Tea Sippers

Cancer fighting green tea may have a dark side

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/40634/title/Cancer_fighting_green_tea_may_have_a_dark_side

For more than a decade, study after study has extolled the cancer-fighting virtues of green tea, or at least extracts of its polyphenol antioxidants. But preliminary data now suggest that for some people this herbal remedy may not prove beneficial — or even benign. In test-tube experiments on cancer cells and in animals, green tea’s polyphenols inactivated the cell-killing activity of a drug used to treat blood cancers.

Physicians prescribe bortezomib, a drug sold under the trade name Velcade, to patients with multiple myeloma. This treatable, though incurable,…

Health’s in the Tea Bag

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/archive_of_editorial/615

Well, okay, we might be slightly overstating the benefits of tea, but not by as much as you’d think; science continues to reveal just how potent the beverage is. And popular: Last year marked the 13th consecutive year that tea sales increased, according to the Tea Association of the USA, which represents the industry.

This steady increase in tea consumption is likely linked to a slew of studies showing that drinking tea can significantly improve your health. Tea has been shown to slow tumor growth in cancers of the skin, lungs, mouth, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, small intestine, colon and prostate, according to a review of multiple studies reported in the January 2005 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Other research demonstrates tea’s effect on heart health—a study in…

What’s Brewing?

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/375

From chai-flavored cheesecake to tea-smoked tofu, with a scoop or two of green tea ice cream in between, cooking with tea is taking culinary circles by stealth.

“As drinking tea becomes more and more in vogue, chefs are turning to tea as a flavoring agent—the same way they started experimenting with coffee when the Starbucks phenomenon hit a few years back,” explains François Payard, owner of Payard Patisserie & Bistro in New York City, who has recently created a green tea tart and a collection of tea-flavored chocolates. “Tea is something that has always gone well with food, so it’s only natural that chefs are turning to it for its flavoring possibilities and using it in the same way they use herbs and …

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