Green Tea Extract and Immune Health

Posted: April 2009 in Supplements And Vitamins
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Green Tea helps to stimulate immune health, which is your body’s first line of defense against disease and infection! The immune system consists of white blood cells, or leukocytes. The main organs in the immune system are the bone marrow, spleen, thymus and lymph nodes. Incredibly, your bone marrow manufactures 1 billion white blood cells every day!

The Immune System

There are different types of leukocytes such as neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytles, monocytes and macrophages. These patrol the body and protect it from germs and other foreign bodies. Each of these targets specific pathogens like parasites, bacteria, fungi, allergies, pathogens, virus, tumor cells, and other foreign bodies. Leukocytes are found all over the body and in the bloodstream. These natural sentries of the body have an in-built memory system that helps the body to become immune to a second attack.

Cellular life is very intriguing! There are about 200 kinds of cells in your body and your body is engaged in a continuous process of replacing old cells with new ones. Every second there are about 50 million cells in your body that die and are replaced by new ones. This process is so controlled that your body has the right number of cells of each type at any given time.

Sometimes cells commit suicide, which is called apostosis. Apostosis is the body’s way of self-destroying cells that are not normal. Abnormal multiplication of cells could be caused by free radical activity and can lead to cancer.

It is interesting to note that all the cells in your body recognize each other. Cells that belong to one organ or tissue also recognize each other and this is what keeps cells from the same organ or tissue together. Leukocytes recognize cells that are abnormal or are foreign to the body. Leukocytes quickly work to prevent them from invading your system.

This is basically how the immune system works. It is therefore very vital that we take pro-active measures to support the function of our immune system.
Immune Health and Nutrition

Immune health works at the cellular level where basic health begins. Cellular function is supported by good nutrition. The relationship between nutrition and immune health is explained by Dr. George L. Blackburn, M.D., Ph.D., associate director, division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He says, “Nutrition plays an important part in maintaining immune function. Insufficiency in one or more essential nutrients may prevent the immune system from functioning at its peak.”

David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Yale Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Connecticut reinforces this, “There’s no question the immune system fundamentally is influenced by overall health—and a balanced diet is key. Not only are essential nutrients critical for the production and maintenance of key germ-fighting cells in the immune system, but a balanced diet also has a strong effect on vascular function, and the immune system is dependent on blood flow. The bloodstream is the route along which infection-fighting cells travel throughout the body to where they’re needed.”

Doctors and nutritionists recommend that you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, avoid saturated fats and red meat, and exercise regularly to help nutritionally support immune health.

Green Tea and Immune Health

Because immunity is battled at the cellular level, antioxidants play a key role. Consuming foods that are rich in antioxidants helps your body manage free radical activity. Dark-colored fruits and vegetables usually have the highest antioxidant value. Drinking green tea can significantly help boost your immune health.

Green tea is rich in antioxidants, especially epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). In vitro and animal studies show that green tea may considerably support immune health. These studies indicate that green tea may be beneficial for immune health in many ways:

Green Tea Shows Anti-Viral, Anti-Fungal and Anti-Bacterial Properties.

In vitro studies suggest that EGCG inhibits the adenovirus from replicating itself. This virus is one of many that are responsible for causing the common cold according to studies conducted at the University of Sherbrooke in Canada and also at the University of Florida. The latter study indicated that Green Tea drinkers had an enhanced ability to fight common colds and flu because of an increase in a specific type of immune cells known as interferon gamma T cells. The study showed that Green Tea drinkers had a 28% increase in interferon gamma T cells with a 26% increase in the secretion of antigens as opposed to those who did not consume Green Tea.1,2

EGCG also helps to inhibit the influenza virus from replicating and also exhibits antifungal properties.3-4

Green Tea Helps to Protect the Liver

Green tea protects the liver by stimulating the immune system because of the action of powerful antioxidants reducing the damage done by toxins due to excess alcohol consumption and cigarette smoke. The result of such studies indicates that a dietary supplement of Green Tea can help to reduce early toxin-induced liver injury by neutralizing oxidative stress.5-6

Green Tea Helps to Promote the Production of Immune Cells.

Tea polysaccharides (TPS), one of the main components in green tea, stimulate the production of cytokines in the bone marrow. Cytokines are used in cellular communication and are critical to the body’s immune response to pathogens.7

A balanced diet along with plenty of fruits and vegetables, and exercise will help support good health. With numerous studies that strongly suggest Green Tea’s beneficial effects it only makes sense to protect immune health through Green Tea supplementation. Instead of reaching for coffee, substitute your coffee drinking with cups of Green Tea. Six cups of green tea a day is said to increase your immunity 5 times faster than plain coffee. You can brew fresh cups of Green Tea every day, but supplements like Green Tea Plus are convenient and packed with antioxidant power. Green Tea Plus contains 6 times the antioxidant power of a freshly brewed cup of Green Tea.

References:



Inhibition of adenovirus infection and adenain by green tea catechins, Antiviral Res. 2003 Apr;58(2):167-73. PMID: 12742577

Specific Formulation of Camellia sinensis Prevents Cold and Flu Symptoms and Enhances T Cell Function: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 26, No. 5, 445-452 (2007), American College of Nutrition

Antiviral effect of catechins in green tea on influenza virus, Antiviral Res. 2005 Nov;68(2):66-74. Epub 2005 Aug 9. PMID: 16137775

Multiple effects of green tea catechin on the antifungal activity of antimycotics against Candida albicans.J Antimicrob Chemother. 2004 Feb;53(2):225-9. Epub 2003 Dec 19. PMID: 14688042

Green tea extract protects against early alcohol-induced liver injury in rats, Biol Chem. 2002 Mar-Apr;383(3-4):663-70. PMID: 12033455

Imai K, Nakachi K. Cross sectional study of effects of drinking green tea on cardiovascular and liver diseases. BMJ. 1995 Mar 18;310(6981):693-6.

