Tuesday 9 October 2012

Green Tea: A Good Cancer Prevention

At least one third of all cancer cases are preventable, and cancer prevention is the most effective strategy in reducing the number of both new cases of cancer and deaths caused by cancer. Although lots of remedies and natural medicines were said to prevent the deadly disease, some experts say that green tea is good for cancer prevention.

Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Popular in countries such as China and Japan, it accounts for 20% of tea consumption worldwide.

It may be consumed in the form of a brewed beverage or capsular extract. In some countries, tea is used as dietary supplements. In China the medicinal use of this tea dated back to 4,700 years ago.

Over the last few decades green tea has been subjected to many scientific and medical studies to determine the extent of its long-purported health benefits, with some evidence suggesting that regular tea drinkers may have a lower risk of developing heart disease and certain types of cancer.

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Thursday 27 September 2012

Natural Remedies of Sore Throat

The cold medicine business is booming, as anyone who's been to a drugstore knows by looking at the rows and rows of displays of both well known and knock-off brands. Is is worth stuffing in all these chemicals just to get rid of an irritating cold? Or is there another way?

Personally, I lost my faith in the over-the-counter medicine business a long time ago. Going to the store to buy cold medicine or some lozenges for my sore throat was more of a formality than something I really believed would work. I'm sure thousands, make that millions, of people feel the same way as I do now, and perhaps you do as well now that I've given you a refresher.

listed below are the most effective Natural Remedies to cure sore throat

1. Raw garlic
Raw garlic is one of the most potent sore throat fighters, but make sure to buy it fresh and organic whenever possible and to eat it raw. Cooking kills most of the beneficial effects of garlic. The enzymes that are destroyed during cooking are necessary for our body to properly absorb the benefits of garlic. Raw garlic can be added to green smoothies (along with fruit... it's an acquired taste) or simply put in a homemade olive oil based salad dressing.

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Wednesday 12 September 2012

How Automatic Tea and Coffee Makers Are Useful Business Investments

Vending machines serving refreshing tea and coffee are common scene at different establishments. While some models of these machines are manually operated, the automatic coffee and tea vending machines are popular at places like canteens, offices, hospitals and malls.

Vending machines have always been the great business ideas. If you are planning to make investment in this business, you can think of installing a tea or coffee vending machine. An automatic coffee or tea maker should help you in a number of different ways as discussed below.

Different Sizes and Capacities
Automatic tea and coffee makers are available in a variety of sizes. You can choose according to the space available for installation. In addition, there are machines that are capable of serving different numbers of cups in a particular period of time. The choice you make should depend on the expected number of customers at the venue. For instance, the busy canteen of a college may require you to install a coffee or tea maker with higher capacity than that required at a library.

Easy and Efficient Functionality

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Tuesday 4 September 2012

Coffee and Pregnancy - Check Out the Health Facts

Some Important Points Regarding Coffee and Pregnancy There are some important things that need to be taken into consideration when a woman is pregnant and this extends to a simple thing like drinking coffee as well. Coffee and in particular, decaf coffee is always very stimulating and tempting to everybody, mainly because of the associated health benefits. What we need to remember is that anything in excess will always carry some negative results and hence for pregnant women, this topic becomes a very important one as most doctors are of the opinion that coffee and pregnancy do not go hand in hand. Care to be taken during early pregnancy Once pregnancy has been detected, care has to be taken to reduce coffee intake or it may lead to certain side effects. The first step in this regard is to check with your gynaecologist or some health specialist regarding the ideal amount of coffee and caffeine intake. Alternatively, there are online forums dedicated to early pregnancy and they may give you some more information with regards to the right food and coffee intake. What about pregnant women? Pregnant women who are used to drinking a lot of coffee would have to bear in mind that they would need to cut down on their intake. Even if it is decaf coffee, they would have to control the intake as it is not good for the newborn. Similarly those women suffering from high blood pressure should also restrict their intake of coffee as it leads to a spurt in blood pressure soon after it is drunk and this may again affect the baby.

