MEDICINAL VALUES OF GREEN TEA

Medicinal Values of Green Tea

Green tea is believed to be in use as a medicine for at least 4000 years in china. It is also believed that green tea lowers the cholesterol levels by increasing the good cholesterol and decreasing the bad cholesterol. Green tea is rich in antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) .


It destroys cancer cells and also inhibits the growth of cancer cells. Even though the French people consume diet rich in fat, they are less prone to heart attack than the Americans. Similarly, even though 75 percent of the Japanese are smokers, they are less affected. This is because EGCG is more in green tea used by them. It acts as a protective agent against premature death from heart attack and cancer.Green tea also destroys bacteria thus preventing tooth decay.


Researchers have also found that green tea even helps dieters. The leaves of green tea can also be used for cooking. The leftover leaves can be used as manure for garden plants to grow better. The ingredient present in green tea is polyphenol.



It is the most effective antioxidant. It is present in higher amount in green tea than in black tea.The basic difference between green tea and other teas like oolong and black tea is that while the latter come from the leaves of camellia simens plant, green tea is processed in a different way. Green tea leaves are steamed which prevents the EGCG, a power antioxidant, from being oxidized.



In contrast, black and oolong leaves are made from fermented leaves and so EGCG is converted into other compounds, which are effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.Clinical trials indicate that green tea raises metabolic rates and speeds up fat oxidation. Green tea also raises thermo genesis (the rate at which calories are burnt) and hence increases energy expenditure. Green tea also increases endurance in exercise.


Drinking green tea has a whole lot of benefits like fighting against cancer, stabilizing diabetes, helping in weight loss, slowing the ageing process and helping digestion. Green tea also enhances immunity in our body. About four cups of green tea each day provides 300 to 400 mg of polyphenols, which help in antioxidant activity. These antioxidants help in slowing diseases. A research Institute in Tokyo found that drinking green tea is the best method to prevent cancer at present.



All types of cancer like stomach, lungs, breast, liver, colon and rectal can be prevented by green tea.Green tea prevents cholesterol from being absorbed by the digestive tract. This in effect means that even if the fat is taken, the body does not absorb it. Green tea also helps in preventing unhealthy clotting. Rinsing the mouth with green tea after meals helps in fighting bacteria and thus prevents cavities.


One cup of tea with each meal acts as a metabolic stimulant. This helps in weight loss. The caffeine in the tea burns extra calories in the body and fat is digested by polyphenols. A recent study stated that EGCG found in green tea could help to boost one’s immune system thereby helping to prevent HIV.And to top it all, green tea probably is the only substance in the world with so many medicinal values and without a single side effect!

Source: Free Articles

VIDEO GAME HELPS YOUNG CANCER

Video game helps young cancer patients take medication

NEW YORK (Aug 6, 2008) : Playing a specially designed video game can help adolescents and young adult cancer patients adhere more closely to their prescribed treatment, according to a report in the journal Pediatrics.

"Targeted video games can help improve the lives of young people with cancer, most importantly improve their adherence to their treatment," Dr. Pamela M. Kato of the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health.

Adherence is a major problem in this age group, Kato and her colleagues point out in their report. While dramatic improvements in survival have been seen in pediatric cancer patients, they add, death rates among teens and young adult patients have not followed this trend. "They're kind of a tough group that gets a little bit lost in the system," Kato said.

To investigate whether playing a video game might help, the researchers randomly assigned 375 male and female patients 13 to 29 years old being treated at centers in the US, Canada and Australia to play "Re-Mission" or "Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb," a standard video game not focused on cancer care.

In Re-Mission (http://www2.re-mission.net), developed by HopeLab, a Redwood City, California-based non-profit company, players control a tiny robot called Roxxi who moves around in a 3-D environment representing the inside of the body of a young cancer patient. Players can use Roxxi to blast cancer cells and control side effects, and winning the game requires taking chemotherapy drugs and antibiotics, using relaxation techniques, eating food, and keeping up with other types of self-care.

Patients in both groups were asked to play their assigned game for at least an hour a week, and 22 percent of those in the comparison group and 33 percent of those in the Re-Mission group actually did so over the course of the 3-month study.

Electronic pill monitoring showed a 16 percent rise in antibiotic adherence in the Re-Mission group, who took 62.3 percent of their total prescribed antibiotic medications, compared to 52.5 percent for the Indiana Jones group. Adherence to a standard chemotherapy drug was also higher in the Re-Mission group.

Playing Re-Mission was tied to improvements in cancer-related knowledge as well, the authors note.

According to Kato, the game worked because it gave the patients a new way of looking at their illness; for example, thinking of chemo as a way to combat cancer, rather than as an annoyance that makes their hair fall out. "To me it was kind of changing their reward system for taking chemo and giving them a different insight," she explained.

The game can be downloaded free from the Web site by patients and medical professionals. - Reuters

NEW GADGET

NST Online News Gadget - Beta What is a News Gadget? It is free content based on RSS. It is written in javascript. The script calls the content from NST Online to be published elsewhere. For instance, if you have a blog or website, you can use this content to provide variety and value-added feature to your site How much does it cost for me to install one? It's absolutely free, take and use it! How do I go about installing it? Just go to the News Gadget Customisation page and choose the feeds you need. You can use the default subjects from the drop-down menu or make your own, either based on keywords or a combination of the subjects from the default topics and your own keywords. For instance, you may choose Computers from the drop-down and combined with your keyword of say Dell, etc. Okay, then when do I do? Then, when you are done, click on the preview button at the bottom of the page to generate the script. Then cut and paste the script on your website or blog widget element. In seconds, the feed will be churned out for you. Can I design my own look and feel? Yes, you certainly can. Use the colour swatches and attributes available at bottom left of the configuration. How do I use News Gadget? The News Gadget can be used on Blogger's free Blogspot blogs and privately hosted Wordpress blogs. Free Wordpress blogs at wordpress.com does not allow scripted widgets on their site. News Gadget For Blogger Blogs: Choose your feed, design your interface and copy your script. Log in to your account at Blogger Go to your Layout page. Choose Page Elements. Click Add Page Element. Choose Add HTML/Script. Paste the News Gadget script in it and Save Page Element Republish Blog
News Gadget for Wordpress Blogs Log in to your Wordpress Blog and go to Dashboard, then click on Presentation tab. Under Presentation, click Widgets. Go down to the Available Widgets section and drag the Text Widget (usually named Text 1, Text 2 etc. If there are none, you can create them via Add Text Widget function available) container into your Sidebar Click on Text 1 Widget and a pop-up will appear. There will be two empty boxes. Fill the top (heading) box with the desired widget name (ie. Health News, Recipes, etc). Copy the Javascript from News Gadget and paste it onto the box below the heading box - this script will call your feed. Once done, click on the X to close the box. Next, Save your consiguration. CONGRATULATIONS, you have just added your News Gadget onto your Wordpress Blog. Click the view button or go to the URL of your blog to see the new feature on it. ARTICLES SOURCE : www.nst.com.my