Green Tea

[Shaolinlueb]

im visiting some tea plantation in china when im in hangzhou. supposedly it has some of the best tea in china. expensive too.

[gwa sow]

well, if smoking is bad for the lungs, do what i did in when i was in high school with some other,...um,....herbal remedies. hehehe make brownies.

back to boiling tea. i drink green tea alot. i like the special gunpowder green tea. doesn't come in a little baggie. just a box full of dried up tea leaves. to make the tea right, the water has to be very hot. boil water in a pot, take off heat and add leaves. if water isn't hot enough it doesnt absorve the tea good enough. if to hot, tea leaves get kinda um,... burned i guess.

[RAF]

Green Tea Seems to Stem Spread of Prostate Cancer

23 minutes ago

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDayNews) -- Green tea appears to inhibit the spread of prostate cancer in a number of ways, says a study in the Dec. 1 issue of Cancer Research.

In research with mice, scientists from the University of Wisconsin and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland found green tea polyphenols (GTP) target molecular pathways that control the proliferation and spread of prostate tumor cells. The polyphenols also inhibit the growth of blood vessels that feed prostate tumors.

"Consumption of GTP led to reduced levels of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1)," study senior author Hasan Mukhtar, of the department of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin, said in a prepared statement.

"GTP also led to increased levels of one of the binding proteins for IGF-1, the insulin growth factor binding protein-3. These observations bear significance in light of studies that indicate increased levels of IGF-1 are associated with increased risk of several cancers, such as prostate, breast, lung and colon," Mukhtar said.

[herb ox]

STRONG green tea also helps reduce "dampness" in your system. Drinking a strong cup after a greasy meal helps to cut the grease and aids in digestion. Maybe that's why there's always been unlimited tea at the local Greasy Chopstick (not saying ALL Chinese rest.s are greasy, just the ones in my ethnically bland town!).

drink up.

smoked it when I was young... didn't seem to work as well

peace

herb ox

[RAF]

Green Tea's Record Against Cancer Grows

Green Tea Extract Targets Cancer Without Hurting Healthy Cells

By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Michael Smith, MD
on Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Feb. 15, 2005 -- Green tea's reputation as a powerhouse against cancer keeps growing. Now, scientists have new insights on how green tea thwarts cancer.

Green tea extract has shown promise against cancer in numerous studies. Those findings came from animal studies and epidemiologic research, which tracks a disease's occurrence in a large population of people.

In other words, the human studies on green tea are mainly based on observation and don't prove that tea is responsible for results. But as one of the world's most popular drinks, tea is widely considered healthy, whether it's green, black, or white tea. However, green tea and green tea supplements generally contain higher amounts of disease-fighting antioxidants called polyphenols than black tea.

For instance, studies on mice showed that green tea helped prevent prostate cancer growth. Green tea extract is also reported to induce cancer cell death and starve tumors by curbing the growth of new blood vessels that feed them.

But exactly how that happens isn't clear. Tea's antioxidants may protect against some forms of cancer. They may also help prevent heart disease by relaxing blood vessels and preventing blood clots. But the precise ways green tea affects cancer aren't fully understood.


Uncovering a Clue to Green Tea's Power

Uncovering a Clue to Green Tea's Power

University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers used green tea extract on human bladder cells, some of which were cancerous. Their findings appear in the Feb. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

The green tea extract targeted the cancer cells without harming healthy cells, say the researchers. Taking a closer look, they noticed something unusual about the cancer cells.

The green tea extract apparently made the cancer cells more mature, making them bind together more closely. That made it harder for the cancer cells to become invasive and spread.

"In effect, the green tea extract may keep the cancer cells confined and localized, where they are easier to treat and the prognosis is better," says researcher JianYu Rao, MD, in a news release.

That's an important clue, but it's not the final verdict on how green tea works against cancer. More work is still needed to understand the process, say the scientists.

Meanwhile, if you're interested in trying green tea, be aware that the FDA hasn't evaluated claims about green tea's powers and that supplements are not regulated by the government. If you're watching your caffeine intake, green tea does contain some caffeine (but much less than coffee).

To get green tea's potential disease-fighting benefits, studies have suggested that you should drink four cups a day. Green tea supplements are also available, and at least one study has shown that you may actually get more powerful antioxidants from supplements than from drinking tea.

As always, let your doctor know about any over-the-counter health products you're taking.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCES: Lu, Q. Clinical Cancer Research, Feb. 15, 2005; vol 11: pages 1-9. News release, UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center. WebMD Medical News: "Green Tea May Stall Prostate Cancer Growth." WebMD Medical News: "The Green Tea Taste Test." WebMD Medical News: "Green Tea Capsules Loaded With Antioxidants."

[RAF]

Study Shows How Green Tea May Fight Bladder Cancer

Wed Feb 23, 4:38 PM ET

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Green tea extract may interfere with a process that helps early bladder cancer to spread throughout the body, new laboratory research suggests.

The findings, say researchers, bolster ongoing studies into green tea extract as a cancer treatment -- and may give green tea drinkers more reason to savor every cup.

