively effects many of the systems in your body. Green Tea also has shown to inhibit the progression of some diseases, and it contains high concentrations of minerals and antioxidants that benefit the body.
Green Tea enhances the immune system with antioxidants. Antioxidants are known to help slow degenerative diseases by helping to fight free radicals. Free radicals hurt the body by damaging the body’s cells. Many different types of tea positively help the Immune system due to the high concentration of poly-phenols, and green tea is 30 to 40% poly phenols by weight.
Green Tea helps in cancer prevention according to The National Cancer Center Research Institute in Tokyo. They say drinking tea may be one of the most practical methods of cancer prevention at present. Green tea is known to lower the occurrence of all types of cancer. Showing significant decreases in digestive and Urinary tract cancer. Research shows tea to be helpful in inhibiting esophageal, stomach, colon,rectal, liver, pancreatic, bladder, breast, and lung cancer. Additionally applied topically repeatedly tea has shown to protect the skin against cancerous changes and slow the progression of skin cancer in animal studies.
Green Tea has been shown to help in the reduction of cholesterol, by bonding to cholesterol and retarding the absorption as it passes through the digestive system. Meaning the body does not have the opportunity to absorb as much fat even though it was consumed.
Green Tea also acts as a blood thinner, reducing unhealthy clotting, relaxing the blood vessels. This aids in the decreased chances of fatal heart attacks and strokes.
Green Tea contains fluoride and other minerals and can aid in fighting cavities and the poly-phenols of tea show anti plaque properties and help fight bacteria in the mouth that cause bad breath and tooth decay.
Ladies you’ll like this, green tea is also a weight loss aid. Drinking a cup of tea with each meal is necessary for using tea as a metabolic stimulant. The tea by itself contains only four calories per serving and is most healthy with nothing added, like sugars. The caffeine in the tea increases body functions to help burn off more calories. The poly-phenols in tea help aid in the digestion of fat. Puerh and oolong teas receive the most attention regarding weight loss. But all teas are a low calorie alternative to commercial beverages like sodas.
Okay, we all know about the dangers of alcohol abuse and how it may lead you to a early demise through the cirrhosis of the liver, or getting into an accident while impaired. However, scientists have also been telling us for several years now in moderation, having a little alcohol can actually have some positive effects on your health and may contribute to a longer and happier life. When it comes to drinking for health, many people think about red wine with all of its polyphenols and French Paradoxes, however did you know that beer, that drink of choice for the working class, can also be beneficial to your health when it is used in moderation? Here are some ways that this fermented concoction of water, barley and hops can help with your health.
Beer helps prevent Cancer
Researchers has recently discovered that Xanthohumol Flavinoids which are found in hops have the potential to become the base for new anti cancer drugs. These compounds have shown promise in cases of prostate and colon cancer anf have even been used as a form of hormone therapy for women. Hops, as we all know, is one of the main ingredients used to flavor beer, giving moderate beer drinkers their own dose of cancer fighting potentials.
Beer is Nutritious
You might have heard the saying: “there is a pork chop in every beer”, but before you grab a side of applesauce, please realize that this is not meant to be taken literally. Beer does contain lots of the Vitamin B6, which can help reduce the chances of getting heart disease by decreasing the amount of homocysteine in the blood stream.
Beer and Heart disease
Research has indicated the people who consume a moderate amount of alcohol tend to have higher levels of HDL (good) cholesterol which can help protect the blood and arteries. People who consume beer, have also shown lower fibrinogen levels . Fibrinogen is a protein which promote blood clots. Drinkers have shown elevated platelet counts which can help prevent the clotting and stickiness of blood cells,
Kidney Stones
A study by Finnish and American researchers published in the American journal of Epidemiology in 1999, showed that beer drinkers had a 40 percent lower risk of developing kidney stones. Researchers were not sure whether it was the water, hops or alcohol that contributed to this trend.
X-Rays
Beer can help prevent chromosomal damage caused from harmful X-rays thanks to the beta-psuedourine in the drink. This study was conducted by Japanese researchers for the National Institute of Radiological Sciences as well as the Tokyo University of Science. They took blood samples from test subjects after they had consumed 630 ml of beer and then exposed these samples to X-Rays and other types of radiation. The samples taken after the beer was downed showed 30% fewer aberrations in the blood cells.
