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Drink Some Green Tea Today!

1/26/2015

If you are not drinking green tea regularly, you might just be depriving yourself of one of nature’s best health drinks! It may actually be the healthiest beverage on the planet! Its chock full of antioxidants and nutrients that have wonderfully positive effects on the body. The humble green tea leaf is getting credited with improving brain function, lowering cancer risk, helping with weight loss, and playing a positive role in fighting heart disease and diabetes, to name just a few.

Six Positive Benefits of Green Tea:

Protects your cells from damage. Green tea is packed with polyphenols including flavonoids and catechins which are powerful antioxidants that can protect your cells and molecules from damage caused by free radicals.
Calming effect. Green tea contains a naturally occurring chemical called theanine, which, according to 2008 study, produces anti-anxiety effects, increases dopamine and the production of alpha waves. It brings calm without causing drowsiness.
Increased Alertness. Green tea contains caffeine. Studies of the effects of caffeine shows that it improves several brain functions including vigilance, reaction time, memory and mood. Green tea provides the advantages of caffeine but without the jittery and distracting effects often caused by coffee.
Weight loss and fat burning. Green tea can help you to reach your weight loss goals. But a 2008 study cited in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that fat oxidation increased by 17% when combined with moderate exercise. A study published in Obesity Journal in 2012 showed evidence that green tea consumption reduced the abdominal fat as measured by waist size. But NO drink is going to burn off pounds by itself! How about this idea? If you drink soda or sugary drinks, cut out one per day and substitute a cup of tea instead. Over the next year you'd save over 50,000 calories. That's more than 15 pounds! But leave out the sugar or honey.
Improves Heart and Brain Health. Green tea has been shown to lower total and LDL cholesterol and protect LDL from oxidation, which is a known contributor to both heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Some of the bioactive compounds in green tea have been shown to help block the formation of certain plaques that are linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative like Parkinson’s disease. And a recent Swiss study showed that green tea drinkers had greater activity in the working-memory area of their brains.
Lowers Some Cancer Risks. I don’t want to say that green tea prevents cancer because that would be significantly overstating what is currently known about the positive impact of green tea. However, because of its antioxidant effects, it seems to lower the risk of developing some cancers, including breast, prostate and colorectal cancers, according to recent studies in China and Japan. (The National Cancer Institute has not taken a position on green tea saying that it “does not recommend for or against the use of tea to reduce the risks of any type of cancer.”) Bottom line – it probably helps but definitely does not hurt!

Tea Time!

For all of us here in the middle of the winter chill, a nice warm cup of tea might just hit the spot! Here are a few quick tips for a great cup of green tea.
Start off with really good green tea. Instead use fresh green tea leaves (and a strainer) or the filter packets that don’t use string staples or extra paper. Use one tablespoon of dried green tea leaves or one tea bag for every 6 ounces of water.
Heat your water in a nice kettle and stop before it reaches a boil. (Putting green tea in boiling water strips out some of the beneficial antioxidants.)
Pour the hot water over the tea and let it steep – about two minutes for tea leaves or three to four minutes for a tea bag.
After steeping, add lemon to taste. The vitamin C makes the antioxidants easier to absorb. But avoid adding dairy products because they make it harder to absorb the antioxidants.

Healthful Hint: Avoid the sweeteners that can sneak in unnecessary calories!

The Republic of Tea has an easy to read chart for properly brewing different types of teas. You can also find a selection of their teas at most grocery stores.

If you want to read more about green tea here are a few other resources:

11 Benefits of Green Tea You Didn’t Know About

Medical News Today article: Green Tea Health Benefits Examined

A more scholarly look at Green Tea from the Univ. of Maryland Medical Center

Now, sit back, relax and enjoy a nice cup of hot tea!

To Your Health!
Gail Grieger

10,000 Steps Per Day?!

1/19/2015

One of the big gift items this past holiday season were the personal trackers and pedometers that count each step you take. Best selling tracker Fitbit introduced three new trackers and their competition flooded the market with their own versions. All of this to help you reach the goal of walking 10,000 steps each day!

Do you really need to take 10,000 steps?

While any activity that challenges us to be more active is a positive thing, the 10,000 step target should be seen as simply a guideline. Becoming more physically active than you are now is probably a better goal for most people than trying to hit an arbitrary number. Taking a lot of steps is certainly a good start. But any activity that gets you up and moving is good for your overall health. Walking is good, but so is dancing if that is what you like to do. Maybe you like to swim or garden. That’s great, get out there and do that too. Here in the cold north, shoveling a little snow might be a nice exercise too. (But don’t overdo that one! Too much shoveling can cause other problems – especially if you are not in the best of shape!) Yoga can also offer a lot of health benefits and can be done indoors during these cold months.

