Green Tea Benefits and Risks

Green Tea

Green tea originated in China. It is made from the leaves from Camellia Sinensis. Flavonoids are phytochemicals that are present in many plant products which contribute in many health benefits and it is considered to have the most flavonoids among many other food which are considered to be healthy. It is famous and cultivated mainly in Asia though it has gained popularity recently in the Western parts of the world.

Over the past few years there were many researches and nutrition specialists who have made it aware that green tea drinkers have a low risk of heart diseases and particular types of cancer. People who tend to lose weight drink it as it has the ability to use the stored fat in the body to produce energy. This phenomenon is called as fat oxidation. The varieties include Chinese tea, Japanese tea, etc.

Most people confuse green tea with oolong tea or black tea. Oolong tea and black tea are made from the same plants that are used to make green tea. The difference is the method of preparation. Oolong tea is partially fermented, black tea is fully fermented.

Benefits

It is used to improve mental concentration. It is also used to treat stomach disorders, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, parkinson's disease, crohn's disease, diabetes, low blood pressure, dental cavities. Some medical practises include using green tea to prevent cancers like breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer, solid tumor cancer and skin cancers caused due to exposure to sunlight. Growth of unusual cells in the cervix in women is fought using it. The tea contains antioxidants which might help protect the heart and blood vessels. Some of the benefits of it cannot be explained even by the researchers.

Risks

The caffeine affects humans' thinking and alertness. It increases the blood pressure and urine flow if not consumed regularly. Drinking much of it due to the caffeine content likely could cause dehydration. Pregnant women cannot drink it as it can also cause vomiting, diarrhea and unusual cramping. People who do not have an auto-immune condition can drink green tea but people with any auto-immune condition is always advised against it. The auto immune diseases include asthma, lupus, cancer, etc. Too much hot tea can give the drinkers throat cancer, it is advised to drink it freshly made but slightly cooled.

There can be no one food or drink that is good for everyone.

Find Out How Long It Will Take to Get Prosthetics

If you have had to have a limb amputated, you are probably looking forward to the opportunity to get the necessary prosthetics. But you cannot expect to get the procedure done right away. Even after you have the new limb, it will take some time for you to learn to use it properly. For this reason, you should plan to wait anywhere from a few months to more than a year to retain some use of the limb you lost.

You should first know that you cannot get prosthetics for at least several weeks after amputation. In some cases, it could take months. It all depends on how long it takes your body for the swelling and any discomfort to disappear. Your doctor can give you an estimate, along with some tips to reduce the amount of time it takes for the area to heal. But there is no way to know for sure when you will regain the ability to use the limb you lost. In most cases, the appointment to get prosthetics will only be scheduled once the swelling and pain have been reduced.

Even if the swelling has gone down rather fast, you will likely have to work out payment options with your doctor. This means you will need to talk to your insurance provider to find out how much of the procedure will be paid for. As you probably already know, working with insurance companies can take some time, since you will spend days waiting for a call back or a form in the mail. This is why you should contact your provider as soon as you know you will need prosthetics. This way, you can work out payment details as you heal.

You will also need to choose the equipment you need in order to move somewhat naturally after your amputation. Your doctor should help you make this decision, showing you what is available and what he or she recommends for you in particular. Most doctors will take your lifestyle and budget into account when making recommendations, so be sure to be honest about how active you are and how much you can afford. Of course, you might not know how much you can afford until you talk to your insurance company, which is why even the selection of prosthetics might be delayed until you work out payment.

Clearly, it can take months to get the replacement limb after amputation. Then you will need to spend some time getting used to it. For this reason, you should plan to wait at least six months before you can begin to try out activities you used to enjoy, whether they include walking, running, or dancing.

Sit At Your Own Risk, Why Sitting All Day Is a Bad Idea

Hunter gatherers had it good. Our bodies were designed to move and they had to move or they would eventually either run out of food or become food for some hungry beast. The brain's functioning and the body's musculature evolved in motion, not in front of a TV or computer screen. This created a brain which functions best when the body is moving and a body that stays healthy doing the same.

