green tea

[starry-eyed-doe]

im very new to raw, and i know that green tea has tons of antioxidants, and is really good for you, but my question is; does it have to be heated to get the benefits from it to release, or is there a way to make it cold brewed. does anyone else drink tea, and if so, how do you prepare it? i love green tea and would like to continue drinking it; but only if i can get all the full benefits from it.

[Revvell]

Green tea contains caffeine so no, it's not really all that good for you. There are other ways of getting anti-oxidants w/out the negative effects of green tea.

If you wish to continue drinking it, put some in a glass jar, fill with water and put it out in the sun.

Revvell

[Punky]

im very new to raw, and i know that green tea has tons of antioxidants, and is really good for you, but my question is; does it have to be heated to get the benefits from it to release, or is there a way to make it cold brewed. does anyone else drink tea, and if so, how do you prepare it? i love green tea and would like to continue drinking it; but only if i can get all the full benefits from it.

Hello and Welcome Starry-eyed-doe,
You`ll find many different and wonderful people on this board.
Some drink caffeine and some don`t...
You will have to figure out what works best for you.
In general most believe that caffeine is not healthy. From there it is always
a personal choice. I do poorly on coffee; it affects ME negatively.
I do still drink herbal teas and green teas though (with caffeine) and really enjoy them, although I do not consider them a raw drink persay.
I think sun teas are a nice alternative if you do not want to use boiling or hot water used in traditional tea making.
HTH

[Punky]

p.s. I used green tea to sucessfully wean off of coffee.
So that is what was good about it for me.

[Arky]

Sorry to be the voice of caution once again, but Green Tea is not necessarily as healthy a beverage as it is so widely claimed to be. I'm not suggesting you should avoid it completely, but simply that you should not believe all the hype, that you should be aware of the potentially-unhealthily-high fluoride content, and that you should consequently drink it only in moderation, rather than consuming it in large quantities, in the (understandably) mistaken belief that it is some kind of anti-oxidant panacea. The tea industry has seemingly promoted the supposed anit-oxidant power of Green Tea while conveniently avoiding any admission of the fluoride issue. For your own good, ensure you are an informed consumer!

All the best,

J.

[calee]

This is so interesting as I read an article about the flouride in green tea just this morning. So I'm still confused as to how flouride is in green tea. Can anyone explain that to me? John, how bout you? I haven't been drinking green tea but thought I might while in China later this month so I'm super curious.

lee

[Arky]

Well, I don't have it to hand at the moment, but, as with the Soy issue, I am thankful that I found out about the Green Tea + Fluoridation issue from Mike Barbee's book, Politically Incorrect Nutrition. In this book, Barbee also points to evidence that scientific analysis of certain samples of Green Tea has also revealed the presence of aluminium and DDT (note that DDT is a banned substance in the USA). Apparently, "the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) absorbs and stores more fluoride than any other plant...fluoride has no recognised essential use in the human body."

I'll dig it out when I get home, but in the meantime, here are some related links on the topic:

http://thyroid.about.com/library/derry/bl7.htm

http://www.mercola.com/2000/sep/10/g...de_thyroid.htm

http://www.drweil.com/u/QA/QA22857/ (Although he acknowledges the issue, Dr. Weil COMPLETELY misses the point that all toxins need not be at toxic concentrations from individual sources in order to nonetheless contribute to an accumulative toxic aggregate). Interestingly, Dr. Weil also claims that Fluoride is positively correlated with strong teeth - in fact, Fluoride was originally correlated to healthy teeth in a 1942 population study, in Hereford, Texas where the local water supply was naturally high in fluoride. What was not publicised about that particular study was that the very same water supply was also very high in mineral solids. As a local dentist there, at the time, Dr. G Heard, stated:"The damage fluoride does is far greater than the good it may appear to accomplish. ...(fluoride)...makes the teeth so brittle and crumbly that they can be treated only with difficulty, if at all".

The scientific literature is far more supportive of the health benefits of a water supply high in mineral solids than for fluoridation, yet that original study was (deliberately?) misinterpreted as supporting the cause for fluoridation of municipal water supplies, rather than ensuring high mineral solids content.

To what little extent fluoride has been shown to harden teeth, it has simultaneously been shown to make them more brittle. According to Martin Fox ('Healthy Water For a Longer Life' Dunaway Foundation 1984): "in the 1982 Illinois fluoridation case, after a 40-day trial, Judge Ronald A. Nieman ruled "a conclusion that fluoride is safe and effective cannot be supported by this record"" The arguments supporting fluoridation for the benefits of dental health simply do not stack up when the scientific literature is properly reviewed. Furthermore, Weston Price (cited by many as a giant - even a genius - in the fields of nutrition and dental health) found unequivocal evidence that dental health is intimately and strongly related to nutritional status - more specifically, to the proportion of refined foods consumed as part of one's diet (see 'Nutrition & Physical Degeneration'), not to the presence of absence of toxic fluoride to water supplies.

On the basis of the literature I have read, I believe Dr. Weil is, perhaps, being irresponsible in recommending fluoride suplementation in cases of low fluoridated water consumption - provided one ensures high mineral solids content of low-fluoride water, they are probably a good deal more likely to enjoy good bone, tooth, and even general and cardiovascular health. This is not conjecture - the scientific literature strongly supports the health role of high mineral content water supplies.