Please bear in mind that pregnant ladies who are used to a lot of coffee will face withdrawal symptoms when they stop drinking it. That is natural as caffeine is like a drug and when you are used to a specific quantity, your body will demand that quantity on a daily basis. But they should not give in to the temptation and restrict their drinking to one or two cups a day.

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Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee

Coffee has become an essential part in our daily lives. Coffee is produced extensively in various parts of the world such as America, South East Asia and Eastern Africa. There are various forms of coffee and they include instant coffee, whole beans, green coffee beans, and ground beans. Most of us are unaware of the health benefits of drinking coffee. Let us now deal with some of the main health benefits of coffee. Various scientific studies proved that consuming coffee reduces depression to a greater extent. A simple sip of coffee can boost your mood. A scientific study which was conducted by Harvard School of Public Health showed that the women who consumed caffeinated coffee on a daily basis had only 20% possibility of getting depression. The study concluded that the more the amount of coffee they drink, the lesser the chances of they getting depressed. In men, consumption of coffee on a regular basis has a positive effect on their fertility. Scientific studies have shown that the caffeine, a chemical found in coffee, improve men's fertility. A study which was conducted at University of Sao Paulo concluded that motility of sperm was higher in those who drank coffee regularly compared to those who do not take coffee.

It is also found that drinking coffee on a daily basis helps in maintaining a healthy body weight. Drinking a cup of coffee after each and every meal facilitates the body to process the meal which is eaten. A research headed by David Levitsky, professor at Cornell University, concluded that caffeine decrease the rate by which stomach empties its contents into the duodenum. In addition to this, it improves the rate of metabolism. So if you are looking for ways to cut down your excess weight, you can consider having a cup of coffee after each meal.

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Friday 3 August 2012

Can Coffee Really Reduce Your Chances of Getting Alzheimer's Disease?

Sometimes it's hard to know what you should and shouldn't be doing to ensure the best health for yourselves, because different experts offer conflicting information. For example, should you or shouldn't you drink beverages with caffeine? Some studies assure you that caffeine in any quantity will damage your health and shorten your life. Others tell you that it's fine to drink as much as you want. So who and what do you believe? A new study that's been released recently states the belief that caffeine in moderation can lessen the chance of, or completely prevent, Alzheimer's.

Imagine the perfect world in which drinking the coffee or soft drinks that you love could help ensure that you would never be stricken with Alzheimer's. We all hope that this research is true. Please don't take this to mean that you should down pot after pot of coffee or super-sized soft drinks every day, because too much caffeine can do you more harm than good. In addition, any beverages that contain both caffeine and sugar will pack on the pounds unless you take care to limit your consumption.

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Tuesday 26 June 2012

Side Effects Of Coffee On Health Revealed

When it comes to the popular morning beverage... there's more good news than bad news. A German study that included over 40,000 subjects and lasted almost a decade has found that the side effects of coffee produce no more risk of chronic illnesses (heart disease, cancer) plus coffee drinkers are also less likely to be diagnosed with troublesome type 2 diabetes than non coffee drinkers.

These new findings come after many earlier studies have brought conflicting reports - some suggesting coffee drinking brought a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and more.

To address this challenge, the German study looked at all different chronic diseases during the same time period to see the effect on health of drinking coffee.

The researchers collected data on people's coffee drinking habits, as well as diet, exercise and overall health from over 42,000 adults who were taking part in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study and were free of any chronic health problems at the start of the project.

Over the following nine years, researchers followed up on participants to see if they'd been diagnosed with any health problems. The team was particularly interested in reports of heart disease, occurrences of stroke, heart attacks, diabetes or cancer.

They saw that both coffee drinkers and those who were not had the same risks of getting one of these diseases. For example, just over 10% of both coffee (over than four cups per day) and non-coffee drinkers ended up developing a chronic disease.

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Tuesday 12 June 2012

Tips for Health-Conscious Coffee Lovers

A recent Washington Post article discussing the effects of various foods on heart health identified the greatest health risk of coffee to be weight gain from blended coffee beverages packed with empty calories from sugar and dairy fat. Lately, it seems the creator and biggest purveyor of the beverages has been trying to rise above criticism they're as guilty as McDonalds and other fast food chains for contributing to high rates of obesity and diet-related diseases.

