GREEN TEA / BANANAS
By now I hope everyone is getting into the swing of following a new and exciting way to get healthy. Even following the programme rules that I gave you will make a difference and if you now start to include the foods on my superfoods list you should begin to notice a new level of energy and well being. This time I am going to look at the health benefits of Green Tea and also your first snack of the day.
GREEN TEA
All true teas – not herbal tisanes or infusions - are made from the Camellia Sinensis. These plants grow in warm climates with the very best teas coming from the highest altitudes – at that level the plant leaves are slower to mature and this means that they have a much richer flavour. Although the plants all come from the same strain – Camellia Sinensis – different growing conditions will affect the flavour of the tea. Altitude, climate, soil vary and each convey their own different contribution to the tea.
It is when the processing takes place that the difference appears between black and green teas. There is in fact another tea in the middle of these two, which is a greenish brown colour and is called oolong tea.
Green tea is the least processed of the three and therefore retains nearly all its nutritional content. One particular antioxidant which is called a Catechin (epigallocatechin-3-gallate EGCG for short) is believed to be responsible for the health benefits linked to green tea. Green tea is derived after the tea-leaves have been gently steamed until they are soft, but have not fermented or changed colour. They are then rolled – spread out and fired which is either dried with hot air or fried in a wok until they are crisp. When you add boiling water to the leaves you get a pale yellowy green colour liquid.
Black tea on the other hand is first spread out on racks and withered with hot air – this removes about a third of their moisture and makes them soft. Then they are rolled which breaks the cell walls and releases juices. They are then laid out again in a high humidity environment to encourage the juice to ferment. The leaves turn a dark copper colour and are then fired turning the leaves black. This gives your tea its dark brown colour when you add boiling water to it.
Oolong tea is partially fermented which means it comes half way between the green and the black.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF GREEN TEA
I mentioned EGCG the flavanoid antioxidant, which is left in the green tea, and this is what researchers believe is the secret to its health benefits, particularly in anti-cancer and cell renewal. Because green tea is so widely drunk, mostly in Asian countries where dairy products are not used to flavour the tea – most of the early research was carried out in China and Japan. One of the diseases being studied is Coronary artery disease – they have shown that the antioxidant in green tea inhibits the enzymes that produce free radicals in the lining of the arteries. It has been shown to lower the LDL which if you remember is “lousy” cholesterol and improving the ratio to HDL Healthy cholesterol.
It helps with stroke prevention because is thins the blood preventing blood clots from forming and travelling around the body. Eating a high fat diet can produce compounds in the blood that encourage platelets to clump together forming the clot. Not only that it seems to protect the cells in the heart muscle following damage so anyone recovering from a heart attack would find it a good tea to drink.
Researchers found that stroke victims who drank green tea were less likely to suffer any further damage and their brain cells were less likely to die off following an episode.
All of the above is linked to Green Tea’s ability to thin the blood, therefore the flow is unrestricted and people are less likely to suffer from high blood pressure.
One of the largest areas of research is in Green Tea’s protection against cancer. Obviously this is down to this incredible anti-oxidant EGCG but studies have also shown that apart from triggering cell suicide in cancer cells only not in normal cells, apparently it can inhibit the development of new blood vessels. Cancer like any parasite has an enormous appetite and the only way this can be catered for is for the body to produce new blood vessels in the form of a tumour. By inhibiting this, the green tea is effectively starving the cancer and it therefore dies.
What is even more interesting is that green tea has been shown to inhibit the growth of genetic cancerous cells such as those in breast cancer. Again it is this antioxidant's way of working that is so effective – it simply damages the rogue cells so much that it triggers a self-destruct mechanism that kills the cancer. The cancers that they have studied include Prostate, Ovarian, Breast and brain tumours in children. Colon, lung cancers have responded well and Green tea has been shown to improve the efficiency of cancer drugs while at the same time lessening their side effects.
Other diseases that have come under the microscope are diabetes, kidney disease, osteoporosis, gum disease, liver damage, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Epilepsy is under the microscope as green tea is being researched because of the possible lessening effect of seizures.
It has been shown to be anti-inflammatory which means that diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis may benefit – either from severity of the symptoms or preventing all together. Bacterial infections from tooth decay to intestinal problems such as Candida – where green tea catechins encourage a more acid environment that kills off the bad bacteria.
Viruses do not seem to like green tea and apparently it stops the virus from replicating which might be interesting for some diseases such as HIV where inhibiting replication is critical to prevent the disease from developing.