The investigators found that when they exposed human bladder cells to both a cancer-causing chemical and green tea extract, the extract interfered with a particular process by which early cancer cells become invasive and spread throughout body tissue.

This process involves the "remodeling" of actin, a structural protein in cells that is essential for cell movement. Actin remodeling allows cancer cells to move and invade nearby healthy tissue.

Based on the new findings, green tea extract may get in the way of this process by activating a protein known as Rho, which helps regulate actin's organization in cells and has been implicated in tumor development and progression.

Dr. JianYu Rao and his colleagues at the University of California Los Angeles report the findings in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

A number of studies have suggested that green tea and extracts of the beverage may have cancer-preventing abilities, possibly due to the tea's concentration of certain antioxidants -- compounds that help ward off cell damage that can lead to cancer, heart disease and other ills.

But exactly how green tea may act in the body to fight cancer is not clear. Lab research has suggested it can act in several ways -- from hindering tumors from forming their own blood supply to forcing abnormal cells to commit suicide.

The current study points to an entirely new mechanism, Rao told Reuters Health in an interview.

Green tea extract, he explained, appears to diminish cancer cells' invasiveness -- suggesting that it could be used in the early stages of cancer treatment.

One recent study found that green tea extract brought no benefit to men with advanced prostate cancer. But Rao said that any effects of the extract on cancer would probably occur in the early stages.

He and his colleagues are now conducting a clinical trial to see whether green tea extract can reduce the risk of bladder cancer recurrence in patients with a history of smoking, which is a risk factor for the disease.

Uncovering the details of how green tea may stymie cancer could help doctors figure out which patients are likely to benefit from treatment with extracts, Rao said. It may be possible to look for specific markers of actin remodeling and Rho activation in patients' urine to determine who is best suited for such therapy.

It's also possible, Rao said, that drinking green tea could reduce the risk of developing bladder cancer in the first place -- though no one knows how many cups a person would have to sip over a lifetime.

SOURCE: Clinical Cancer Research, February 15, 2005.

[The Willow Sword]

I have become quite the efficianado on green teas. Over the past 10+ years i have tried several varieties.

I love the high quality Oolong teas as someof them are dried with flowers like orchids and other florals to give them a real nice taste an fragrance when you steep them.
The White teas are great as well,,very light tasting.

the several hundred varieties and styles of green tea astound me and i like them all.

Here in Austin you can get a decent selection of high quality green teas from whole foods and a oriental medicine shop called Turtledragon. You wind up spending more money on the better stuff but it is well worth it.
I drink about 3 pots of the stuff a day. Great health benefits as the articles posted here suggest.

PEACE,,,TWS

[RAF]

Mao Feng green tea from HuangShan is really good too.


Yellow Mountain (Huangshan) Maofeng Green Tea comes from the Yellow Mountains in China, one of the most beautiful natural settings in the world. The Yellow Mountains are famous for their rolling fog, steep rock faces, hot springs and small mountain pines.

Yellow Mountain Maofeng is a green tea grown in the foothills of the Yellow Mountain range where it is almost always foggy and humid. It is considered one of China's most famous teas. The leaves are picked only in the spring when they are very young and only contain a bud and a single unfolding leaf. Only unbroken buds and leaves are processed for this tea.

http://www.tenren.com/yelmounmaofg.html

http://www.tenren.com/index.html

Green Tea Helps Reduce Red in Rosacea

Study Shows a Cream Extract From Green Tea Is Effective

By Peggy Peck
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Feb. 23, 2005 -- Green tea may be a safe and beneficial treatment for rosacea.

Green tea already is a favorite among fans of "natural" medicinal products. Now a cream made from an extract of freshly baked green tea leaves may be an effective treatment for a type of acne called papulopustular rosacea.

Women treated with the green tea extract cream had a 70% improvement in rosacea compared with women treated with a placebo says Tanweer Syed, MD, PhD, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of San Francisco, Calif., who developed the tea extract.

The study was presented at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting in New Orleans.

RosaceaRosacea is a common skin condition which develops in phases. Typically, it starts with a tendency to blush -- rosy cheeks or redness and swelling in the center of the face which can progress to papulopustular rosacea. Tiny pimples begin to appear in and around the red areas. Treatment can control the symptoms and prevent the condition from getting worse. Untreated, the condition can lead to chronic inflammation; the nose takes on the appearance of becoming red and enlarged.

Syed tested the green tea extract cream in 60 women aged 25 to 50. All had visible signs of rosacea with papules and pustules as well as redness and swelling.

Prior to starting treatment, and weekly after treatment began, photographs were taken of the women's faces.

Half of the women received the green tea extract cream and half received a placebo cream. The women applied the cream to their faces twice a day for four weeks.

At the end of four weeks, "marked beneficial improvement" was observed in both groups, say the researchers. However, treatment with the green tea extract resulted in significantly fewer facial inflammatory lesions than placebo treatment, says Syed. Clear, minimal or mild improvement of inflammation was seen in 70% of the women treated with the extract cream.