As with so many potentially-toxic elements, few people are willing to take a stand, most preferring to sit-on-the-fence. My advice is to do your own reading and to draw your own conclusions while bearing in mind that some people (Dr. Weil not implied - although I do not agree with him on the topic of fluoridation, I nonetheless believe his motives to be sincere) have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo...

Shockingly, fluoridation of water supplies has been linked to increased rates of cancer in local populations (see D. Burk, 'Fluoridation: A Burning Controversy' Bestways (April 1982):44). According to Martin Fox: "several studies in fluoride toxicity have been linked to genetic damage, birth defects, and cancer. Fluoride injures the genetic material of the cells in both plants and animals. Fluoride inhbits DNA repair enzymes". Dr. Yiamouyiannis (quoted in Fox's book) states: "There is a distinct possibility that fluoride interferes directly with the production of deoxynucleotide, the building block of DNA. If this interference occurs, chromosomal damage and cancer can surely result." (J.A Yiamouyiannis 'Everything You Wanted to Know About Water Fluoridation But Were Afraid to Ask: A Discovery Deposition', Monrovia, CA: National Health Federation, 1977, p.54)

...quite by coincidence, here is a company apparently eager to extol the high flouride content of GreenTea!! (and, of course, note that Tea is their main business - looks as though it might, just possibly, be one of those, aforementioned, vested-interests to me, but hey - this is nothing more than conjecture...):

w*w.stashtea.com/greentea.htm

Note that I am not singling-out the above company - it is just one of many examples of this attitude in the Tea industry, and was simply the first of this nature to appear in a Google search on the topic. Barbee himself notes that the apparent promotion of high fluoride content in tea, as a supposedly positive virtue, is widespread throughout the industry.

Now, I'm definitely not suggesting that drinking Green Tea gives you brittle teeth and an increased likelihood of developing cancer, but what we are talking about is the potential for accelerating the buildup of levels of fluoride in the body and the scientific research findings on fluoride's interaction with animal (including human) cells and organisms makes for extremely unsettling reading - all I have presented above is some of these correlations that have been discovered by scientific research, over the years. As I said, draw your own conclusions on this issue, but ask yourself:- why is it that so many countries have banned fluoridation of their water supplies? Are they all paranoid and/or reactionary, or does the scientific literature actually demonstrate, convincingly, health issues relating to water fluoridation, which have not been widely acknowledged in commercial media? Furthermore, do you see any countries expressing concern over, or passing legislation to ban, high mineral content water supplies? No.

Chlorine is another potentially-toxic element routinely added to municipal water supplies (and additional chemical by-products may result, due to chemical processes occuring as a consequence of interaction with other contaminants in the supply). However, this reaches outside the boundaries of the present discussion.


HTH.

J.

[calee]

Thanks for posting all this information. I appreciate it!

[Arky]

You're welcome, Lee. As ever, it is categorically not my intention to scaremonger. I simply wish I'd known about some of these issues long ago and I feel it is important to share this with other health-seekers, even if, having read the evidence, they decide, on balance, to continue their regular consumption of such foodstuffs.

Personally, I have grown weary of the shock and surprise of seeing one long-held belief after another fall by the wayside, the further and deeper I have read into the subject of nutrition and the associated propaganda promoted by selfish commercial & political interests. Undoubtedly, I have a huge amount still to learn, and will (I regret) undoubtedly have many more commonly-held beliefs brutally shattered as I read yet more, over the coming years. It is a very sad fact that, along with the frightening rate at which mankind is polluting the planet, we must also contend with forces that care more for D0llar$ than they do for the safety and wellbeing of the public at large. It's an absolute minefield for the health-conscious consumer, but knowledge is power. I only wish it didn't also make me a more cynical person, along the way.


J.

[podol]

John,
Good postings. I was drinking green tea and stooped year ago. I just did not like the after taste of any tea and was drying up my mouth.
Now I am drinking only herbal teas and they are great.
Michael

[starry-eyed-doe]

thanks everyone, especially you john. i had no idea about the flouride... ick! i think i will just get my antioxidants from fresh berries. what else has lots of antioxidants?

TIA, ally

[Arky]

Well, Barbee concludes his chapter on Green Tea as follows:

"For anti-oxidants, consume fresh organic fruits and vegetables, and/or supplement with Vitamins C & E, Selenium, CoQ10, and N-Acetyl Cysteine.

Dark chocolate (organic) has four times the amount of anti-oxidants as Green Tea per serving. Look for dark chocolate which contains at least 70% cocoa solids."

Now, obviously, Barbee is not concerning himself with the 'Raw' message, in his recommendations, so you may interpret these in a 'Raw-compliant' manner, as you see fit, perhaps opting for raw cocao nibs, if you really wish to pursue the chocolate (cocoa) option of obtaining anti-oxidants. Personally, I don't believe it's anything to get too excited or concerned about. There are even those who advise caution with cacao.

Shazzie and Wolfe discuss what they see as the health benefits of raw chocolate in their new book. I have not read this book, so I cannot pass comment on its accuracy.

Onions contain Quercetin, which is alleged to be a powerful anti-carcinogenic substance, however, even then, there are those who claim it is an irritant of the digestive tract. I guess the only way to decide is to consume it yourself and see how it makes you feel!

In short, nothing groundbreaking in Barbee's recommendations (although that is, arguably, a good thing). Just keep regularly eating your organic fruit and veg, in good quantities (including those excellent berries). Sprouts and juiced wheatgrass are also other obvious sources of protective compounds. As you may already be aware, often, the more vividly or intensely coloured the produce, the more protective compounds it may contain.


Regards,

J.