For example Japan where there is virtually only green tea consumption, they have a very low incidence of Alzheimer’s, compared to western countries. However, Japanese living in the USA have 2.5 times the incidence of Alzheimer’s of those living in Japan – In Japan people sip green tea all day – not so in the western environment or for 2nd and 3rd generation Japanese living in the USA. This particular health benefit has a knock-on effect on ageing as the cells are protected throughout the body for much longer.
The good news for anyone who is looking to lose weight is that Green tea has a thermogenic effect on fat cells, which encourages them to burn more fat.
So you can see that Green tea is a fantastic drink and you can take in capsule form too. I would suggest at least three cups a day to get the full benefit and as usual get the highest quality that you can.
When Is The Next Time We Should Eat After Breakfast?
It is important to regularly feed your body throughout the day. Your body is like a factory with operating machinery that requires fuel to function all the time. Your heart, lungs, brain and other major organs never sleep and require nutritional calories to work efficiently. Even in sleep your body is moving, although your calorie requirement is less. This means that giving your body its nutrition once a day in the evening or missing breakfast is depriving your body of essential nutrients it requires to get you through the day. This includes between meals. It is better to give your body six moderate meals a day than two or three large ones.
I believe in eating little and often so I always have a snack between meals as it sustains my blood sugar levels at a reasonable level for energy and ensures that it does not fluctuate causing me to crave sugary energy foods like chocolate or lots of bread.
I usually recommend some fruit or some crispbread or even a glass of fruit juice like orange juice if people are not particularly hungry.
One of the best fruits for a snack is the next on my Superfoods list.
The banana.
The banana is one of those fruits that people who are dieting will tend to dismiss as being too high in calories. Remember that this judgement is often made by people who will happily consume a 500gm bar of chocolate in one sitting – that contains 2,500 calories!
On average a banana has about 110 calories – but that 110 calories is packed with nutrients that can really give you a boost.
A banana contains B6 for blood health – vitamin C for our immune system – manganese the antioxidant for cell health – potassium which is essential for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. The average banana has over 450mg of potassium but only 1 mg of sodium, which is why it is so beneficial for blood pressure. The banana also contains fibre and as we now know if you have been following this programme over the last few weeks, fibre is not only good for your digestion but is also helps prevent heart disease because it clears your system of debris. Potassium is also very necessary for bone health as it counteracts urinary calcium loss for people who have a high salt diet.
If you have an ulcer a banana will have an antacid effect particularly if it is mixed with milk. My favourite as a child was banana custard when I did not feel very well and it always settled my stomach.
Apart from all of this of course the banana has the vitamin C that is so important to our general health in the immune system and our eyesight.
Along with some other fruits and vegetables – bananas also contain a compound that acts like a probiotic which encourages healthy bacteria in the gut – this helps people with intestinal problems and combined with the fibre in the banana will help prevent certain cancers such as colon cancer.
If you have suffered from diarrhoea for a long time then eating bananas will help repopulate your intestine with good bacteria and make sure that you recover faster.
It is easily digestible, even babies who suffer from intestinal problems can be given mashed banana and it has been shown to improve not only their stomach problem but the absorption of nutrients from other foods. The elderly can benefit by having a banana a day – as we get older our bodies find it more difficult to absorb nutrients and a banana will help your body do this.
The final nutrient that ties in with last week’s programme is iron and so this makes this fruit one of the super all-rounders that can help you in many areas of your health. Apart from the diseases we have already talked about the following have been shown to improve with the regular consumption of bananas.
Anaemia – constipation – depression (the banana contains tryptophan, which we talked about in oats as increasing serotonin the feel-good hormone) Hangovers – banana milkshake with honey. – blood sugar levels – calms and soothes the stomach and re-hydrates. Heartburn – acts as antacid. Mosquito bites – rub with the inside of a banana skin. PMS – high level of B6 regulates glucose levels and therefore mood. Giving up smoking – bananas lessen the withdrawal symptoms because of its stress beating vitamins B6 and B12 along with the potassium and magnesium.
An old wives tale is that if you wrap a banana skin around your finger and tape in place your wart will disappear.
Next time we will look at lunchtime and a food that we normally associate with high days and holidays.
For more information on nutrients and superfoods visit www.justfoodforhealth.com and if you have any questions that you would like included in the Health and Vitality mailbag send them in strict confidence to sally@moyhill.com
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