Green Tea Health Blog

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Here's where you can find important news about green tea and your health as well as all the updates to the green-tea-health-news.com website.

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Let's learn more, feel better, and live longer!

Look for new Lose Weight 2008 series

May 16, 2008, HIV-1 Therapy: Most Effective Drugs

Researchers have now tracked the effectiveness of 757 three different HIV drug programs in 757 patients for a median of 112 weeks.

The most effective treatment was with efavirenz plus two nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors.

This three drug program achieved and maintained viral control longer than the other two treatment combinations: lopinavir-ritonavir plus two nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors, or lopinavir-ritonavir plus efavirenz only.

At the 96 week testing, 89% of the efavirenz group had fewer than 50 copies of plasma HIV-1 RNA per milliliter, compared to 83% in the lopinavir-ritonavir plus efavirenz only group and 77% in the lopinavir-ritonavir group.

Patients in the lopinavir-ritonavir group, also called the NRTI-sparing group (patients were not given any nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors), were most likely to show antiretroviral resistance mutations or HIV drug resistance.

While nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors can be more likely to have toxic side effects, in this study, all three groups maintained drug therapy without significant differences (Riddler SA, Class-sparing regimens for initial treatment of HIV-1 infection, New England Journal of Medicine, May 2008).

All three HIV treatment programs improved the patient's immune response.

Here's more HIV research.

May 16, 2008, Health News Archives

Health news including anti-aging, weight management, cancer, heart disease, influenza, cholesterol, memory, and more.

May 16, 2008, green tea health news home page

Green tea benefits for weight loss, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, immune system, and much more. Over 2000 studies with explanations to help you choose your green tea.

May 14, 2008, Estrogen And Benign Breast Disease

A new study shows an increased risk of benign breast disease in women taking the commonly prescribed form of estrogen, conjugated equine estrogen.

During the Women's Health Initiative Study, 10,739 postmenopausal women took either conjugated equine estrogen or placebo after hysterectomy.

While there was no increase in breast cancer risk during the 7 year follow-up, there were 155 cases of benign breast disease among the women who took estrogen compared to 77 cases in the placebo group, more than double the risk of proliferative benign breast disease.

Current information suggests that benign breast disease may be an initial step in the development of breast cancer, and these women may have increased risk (Rohan TE, Conjugated equine estrogen and risk of benign proliferative breast disease: a randomized controlled trial, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, April 2008).

What is the breast cancer survival rate?

What is the risk of breast cancer recurrence?

May 14, 2008, Weight Loss News

Weight loss news, including fast weight loss, weight management, belly fat, fitness, and more.

May 14, 2008, Tea News

Tea news, including green tea, black, oolong, and white tea news about health benefits, tea nutrition, and related tea industry news.

May 14, 2008, Nutrition News

Nutrition news including, food, herbs, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, adaptogens, and more.

May 14, 2008, HIV News

HIV news updates, including global research on HIV/AIDS, mainstream and alternative approaches, and prevention.

May 14, 2008, Antiaging Health News

Antiaging health news updates including calorie restriction, nutrition, exercise and fitness, DNA and telomeres, green tea, antioxidants, skin care, supplements, international procedures, and more.

May 13, 2008, Mesothelioma Research Updates

Mesothelioma research news including new treatment procedures and mesothelioma treatment options, cancer demographics, asbestos exposure, and lawsuit news.

May 13, 2008, Prostate Cancer Treatment Failure With High Fat Diet

After a radical prostatectomy, how many men will experience PSA failure?

A new study followed a cohort of 390 men for a mean of almost 6 years after surgery.

In addition, researchers examined the patients' diets prior to diagnosis, family history, education, exercise and physical activity, disease characteristics, and diabetes occurrence.

They found that 20% of the patients experienced a PSA failure during the follow-up period.

Men who had eaten a high saturated fat diet, and were obese were almost twice as likely to experience a PSA failure after surgery. Other factors (including exercise levels) did not influence this result.

At the five year point, men who ate a high saturated fat diet had 35% evidence of prostate cancer (PSA) compared to only 20% of the men who ate a low saturated fat diet.

Men who were both obese and ate a high saturated fat diet started having PSA failures within 19 months after surgery, while normal weight men on a low saturated fat diet did not start having PSA failures until 46 months after surgery (Strom SS, Saturated fat intake predicts biochemical failure after prostatectomy, International Journal of Cancer, June 2008).

Check your diet for saturated fat and learn how much fat you eat here.

Can green tea help you protect your prostate?