Along with introducing oatmeal to its menu, Starbucks published guides to "20 Drinks Under 200 Calories" as well as "Favorite Foods Under 350 calories" on its website. Unfortunately, Starbucks plays down the healthiest beverages (full-leaf teas, brewed coffee, espresso, caffe Americano, etc.) which all have under 10 calories. For example--if you've grown tired of Pike Place Roast--I bet you didn't know you can order any beans Starbucks carries be prepared with a French-press?

Adding milk or cream and sugar to brewed coffee is so commonplace among Starbucks' U.S. customers, the baristas "leave room" for milk in the cup by default. No wonder hard-core coffee drinkers (those who know the difference between an ibrik and a v60) don't take the chain seriously, especially after it introduced the lightly-roasted Blonde coffee (now its most popular), further blurring the line with pedestrian coffee.
Of course, only Starbucks' pure coffees/teas and those made with soymilk--instead of dairy milk--are of any interest to those on a whole foods plant-based diet (those who haven't given up caffeine, at least).According to Starbucks U.S. website, a tall-size (12 fl oz/355 ml) whole milk contains 240 calories and 13g of fat. Its custom-blended soymilk contains more calories and saturated fat than skim milk (210 calories and 6g fat vs. 140 and 0g) and even slightly more calories than low-fat* milk (200). However, soymilk contains no cholesterol (vs 5g for non-fat milk) and does contain fiber, a beneficial nutrient found only in plant-based foods.

*Nutritional values may vary, as low-fat milk is created by the barista in each store mixing whole milk and non-fat milk.
Ironically, many omnivores substitute soymilk for dairy milk because they believe it's healthier, or for the taste and variation, while still topping their beverage with dairy whip cream. Even if you question whether soymilk is a healthier or safer alternative to cow's milk, I would still choose soymilk for the humane aspects alone.

Starbucks "Delicious Drinks" list contains 3 cold drinks and 5 hot drinks that are vegan-friendly:
Shaken Tazo Iced Passion Tea--0 calories
Shaken Tazo Iced Black Tea Lemonade--100 calories
Iced Coffee (with classic syrup)--60 calories
Brewed Coffee--5 calories
Brewed Tazo Tea--0 calories
Caffe Americano--10 calories
Steamed Apple Juice--170 calories
Soy Chai Tea Latte--170 calories

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Thursday 24 May 2012

Tea Versus Coffee

There are many great dichotomies, and many great conflicts between two forces. Throughout history and throughout literature we have encountered these and they have been documented. Perhaps it started with Kane and Abel, or more grandly good and evil, then there's the competition between Tom and Jerry, or between Nintendo and Sega, Marvel and DC, Microsoft and Apple... countless battles of opposing yet complimentary forces and choices that can define us. Perhaps none is so epic however as the clash between tea and coffee. You have your tea drinkers, and you have your coffee drinkers, and like football fans they are each likely to vehemently defend their position. So which is better? Tea or coffee? And more importantly which is for you?

Of course like all these things there is no right or wrong answer (except perhaps in the case of good and evil... and maybe Sega and Nintendo), and different people will have different requirements. However one thing that can be said is that each drink is better suited to different occasions and has different purposes. A cup of tea for instance is a more relaxed drink and a more subtle experience. This means it can be enjoyed in polite company or it can be enjoyed alone with a good book or a load of work. It can be enjoyed while relaxing, or it can be enjoyed with a biscuit or some traditional tea cakes.

Coffee fits a different niche and this is due to a range of differences. Coffee for one is a richer and stronger tasting drink and many iterations see extra cream and froth being added. This therefore means that you are unlikely to want to drink coffee while eating a cake or biscuit as it would be possibly too rich a combination.

The other difference is that coffee contains considerably more caffeine per mug. While they both contain caffeine to be sure, coffee gives you much more of a kick and is more invigorating. This means that you can drink a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and it will be the perfect way to wake you up, get your mind racing and ensure that you do a good day's work. Tea is more of a gentle and friendly awakening.

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