Green Tea Fights Fat

Green tea ingredient may promote healthy weight loss

Need another healthy reason to drink green tea? Aside from fighting heart disease, cancer, and other diseases, a new study shows that drinking green tea may also fight fat.

The study showed that people who drank a bottle of tea fortified with green tea extract every day for three months lost more body fat than those who drank a bottle of regular oolong tea.

Researchers say the results indicate that substances found in green tea known as catechins may trigger weight loss by stimulating the body to burn calories and decreasing body fat.

The findings appear in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Green Tea: Fat Fighter?

Black tea, oolong tea, and green tea come from the same Camellia sinensis plant. But unlike the other two varieties, green tea leaves are not fermented before steaming and drying.

Most teas contain large amounts of polyphenols, which are plant-based substances that have been shown to have antioxidant, anticancer, and antiviral properties.

However, green tea is particularly rich in a type of polyphenols called catechins. These substances have also been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties, but recent research in animals show that catechins may also affect body fat accumulation and cholesterol levels.

In this study, researchers looked at the effects of catechins on body fat reduction and weight loss in a group of 35 Japanese men. The men had similar weights based on their BMI (body mass index, an indicator of body fat) and waist sizes.

The men were divided into two groups. For three months, the first group drank a bottle of oolong tea fortified with green tea extract containing 690 milligrams of catechins, and the other group drank a bottle of oolong tea with 22 milligrams of catechins.

During this time, the men ate identical breakfasts and dinners and were instructed to control their calorie and fat intake at all times so that overall total diets were similar.

After three months, the study showed that the men who drank the green tea extract lost more weight (5.3 pounds vs. 2.9 pounds) and experienced a significantly greater decrease in BMI, waist size, and total body fat.

In addition, LDL "bad" cholesterol went down in the men who drank the green tea extract.

The catechin content varies by amount of green tea used and steeping time. But general recommendations, based on previous studies on the benefits of green tea, are at least 4 cups a day. Green tea extract supplements are also available.

Researchers say the results indicate that catechins in green tea not only help burn calories and lower LDL cholesterol but may also be able to mildly reduce body fat.

"These results suggest that catechins contribute to the prevention of and improvement in various lifestyle-related diseases, particularly obesity," write researcher Tomonori Nagao of Health Care Products Research Laboratories in Tokyo, and colleagues.

Growing Back Broken Heart

Custom-made hearts could one day replace transplants, thanks to a team of Australian scientists and surgeons headed by the Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery. Researchers have successfully grown new heart tissue that beats on its own by implanting cardiac cells and blood vessels into a chamber in the body, where they grow to fill the space.
Scientist previously have created only two-dimensional constructions such as skin, but the team says the development is the first step to creating new organs to replace diseased and injured body parts. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, with almost 80% of such deaths worldwide now occurring in Asia.

Diabetes..Thirst??

Feel thirst and tired all the time? if so, you could have diabetes without knowing it. Below is what to look for:

• Apart from increased fatigue and thirst, typical symptoms include frequent urinating (kidneys excreting excess sugar), weight loss, blurred vision (blood glucose accumulation in lens) and genital itching (due to thrush). Cuts may also take longer to heal.

• Type 1 diabetes can be triggered by a virus and tends to develop within days or over weeks; Type 2 onset is slower and can be mistaken for stress or ageing.

• People under 40 are more prone to Type 1 but, due to rising levels of obesity, are now the fastest growing group for Type 2 - once linked with old age. Both types run in families.

• If you're worried, go to your doctor for a urine test to measure your glucose level. A healthy diet and daily exercise are crucial for preventing Type 2.
  

For more information, go to idf.org.