Beer Boosts Memory and keeps you awake
Seriously, a little bit of beer can actually help you remember and stay awake. The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology reported that a Swedish team of researchers from the Karolinska Institute found that mice fed moderate amounts of alcohol actually grew new nerve cells in the brain. Scientists at Innsbruck Medical University in Austria also found that hops reduces the production of neopterin and the amino acid tryptophan (that stuff that makes you sleepy after a Thanksgiving Dinner). While the suppression of these to amino groups may help explain the calming effect that beer has, researchers also believe that it helps make serotonin (the happiness hormone) more readily available thus helping us stay alert and active.
Relaxes and reduces inhibitions
Everyone knows that beer helps you loosen up, making it easier to socialize and have fun. This helps with your sense of personal well being and can help improve your outlook on life. Beer is also a good if you end up acting like a moron during the course of the night. It will accept the blame with no complaint, and be there for you next time you feel the need to act like a bit of a goofball.
Last year at about this time the New England Journal of Medicine published an article entitled âOptions for slowing the growth of health care costsâ. In table 1 there are listed 12 options for cost savings, ranked from highest to lowest potential. The NEJM is one of the most influential and respected medical journals in the world. If you Google the lead author, James J. Mongan, M.D., you get 736 entries. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of Partners HealthCare, the Medical Group Practice associated with Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also Professor of Health Care Policy and Professor of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. There is probably no more distinguished and respected doctor in the country. Yet not only did he not come up with any practical, doable solution to the Health Care Financial Crisis, he did not even correctly identify the real origins of the problem.
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Rising Medical Care Costs are the consequence of:
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Most adults, and now some children as young as 8 years of age, must visit their doctors regularly (every 6 months or more) to check for risk factors (such as high blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol) for developing illnesses such arteriosclerosis, heart disease and stroke. If present they usually must be treated with one or more medications. Direct to consumer ads encourage patients to âask your Doctorâ for the most expensive brand name drugs in preference to generics. This marketing works! There are screening tests of body fluids, X-rays, CAT scans and MRIs for early detection of various problems, including many cancers. This practice of preventive medicine began in the latter half of the 20th century and has added a huge and growing cost burden to the health care system. The insurance industry believes it is cost effective in terms of sickness prevention and so monitors doctors to make certain they follow âbest practicesâ with respect to screening for and treating all risk factors with medications. They usually do not stress lifestyle and dietary factors and patients usually do not bring this subject up. Unlike medications for actual diseases such as infections, anemia or stomach ulcers, treating risk factors involves regular doctor visits and taking medication everyday for the rest of your life, even though you may have no symptoms and are not actually sick. Big Pharma has responded to this growing opportunity with many 100âs of new and expensive medications which they market extensively to the consumer on TV and in print media. Marketing is much more effective than most people realize. Marketing has made Lipitor, just one of several cholesterol lowering drugs, the best selling drug in history, with annual sales of $12 billion. Lipitor doesnât cure anything and it doesnât really help all that many people. An antibiotic for a bladder infection usually cures 98% of patients in 7-10 days. Lipitor taken for 5 years has been shown to benefit (ie prevent heart attacks or stroke) in only 1% of high risk patients. After 5 years they have no solid evidence that Lipitor is doing more good than harm. (Pfizerâs marketing division could give lessons to Nike, Wal-Mart, McDonalds, GM and Starbucks.) Taking these âpreventiveâ medications does not actually prevent but only delays the onset of the multiple diseases associated with aging. Most people over 60 have one or more chronic medical problems for which they must see, not just their primary care doctor but one or more specialists as well. In the last 40 years we have developed an amazingly effective, complex and ever more expensive technology and expertise to deal with these complex medical problems. The availability of, the need for and the cost of this technology and expertise is rising rapidly. Kidney dialysis units are full 24/7 and theyâre not being built fast enough to keep up with demand. A specialist in Memphis can manipulate a robot in Peoria via closed circuit TV to remove an adrenal gland tumor⦠well you get my point. Lung, heart, kidney, liver and bone marrow transplants are now commonplace, limited only by availability of healthy organs. (If youâre too ugly, theyâre now doing face transplants!) With Bush gone, stem cell therapy is being developed aggressively. Recently ABC News reported success at regenerating an entire rat heart with stem cells, which then began beating to the wondering eyes of the media. (This is indeed good news for our ex-VP Dick Cheney!) This means that more elderly patients will primarily depend on specialist(s) care rather than primary care. This will drive