May 10, 2008, Green Tea, White Tea, Black Tea, And A Parasite

A protozoa parasite called Trypanosoma brucei is transmitted by the tse-tse fly and can cause fatal sleeping sickness in people. Currently, there are an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 cases, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa (WHO, 2005).

A new animal study has tested the action of tea against Trypanosoma brucei.

Using mice infected with T. brucei, researchers found that all animals (untreated controls, green tea, white tea, and black tea groups) showed the same levels of infection for the first 8 days.

However, from day 9 to 13, parasite levels decreased significantly more in tea-treated animals.

By day 11, all teas also showed significant protection against red blood cell destruction. All teas showed significant protection against inflammation by reducing parasite-induced hypoalbuminemia.

Both green tea and white tea were superior to black tea. However, black tea was significantly protective, and by some criteria, approached the protective levels of green tea.

In addition, all teas were more protective than an established anti-inflammatory drug called dexamethasone (Karori SM, Different types of tea products attenuate inflammation induced in Trypanosoma brucei infected mice, Parasitology International, February 2008).

This is a preliminary study, and more research is needed to know if there would be similar results with T. brucei-infected humans.

For more research on green tea and infections, see

green tea and influenza

green tea and salmonella

green tea and cholera

green tea and tuberculosis

green tea and HIV/AIDS

May 10, 2008, Health And Wealth

Between age 50 and 65 years old, people in America need wealth to reduce their risk of cerebrovascular strokes.

Wealth (all assets minus liabilities) was an independent risk factor for stroke. After excluding the ultra rich, people in the lowest wealth percentiles had three times the risk of stroke than those in the highest percentiles.

Education has usually been a significant factor in stroke risk reduction, but it was not a predictor of strokes in this study after adjusting for wealth and income.

Overall, people with lower wealth, income, and education were also associated with more high blood pressure, more overweight, more smoking, less physical activity, and more diabetes and heart disease. All of these are risk factors for increased stroke (Avendano M, Stroke disparities in older Americans: is wealth a more powerful indicator of risk than income and education? Stroke, May 2008).

Approximately 27% of all strokes occur before age 65, and 73% occur after age 65.

So, will wealth still protect you "when you're 64?"

Sorry, it seems that only genetics or a healthy lifestyle might help you after age 65.

Care for a cup of green tea?

Knowing the seven stroke warning signs could save someone's life. Learn more here.

May 8, 2008, Laughing Yoga

Were you thinking that doing yoga meant getting your body into an impossibly pretzel-like position (and getting it out, of course) while you pondered the meaning of all existence?

A session of laughing yoga might show you that health can be improved with a dose of silly as well as serious.

Working with a certified laughter yoga leader, you may experience reduced stress, improved cardiovascular and respiratory function, help with the digestive tract and immune system, toned muscles, and a fresh outlook on life.

A 30 minute class can vary from little giggles to hearty belly laughs, and includes stretching and breathing exercises (University of Michigan Health System, 2008).

Deep belly laughter works a multitude of core muscles, especially helpful for problem areas like belly fat and the back.

Of course, you can add laughter to your aerobic and strength exercises where appropriate.

And for stress reduction, what could be easier? Count on those daily giggles to fight the gloomies.

Here's more fitness program benefits.

May 6, 2008, Preventing Obesity By 55%

Researchers at Oregon Research Institute have developed a new obesity prevention program that is highly successful.

Working with young women, this program has prevented the development of obesity by 55% and the development of eating disorders by 61%.

Not only that, but the effects have been maintained three years after the program concluded.

One key factor seems to be emphasizing a healthy lifestyle based on calories in and calories out, rather than just a diet.

Researchers tested 481 adolescent girls for body image and then divided them into four groups: a dissonance-based thin-ideal internalization reduction group, a healthy weight lifestyle group, an expressive writing group, and an assessment-only controls.

The dissonance group showed 60% reduction of eating disorders, but only the healthy lifestyle group showed both 61% reduction of eating disorders and 55% reduction of obesity (Stice E, Dissonance and healthy weight eating disorder prevention programs: long-term effects from a randomized efficacy trial, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, April 2008).

Dr. Stice is continuing his work in Eugene, Oregon with college-age women.

Here's more news on weight management.

May 5, 2008, Tuberculosis Increases In UK

There were 8000 new tuberculosis cases in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 2006.

Increases in drug-resistant tuberculosis were as high as 7.9%.

Researchers reviewed data between 1998 and 2005 with 28,620 confirmed cases. Increases were related to immigration, prison transmission, and drug misuse.

At this time, they concluded that multi-drug resistant tuberculosis was due primarily to patient mismanagement, rather than direct transmission (Kruijshaar M, British Medical Journal, May 2008).

