In an article for “American Chronicle”, or at least found there, Julian Tai writes about the side affects of green tea. I knew about caffeine as most tea drinkers do. However, he writes that the compound EGCG, Epigallocatechin gallate, a catechin found in tea, while it does show promise as a cancer fighter, may adversely affect fetal development.
The way it does this is by interfering with the way our bodies absorb folate. Folate is a very important nutrient in fetal development. He suggests that a pregnant woman, who is a green tea drinker, should discuss the matter with her doctor to find out just how much is safe for consumption. He even suggests it might be best to limit consumption to the first trimester so you would want to discuss timing of your tea drinking as well.
Source: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/55314
Julian Tai’s website: http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/
Filed under Tea by on Mar 24th, 2008. 
Drinking green tea before exercise could help you burn more fat.
The University of Birmingham’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences conducted a study on healthy young males. First they would take Green Tea Extract (GTE) or a placebo. Then they performed cycling trials. The average fat oxidation rates were higher and how much the fat oxidation provided to the total energy used was higher as well in the GTE group.
Fat oxidation is the rate at which you will find fat being broken down in your body during moderate exercises. This fat is then moved to the muscles where it is used as fuel during the exercise which is why the fat oxidation provided a greater chunk of the total energy used in the study. If I read the article correctly, then green tea, by inhibiting an enzyme, can help fat keep moving to your muscles to be used.
The amount of GTE in this study was equal to about 3 1/2 cups of green tea.
Time, and more studies, will tell if the green tea effect will help people with health problems such as obesity and diabetes through it’s ability to increase fat oxidation. The studies will also help determine the correct amount of green tea or green tea extract needed.
Source: http://www.huliq.com/52294/couple-cups-green-tea-exercise-could-help-burn-fat
Filed under Tea by on Mar 10th, 2008.
Let’s hope you are in one of the lucky 13 states and two Canadian provinces that now have access to a very potent green tea. It is the DoMatcha Japanese Green Tea and comes from an 800 year old recipe concocted by Zen monks. That means from the 13th century.
Laboratory testing shows this green tea delivers as many antioxidants, in one cup, as you would find in eight to ten cups of regular green tea. Wonder what they are calling “regular steeped green tea”? However, matcha tea helps prevent infectious and cardio-vascular diseases, increase serotonin, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, and even raises the metabolism which just might help you lose weight.
So, if you are in California, Washington State, Oregon, Nevada, Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, or Hawaii, you might want to run out to your local Whole Foods Market and get yourself some DoMatcha Japanese matcha tea. That is, you might want to run if you are interested in improving your health. Otherwise, you could just walk or drive and then enjoy a soothing cup of hot tea once you get home.
Source: http://www.mmdnewswire.com/jpnese-te-3007.html
Filed under Tea by on Feb 28th, 2008.