up the costs more quickly. David Walker, former head of the GAO has predicted with great certainty that the United States of America will go bankrupt in approximately 2020 due to the expense of millions of baby boomers becoming eligible for Medicare. Adding the Medicare drug benefit brought the bankruptcy date back to 2017. (By bankruptcy he meant most of the Federal Government, including the Pentagon, would be forced to close its doors. During the current economic downturn, the expanding demands on Medicaid and SCHIP may bring that bankruptcy sooner.) Even if we could afford it, providing everyone from an early age with Health Insurance would not solve the problem. Two famous bad examples: Baby Boomer numero uno, Bill Clinton has already had his first heart attack before he even turned 60. You can only imagine how much his acute and now follow up care is costing the taxpayers. Tim Russert from âMeet the Pressâ on TV, had fine insurance and treatable risk factors, went to his doctor faithfully and took his pills. Yet he dropped dead of a heart attack at age 58. (His dying saved his health insurance company a bundle.) It should be apparent that with respect to Health Insurance and care we Americans are grossly over using the system. The doctors and all their magic technology can barely keep up. And the ânot keeping upâ problem is going to get much worse as the 78 million Baby Boomers become eligible for Medicare. Health Insurance for Americans is so costly for the same reasons that flood insurance is so expensive in New Orleans and hurricane insurance in South Florida. Cost is based on risk and Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Aetna, Humana, Unicare, Cigna, Anthem, Carefirst and Kaiser are very good at calculating risk. In fact they are so good itâs giving them a giant headache of miserable public relations. Letâs look at the problem of pre-existing medical conditions. The public and the politicians all want them covered, with no exclusions. Hey thatâs only fair. People who are already sick need their health care expenses paid for now! But think about it for a minute and apply some common sense. Say you own a nice home, cost you 300 grand, well furnished in a nice neighborhood. The mortgage is pretty steep, youâve got a couple of teenagers, and you and the wife have nice cars. So to cut expenses you didnât buy home owners insurance. One day there is a grease fire in the kitchen, it spreads to the curtains, then the wooden cabinets and throwing pans of water is not working. Thinking quickly you call State Farm. Hello! Do you really think they are going to sell you fire insurance on the spot when the Fire Department is already on the way? Well, that is what many are expecting from the Blues and all the rest of them. That is turning healthcare âinsuranceâ into a healthcare entitlement. Unless you are on a public program such as Medicare or Medicaid that is just not going to happen. Payment levels from Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP (state childrenâs health insurance program) are not acceptable to many doctors. If you are a new Medicare enrollee with several chronic medical problems, good luck in finding a doctor who will take on your case. Medicaid payments to doctors are even worse. The large doctor group in LA of which I was a partner did not accept any Medicaid or SCHIP patients. Brave New World: many doctors donât take care of old people or poor people any longer. Hippocrates and my grandfather are rolling over in their graves.
10. One more important point: just as the demand is rising exponentially, the resources are shrinking. There is a critical shortage of nurses. (2 large groups of Americans donât go into nursing: men and white people). We are importing nurses from all over the world with higher salaries, thus exporting our healthcare crisis to other countries. Many emergency rooms and trauma centers are closing down because too many patients without insurance go there, leading to hospital bankruptcies. (http://www.emreportcard.org/) At City and County Hospital ERs (which canât close by law) unless you are having a cardiac arrest, the wait to see a doctor may be several days. Bring along a lot of change because the only food youâre likely to get is out of vending machines. (Be warned, it sure ainât health food.)
11. Finally, letâs get real about just what legislation is possible given the power of medical lobbyists. Big Pharma for starters. They managed to get Medicare Part D (the drug benefit) passed with no provision for bargaining for best prices. Medicare pays retail and most of the newest (thus most expensive) drugs are covered. Do you really think that Big Pharma, Big AMA (and all the other doctor groups) big Health Insurance (Blue Cross, Aetna, Humana, Cigna, PacifiCare, etc) and Big Hospitals are going to go along with making the whole healthcare system non-profit? Keep in mind: these guys own Congress.
12. Okay, letâs dream for a minute. The year is 2012. Congress and the Obama administration have passed comprehensive health care reform legislation. Every single citizen and legal immigrant in America is now covered by health insurance. Liberals are ecstatic and conservatives are cowed or grudgingly accepting of the new reality. You live in Los Angeles. One morning you awake with a splitting headache, and a fever of 103. Your urine is cloudy and bloody and painful to pass. You call your doctor and after a 25 minute wait listening to ghastly Musak, the recorded voice of the receptionist advises you to go the St Edwards Hospital emergency room. Reality sets in. The line to see their ER doctor starts in Bakersfield.
 Remember when a McDonaldâs hamburger was 25 cents and you could hold it in one hand? Now McDonalds has a burger,  introduced in Tokyo, Japan that has 4 patties â one for each chamber of your heart!
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