Did you know?

Regular physical exercise can improve your cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure. Consistent exercise can also lower cholesterol, improve blood circulation and reduce your heart attack and stroke risk. Of course you already know that exercise will increase your metabolism, burn calories and even help with weight loss – especially when combined with a healthy diet.

“Just Do It!”

The popular Nike slogan is perfect for those of us toying with getting healthier in the new year. So, skip the excuses and get started today. Even a small amount of exercise can make a big difference. A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology indicated that just 5 to 10 minutes of running per day can cut the risk of death due to heart disease in half! Even a small amount of exercise can give you some big results.

So, start now, not tomorrow, not next week - NOW. Go for a short walk or do something just a little more physical than normal. If you like the idea of tracking your steps, check out the Fitbit or one of the other health trackers. Some will do a lot more than just count your steps. For example, the Fitbit will even tell you if your sleep patterns are healthy or need to improve.

But, start slowly. If exercise is something new or something you haven’t done in a while, ask your doctor what level of exercise is best for you. And once you get started, you might be surprised how quickly or how often you take 10,000 steps!

To your health!
Gail Grieger

Health Benefits of Milk Thistle

1/12/2015

Milk thistle is an herb that is sometimes used as a natural remedy to help liver and heart functioning.

Milk thistle is a flowering purplish colored flower that grows to approximately five foot tall. The herb is related to the daisy and ragweed family. If you are allergic to ragweed this herb is not for you. The plant was taken from Europe in the middle ages to Asia and became part of Chinese medicine. The part of the plant most commonly used are the seeds. Research suggests that the liver-protecting effect of milk thistle is due to a group of flavonoids known as silymarin, which is both an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant. Silymarin is also the antidote for poisoning caused by the death cap mushroom. Other names milk thistle is called by: Legalon, St. Mary’s Thistle, Our Lady’s Thistle and Holy Thistle.

The liver is a very important organ, the primary role is to assist in digestion. It not only produces bile and hormones it also protects our system from poisonous materials circulating in our body. By removing impurities from our blood the immune system doesn’t have to work as hard keeping us healthy. Milk thistle helps cleanse and improve the health of the liver by flushing toxins built up in our body, caused by bad diet, alcohol, and toxic chemicals. Milk thistle helps protect the liver of people who have been exposed to pesticides, heavy metals, and radiation drugs.

Milk thistle aids the kidneys, reducing the chance of kidney stones developing. It improves the health of our gallbladder, adrenals, and inflammation of the bowels. It soothes the stomach acid, stimulates weak digestion, and also eases gas. It is even used to reduce the symptoms of hangovers!

The medical/scientific community has ongoing studies of milk thistle. There is some evidence, though it is not conclusive, that it may offer some benefits in the following areas:

Improvement of heart health by lowering cholesterol levels
Helping people with type 2 diabetes (Caution: Certain chemicals in milk thistle might lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. Dosing adjustments to diabetes medications might be necessary.)
Reduces growth of cancer cells in the breast, cervical and prostate cancers

I would like to share one more thing about milk thistle that I read while taking my Family Herbalist class. The late Michael Moore an herbalist from the southwest wrote this, “Milk thistle is like doing a routine maintenance on your furnace, blowing out the vents, changing the filters and cooling down your overheated thermostat.” Milk thistle is like offering periodic maintenance to your body. You may read in more from Michael in Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West.

You can purchase milk thistle at any health food store or purchase it from Nature’s Sunshine (for $24.95) which is where I purchase many of my herbs and supplements.

Milk thistle can give you many health benefits. However, before using any herb consult with your doctor first, as they may interfere with the medications you are taking.

To Your Health!
Gail Grieger

Welcome to my Blog!

Thanks for checking out my blog. I have had a life-long interest in all things related to health and wellness, which is part of the reason I became a massage therapist. I am constantly on a mission to increase my knowledge and I like to share what I learn with others. My hope is that these posts will be interesting and provide you with information and tips that can improve your health. If I can ever answer a question or if you think you might benefit from therapeutic massage, please give me a call or send me a note.

Gail Grieger, CMT, CFH

Drink Some Green Tea Today!

10,000 Steps Per Day?!

Health Benefits of Milk Thistle

Welcome to my Blog!

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