Scientists Found Appendix’s Purpose

Seemingly useless organ may produce, protect good germs for your gut

Some scientists think they have figured out the real job of the troublesome and seemingly useless appendix: It produces and protects good germs for your gut.
That’s the theory from surgeons and immunologists at Duke University Medical School, published online in a scientific journal this week. For generations the appendix has been dismissed as superfluous. Doctors figured it had no function. Surgeons removed them routinely. People live fine without them.
And when infected the appendix can turn deadly. It gets inflamed quickly and some people die if it isn’t removed in time. Two years ago, 321,000 Americans were hospitalized with appendicitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The function of the appendix seems related to the massive amount of bacteria populating the human digestive system, according to the study in the Journal of Theoretical Biology. There are more bacteria than human cells in the typical body. Most of it is good and helps digest food.
But sometimes the flora of bacteria in the intestines die or are purged. Diseases such as cholera or amoebic dysentery would clear the gut of useful bacteria. The appendix’s job is to reboot the digestive system in that case.
The appendix “acts as a good safe house for bacteria,” said Duke surgery professor Bill Parker, a study co-author. The location of the appendix — just below the normal one-way flow of food and germs in the large intestine in a sort of gut cul-de-sac — helps support the theory, he said. Also, the worm-shaped organ outgrowth acts like a bacteria factory, cultivating the good germs, Parker said. That use is not needed in a modern industrialized society, Parker said. If a person’s gut flora dies, they can usually repopulate it easily with germs they pick up from other people, he said. But before dense populations in modern times and during epidemics of cholera that affected a whole region, it wasn’t as easy to grow back that bacteria and the appendix came in handy. In less developed countries, where the appendix may be still useful, the rate of appendicitis is lower than in the U.S., other studies have shown, Parker said. The appendix, which is about two to four inches long, may be another case of an overly hygienic society triggering an overreaction by the body’s immune system, he said.

Genetic and Miscarriage

Researchers in Canada has discovered the molecular glitch that explains why some women lose their babies late in their pregnancy. Known as foetal-growth restriction, the condition strikes three per cent of all the second-leading cause of infant deaths in industrialised countries, after premature birth.
Earlier research had shown that a gene producing a protein known as insulinelike growth factor II, or IGF2, was critical to feed the feotus and help feotal cells divide and grow.
The normal form of this protein has a very long chemical structure. However, to function properly when helping to build the placenta, another molecule ,PC4, has to effectively cut the growth-factor protein to a length crucial to a healthy pregnancy.
"We have found the scissors in some women are not sharp enough, or they just don't have enough scissors," said Dr Andrèe Gruslin, co-author of the report, "point to a gene that's either not active enough or is defective in these women." Gruslin has found some success with certain interventions, but stresses she can offer no scientific research to explain their effectiveness at this point.

Dental X-rays expose early osteoporosis

Dentist may now be able to detect more than just tooth decay on dental X-rays. British researchers have developed computer software that checks images of the lower jaw for early signs of osteoporosis.
"The technique uses X-rays already taken for dental reasons, so it is 'something for nothing'," says software designer Keith Horner, a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the university of Manchester. The software is not a replacement for DXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) - the gold standard for diagnosing osteoporosis but sound an alarm. "many women don't find out they have osteoporosis until it is too late." says Horner. "Our test can be seen as "opportunistic" case -finding of women that might never be diagnosed until they developed a fracture."
Dentists in the UK expect to introduce this screening as early as next year. Asia may have no longer.

EAT FRESH PRODUCE

A new study by scientist at the McGill University Health Center (MUHC) has revealed that a diet low in folate - a B vitamin found in Legumes, fruits and vegetables - may increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Using animal models, the MUHC study is the first to demonstrate directly that the amount of folate in the diet may be linked to colorectal tumours in mice. "None of the mice fed a control diet developed tumours, whereas one in four mice on the folate-deficient diet developed at least one tumour," says Dr Rima Rozen, sientific diretor of the MUHC and lead investigator in the study.

10 SIMPLE STEPS TO A HEALTHIER HEART

Even if you follow just the first seven tips below (and don't smoke, of course), you will reduce the chance of having a heart attack by as much as 90% compared to a typical person your age!

1. Walk about 30 minutes a day every day,no matter what - and then call someone. Walking a half hour a day decreases the risk of having a heart attack by 30 per cent. I've found if you succeed at walking daily,you can also succeed at doing other things to improve your health. If you skip, you will start compromising your health in other ways too. Calling someone every is crucial; that's the real commitment. Find a person who's supportive and will not nag but will call if you haven't call her. And by the way, it usually is a "her". Men tend to be lousy at this.