However, until we develop better procedures, any increase in drug resistant TB can lead to increased transmission.

Tuberculosis is still one of the great human pandemics.

What's the news on green tea and tuberculosis? Check here.

May 4, 2008, Genes And Breast Cancer Chemotherapy

Selecting chemotherapy for breast cancer should become more reliable when it includes individual genetic information.

New studies are finding ways to incorporate individual gene expression responses to chemotherapy mixtures prior to therapy.

Scientists at Duke University, North Carolina, found that adding gene expression profiles to the breast cancer patient's total clinical assessment helped improve predicting a patient's response to therapy. It also added information to help choose more effective drugs for chemotherapy (Acharya CR, Gene expression signatures, clinicopathological features, and individualized therapy in breast cancer, Journal of the American Medical Association, April 2008).

This work was especially reliable in predicting relapse or breast cancer recurrence.

Here's more information on breast cancer prevention research.

May 3, 2008, Addictions In The Matrix

Scientists have found a new way to help people with addictions.

They put the addictions into a virtual reality world.

Whether it's drugs, alcohol, violence, smoking, overweight, or just chocolate, people struggle to develop real world skills that will help them stop addictive behavior.

Most therapy involves identifying problem areas and practicing better solutions through imagination, hypnosis, or real-world challenges.

Now, scientists have developed virtual reality environments for smoking, cocaine, and alcohol, as well as fear of heights, flying, and public speaking, that effectively create strong emotions or cravings so the patient can practice new coping skills. The virtual reality programs use real actors in multiple stressful situations and include olfactory stimuli (Bordnick P, Assessing reactivity to virtual reality alcohol based cues, Addictive Behaviors, June 2008).

OK. Time to give up that chocolate truffle. And that chocolate truffle. Oh-oh, must be déjà vu.

May 2, 2008, Green Teapot Art Prints

Green teapot art prints are wonderful for areas in your home that need the natural touch. Selections include oriental, majolica, and the work of Impressionist Barbara Mock.

May 2, 2008, Coal Mining And Public Health

While it has long been known that coal miners have increased risk of lung diseases, now a new study finds that overall public health is worse in coal mining communities.

Researchers studied West Virginia health information and compared it to coal production. They statistically removed the influence of poverty in coal mining areas, as well as higher smoking rates, and less access to health care.

They found that communities with the greatest coal production had 70% increased risk of kidney disease, 64% increased risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) such as emphysema, and 30% increased of high blood pressure.

Hospital records confirm a 1% COPD increase for every 1462 tons of coal and a 1% increase in high blood pressure cases for every 1873 tons of coal produced.

This health impact on non-mining community members may be from diesel equipment, explosives, airborne dust from coal trucks, coal-processing chemicals, or other toxins (Hendryx M, Relations between health indicators and residential proximity to coal mining in West Virginia, American Journal of Public Health, April 2008).

This study is consistent with other reports from Appalachian coal mining areas, as well as studies from Japan and Italy.

Check out more world health news here

May 2, 2008, Blue Teapot Art Prints

Blue teapot art prints bring traditional beauty to your home. Here's a selection of posters from lace to modern to oriental for that just-right look.

May 2, 2008, Red Teapot Art Prints

Red teapot art prints for your kitchen, restaurant, or a gift for tealovers. Get that look of excitement and energy with opulent, elegant, or simple styles.

May 2, 2008, Baby Boomer Burden?

In a couple of years, Baby Boomers will start to enter the over-65 age group.

And there aren't enough doctors to take care of them.

A new study evaluated the expected need for geriatric specialists over the next few decades.

Combining the number of Baby Boomers with an increased life expectancy for many of them, the actual number of over-65 geriatric people is expected to double. At the same time, the number of geriatric specialists is decreasing.

Since older people have more complex health problems than middle-aged patients, this study strongly recommended facilitating an increase in geriatric specialists (John Rowe, Gerontological Society of America and Institute of Medicine, April 2008).

Baby Boomers and healthy adults can help relieve this future burden by maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding addictions, exercising regularly, using common sense disease prevention, and maintaining healthy habits like drinking green tea daily, if appropriate.

Learn more about anti-aging here

Apr 30, 2008, Pictures Of A Tea Plantation

Tea plantation images from around the world, including Japan, India, Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and more.

Apr 30, 2008, Green Tea Health News Sitemap

Sitemap for green-tea-health-news.com, covering all health benefits, research findings on cancer, cholesterol, stroke, immune system, weight loss, green teas of the world, and more.