Syed says green tea extract cream was a natural choice for the rosacea because earlier research suggested that green tea extract has natural antiaging and antiacne properties.

"The green tea has a soothing quality that helps the redness," Syed says.

The difference in this product versus others on the market, he says, is that the green tea leaves are picked and used within five hours, before turning dark and fermenting.

Guy Webster, MD, vice chairman of dermatology at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, says the study involved only a small number of participants and more work needs to be done before the cream can be marketed. Webster was not involved in the study.

"However, these results are tantalizing. These women obviously had rosacea and blushing. There is not much you can do for this. But the faces were looking distinctively red and they are coming out not distinctively red," he says.

The study was 75% funded by Syed Skincare, Inc.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCES: 63rd Annual Meeting American Academy of Dermatology. Presented Feb. 20, 2005. Tanweer Syed, MD, PhD, associate professor of dermatology, University of San Francisco, Calif. Guy Webster, MD, vice chairman of dermatology, Jefferson Medical College.

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

ironfist, northern practicioner, jodoe:

GNC has a poduct known as "Green Tea Extract". ground up tea leaves, boiled, sediment collected and uniformed then encapsulated. enjoy.

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

Gwa Sow:

take favourite hand. make crane's beak. allow crane to taste dry tea leaves. let him spit them out into a big pot. add a gallon of water. apply western chi at medium flow for fourty five minutes of practice. stop chi kung immediately.

or just buy a box of lipton green tea. two bags for fourty minutes at medium heat per gallon.

whichever you taste. i taste Bojenmi herbal mix.

[Newb]

im visiting some tea plantation in china when im in hangzhou. supposedly it has some of the best tea in china. expensive too.

I always get suspicious when I hear things like that. I hope you don't get ripped off for some flavored tea. Then again, who knows! It could be some amazing kick ass tea!

[CrazyKiller]

Iron Fist,

If you drink the tea in the traditional "gung fu" manner, you will get all of the health benefits, as well as a pleasurable drinking experience. The stuff in tea bags is not the quality you want, however. The tea in bags is mostly ground up stuff. What you want is a more whole leaf tea, usually it is rolled. When you infuse with hot water, the leaves open up and the chemicals are extracted from the leaf.

Besides green tea, you could opt for a lightly oxidized oolong. These usually taste better and they have the same health benefits as the raw green tea.

BTW, the "gung fu" method uses a small Yixing clay pot filled about 1/4 with leaves. First brewing of tea should be discarded, in order to "wash" the leaves. This reduces the dust and pollutants. The next brewing, and following one or two more (depends) on the tea, should then be consumed.

Keep the tea leaves in an airtight, light-proof container, in a cool place.

Hope it helps.

[7 star Method]

I agree with Crazy Killer.
The tea with the highest anti oxidants is traditionally a top quality White tea, such as silver needle, I am telling you this stuff cleans you up and has a great light refreshing taste.
White Tea is very hard to make using "Kungfu" method, due to it having to be brewed over a three minutes to extract the flavor of the tea.
You cannot go wrong with a Green Tea such as a high quality "Dragon Well" or one of my favorites "Pouchong".
Crazy Killer, good to see another tea junky in the mist.

LF

Iron Fist,

If you drink the tea in the traditional "gung fu" manner, you will get all of the health benefits, as well as a pleasurable drinking experience. The stuff in tea bags is not the quality you want, however. The tea in bags is mostly ground up stuff. What you want is a more whole leaf tea, usually it is rolled. When you infuse with hot water, the leaves open up and the chemicals are extracted from the leaf.

Besides green tea, you could opt for a lightly oxidized oolong. These usually taste better and they have the same health benefits as the raw green tea.

BTW, the "gung fu" method uses a small Yixing clay pot filled about 1/4 with leaves. First brewing of tea should be discarded, in order to "wash" the leaves. This reduces the dust and pollutants. The next brewing, and following one or two more (depends) on the tea, should then be consumed.

Keep the tea leaves in an airtight, light-proof container, in a cool place.

Hope it helps.

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

there's a green tea parlor in palo alto that's near the college that is full of fairly expensive teas. do any of you know the jing i'm thinking of?

[CrazyKiller]

Greetings 7 Star Method,

"tea junky" is pretty accurate; I am drinking a pot of High Mountain Oolong right now. And I do "jones" when I even start running low on tea. I have dabbled with White Tea, but it didn't grab me in the way the High Mt. Oolong did. Maybe I'll give it another chance.

A funny story from quite a few years ago. I finish training with my kung fu teacher one day, and he invites me in for some refreshments. His wife brings out the tea, in a big thermos kind of thing. My teacher was from Northern China, a real traditional guy. When I look in the back of the thermos, it is brewed from about 4 Lipton tea bags
In my naivete, I expected he would be drinking some really great tea. In fact, Lipton tea was their daily stuff. On a few occasions, I drank some better tea with him--a nice light green tea brewed the traditional way.