2. Know your blood pressure and do whatever it takes to get down to 115/75. Your blood pressure number may be even more important than your cholesterol. And you can lower it yourself. the best way? Getting a little exercise and losing some belly fat. The omentum is what hangs over the stomach. The fat that's stored there feeds the kidney, liver and other vital organs. But when you gain weight, you add fat inside the relatively rigid "kidney capsule." This fat pushes on the kidney and more blood pressure is needed to drive blood through. So it released blood pressure. When your blood pressure goes down really fast.

Cutting back on salt may help, but for some people reducing sugar and saturated fat in the diet may help even more. But if your blood pressure is over 140/90 and you're not going to do these things reliably, then you should probably go on blood-pressure medication. New drugs can reduce blood pressure without major side effects.

3. Eat an ounce of nuts a day. Nuts raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) good cholesterol and decrease inflammation. But they have a heart benefit independent of those too. We're not sure why. Nut have healthy omega-3 fatty acids, healthy protein and some fibre. And this tips is easy to do! Nuts that are raw, fresh and unsalted have the most benefit. You can develop ataste for them if you give them chance. But if you want roast, say, (shelled) walnuts, put them in the oven at 175 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes. If you do it yourself, it won't cause any bad fats or dangerous chemical acrylamides to form.

4. Learn your HDL number and do what you can to raise it to 50. For wome, some believe a high low-density Lipoprotein (LPL). We have no idea why, but study after study shows that the higher, the better (50 is fine). Easy ways you can increase it: exercise; have one drink a day; eat healthy fats, such as olive and canola oil and nuts. Talk to your doctor about niacin, which raised HDL but can have side effects. Ask, too, about pantothenic acid, or vitamin B5, which may also help. While the main function of statin drugs is to lower LDL, some also raise HDL.

5. Eat ten tablespoons of tomato sauce a week. This is one of favorite tips. Tomato sauce is loaded with blood-pressure-slashing potassium. We're not talking about salty, fatty sauces, or serving with a huge portion of pasta. Keep it simple and healthy, and get a great benefit.

6. Floss your teeth regularly. Avoiding periodontal disease prevents inflammation in the arteries, which helps you head off heart disease. Most people don't know that your arterial health, and that includes blood flow to the heart and sexual organs,m and maybe even wrinkles on your skin.

7. Eat no more than 20 grams of saturated fat a day and as little trans fat as possible. Saturated fat and trans fats lead to inflammation in the arteries. One cinnamon roll may have seven grams of saturated fat.A 113-gram slice of roast pork tenderloin has about 4 grams. trans fat (partially hydrogenated oils), found in many processed and baked foods, are probably at least as bad as saturated fats, and maybe a little worse.

8. Read labels and throw out all food that has sugar in the first five ingredients. Don't be fooled by foods that are low in fat but high in sugar. The sugar cause inflammation. And if you eat more sugar than you need, it gets morphed into omentum fat, that dangerous fat around the belly. For a while in the 1990s, many people used "low fat" salad dressings that turned out to be loaded with calorie laden sugar. And they didn't contain any good fats like olive oil, which are beneficial. Healthy fats are better than empty sugar calories. (Because the sugar in fruit is in the form of complex carbohydrate, it's usually fine.)

9. Fasting for a few days in a week. Try fasting start from sun rising to dusk a day for a few days in a week an u will see the unbelievable result. During a fast, a person purposely abstains from food for a specific period of time. Fasting has been practiced throughout the ages for both religious and therapeutic purposes. If you gorge on food on day, and then eat half as much or fast the next day may, it may help you lose pounds of fat. Removing fats means decreases the risk of having a heart disease. Nowadays scientific studies have been done to back up health claims and demonstrate that fasting works by releasing toxins stored in fat.

10. Eat nine serving of colorful fruits and vegetables a day. That comes with a lot of fibre, and you shouldn't increase to that amount all at once or people won't stay in the same room with you! But you'll adjust in two to six weeks. Make sure you wash fresh produce carefully and throughly. If you try fresh locally grown veggies prepared well, you'll be amazed at good they taste.