Evolutionary changes happen very slowly. We are more similar to homo erectus than different save the number of brain neurons we have and the size of our brains. Okay we're a heck of a lot better looking too. Our brains are larger. In 2 million years, processing capabilities have developed but much of our physiology has stayed the same. Enter the sciences of epigenetics and nutra-genomics which prove that our daily habits cause genes to turn on and off which determines the health or ill health of the human. Gene expression and introducing new genes, ones that encourage sitting as a healthy pastime, are not in the picture. Sadly, sitting allows for unhealthy gene expression it does not change the body's need to move in order to be healthy.

There's a new field of science in town that studies the sedentary lifestyle problem and Dr. Levine at the Mayo Clinic is the expert.

His main focus is how much people move and don't move. In a two-month long study participants lived in his lab and all food and movement was closely monitored. They were told not to exercise. He slowly increased the amount of daily calories and as expected, some gained weight and some did not. Since her knew that would happen he added a twist to his testing. Because of something called his "magic underwear" he found one reason why some packed on the pounds and some did not. The garment looked like bicycle shorts and had electrodes attached to various muscles. They reported muscle activity to a computer. The people who did not gain weight but could not exercise more to relieve the body of the extra energy on board, simply moved more. They tapped their feet, they walked more quickly to a meeting, or they took the stairs. According to James Vlahos, writing for the New York Times online, "On average, the subjects who gained weight sat two hours more per day than those who hadn't."

Weight loss is one thing. What are the other reasons to sit less? What does sitting do to the body?

In February of this year Dr. Robert Glatter, reported the following in the Huffington Post on why sitting is so damaging.

"Prolonged sitting can be harmful to your health because of the lack of muscle contractions and subsequent body movement. Muscle contractions help to stimulate blood flow and remove toxins from the body via the lymphatic system, a complex filtering system in our bodies. Muscle contractions are important to help clear fat (triglycerides) and glucose from our bloodstream. Animal studies have suggested that animals at rest for prolonged periods of time show decreased ability to break down fat as a result of decreased enzymatic activity of certain lipases." Now if that won't get us off our collectively expanding butts I don't know what will.

Chances are it won't though. We hear alarming statistics all the time but we are rarely moved to change until we feel the effects of something.

Most of us can't stand all day, have walking meetings, and don't want to give up our TV or reading in the evenings. What can be done to help offset this silent killer?

· Get a wireless headset so you can move around while on the phone.

· A treadmill desk is an expensive and bulky solution for most home offices but any counter can work if you elevate the keyboard or laptop so you aren't leaning forward putting pressure on your neck.

· Set an alarm on your computer to go off every hour. Stand up, move around, wave your arms, go to the rest room, bounce, put on music and dance or simply sway.

· Buy a mini cycle you can use while sitting at your desk or while reading email or surfing the net

· Sit on a chair ball. You must move to stay stable and might burn a few calories.

· Meet friends for a walk now and then instead of heading straight for the restaurant or bar. Hold meetings while walking the halls or your neighborhood.

· When attending events where days with your butt in a seat can be long, feel free to move to the side of the room or the back and take a standing break.

· Make the most of your leisure time. One study showed that some people who sit 8 hours per day for work also sit more than move on their days off.

This change in thinking and moving may not feel comfortable at first. It could be down right annoying to get up and move about throughout the day or feel strange asking people to walk while talking about a joint venture or your next book. I don't think it will be long before this trend catches on. And as with every improvement we want to make for our health, start small. Add in a couple of 5 or 10-minute movement breaks per day. Awareness will go a long way to encouraging you to take these suggestions to heart and a picture does what all of my words will not. If you haven't seen the "sitting is the new smoking" infographic you can see it here.

Time to ditch that Lazy Boy!