Epigallocatechin Gallate Modulates Cytokine Production by Bone Marrow–Derived Dendritic Cells Stimulated with Lipopolysaccharide or Muramyldipeptide, or Infected with Legionella pneumophila, Experimental Biology and Medicine 230:645-651 (2005). Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine


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Eco-benefits to Replacing Oil With Bio-fuels Like Ethanol

Posted: April 2009 in Automotive
23

There are many eco-benefits to replacing oil with bio-fuels like ethanol and bodies. For one, since such fuels are derived from agricultural crops, they are inherently renewable-and our own farmers typically produce them domestically, reducing our dependence on unstable foreign sources of oil.

Additionally, ethanol and bodies emit less particulate pollution than traditional petroleum-based gasoline and diesel fuels. They also do not contribute to global warming, since they only emit back to the environment the carbon dioxide (CO2) that their source plants absorbed out of the atmosphere in the first place.

And unlike other forms of renewable energy (like hydrogen, solar or wind), befouls are easy for people and businesses to transition to without special apparatus or a change in vehicle or home heating infrastructure-you can just fill your existing car, truck or home oil tank with it.

Those looking to replace gasoline with ethanol in their car, however, must have a “flex-fuel” model that can run on either fuel. Otherwise, most regular diesel engines can handle bodies as readily as regular diesel.

Despite the upsides, however, experts point out that befouls are far from a cure for our addiction to petroleum. A wholesale societal shift from gasoline to befouls, given the number of gas-only cars already on the road and the lack of ethanol or bodies pumps at existing filling stations, for more detail www.infozabout.com would take some time. Another major hurdle for widespread adoption of befouls is the challenge of growing enough crops to meet demand, something skeptics say might well require converting just about all of the world’s remaining forests and open spaces over to agricultural land.

“Replacing only five percent of the nation’s diesel consumption with bodies would require diverting approximately 60 percent of today’s soy crops to body’s production,” says Matthew Brown, an energy consultant and former energy program director at the National Conference of State Legislatures. “That’s bad news for tofu lovers.”

Another dark cloud looming over befouls is whether producing them actually requires more energy than they can generate. After factoring in the energy needed to grow crops and then convert them into befouls, for more detail www.82-money-pocket.com . Cornell University researcher David Pimentel concludes that the numbers just don’t add up. His 2005 study found that producing ethanol from corn required 29 percent more energy than the end product itself is capable of generating. He found similarly troubling numbers in making bodies from soybeans. “There is just no energy benefit to using plant biomass for liquid fuel,” says Pimentel.

There is no one quick-fix for weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels and the future will likely see a combination of sources-from wind and ocean currents to hydrogen, solar and, yes, some use of befouls-powering our energy needs.

The “elephant in the living room,” however, that is often ignored when considering energy options is the hard reality that we must reduce our consumption, not just replace it with something else. Indeed, conservation is probably the largest single “alternative fuel” available to us. Pros and Cons are many eco-benefits to replacing oil with bio-fuels like ethanol


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Eco-gas for Your Business

Posted: April 2009 in Automotive
20

Owning a business these days is a balancing act, and sometimes you feel like you’re ready to fall off that tightrope.  Rising labour and material costs, especially petrol or diesel, can make your profit margin so thin it’s almost invisible.

Well, if your business uses diesel-powered vehicles, help is here in the form of eco-gas.

The D-gas fuel system uses LP gas to increase the mileage and efficiency of your vehicles and reduce emissions.  Remember, tailpipe emissions are unburnt fuel that you have pumped in—in other words, a complete waste of your money.  Tailpipe emissions also include particulate emissions, some of the worst contributors to global warming.

The D-gas system installs quickly and easily to any diesel engine.  It requires no modification of your current fuel management system because it doesn’t modify the diesel fuel system at all, it simply enhances it.

The D-gas system injects LP gas into the manifold AFTER the turbo (if your engine is turbocharged).  The D-gas system uses liquid LP gas, not vapour, which creates a better burn and no loss of power on rough roads, which can happen with the vaporised fuel systems.

The LPG tanks are easily mounted in an inconspicuous spot on your truck, and then a feed line is run to your engine.  Your truck begins to burn a combination of diesel and LP gas, which is much more efficient than straight diesel.  Your truck will burn the fuel more slowly and more efficiently, but with greater power and torque gains—so it runs farther on the same amount of fuel.  On large trucks, you can see up to a 30% reduction in your fuel costs immediately after installation.  And LP gas costs less than diesel, so you may actually be able to pass by a station or two!

By improving the combustion process, D-gas improves engine life.  By more completely burning the fuel in a higher-efficiency process, less waste is created, both within the engine compartment and out the tailpipe.  Less waste, or carbon, in the engine compartment means your engine oil lubricant collects fewer carbon particles, and remains cleaner longer.  Engine components are then lubricated with cleaner oil, which of course causes far less damage than oil with particulates in it.  Major engine repairs can completely eliminate your profit margin, and this is one very large way that using the D-gas system can help.

If you own a GST registered business, the government has stepped forward to help, as well.  The Australian government’s Fuel Tax Credits scheme of 18.51 cents per litre for all vehicles with a GVM of over 4.5 tonnes means you could begin enjoying even more benefits from your larger vehicles.

The eco-gas or D-gas system can pay for itself in under 6 months, depending on driving requirements.  And this system has a huge benefit that others lack: it can be transferred to other vehicles.  So install it on one truck now, enjoy the savings, and when you purchase a new rig, move the D-gas system to it!  You won’t lose the benefits of this system when you sell your large truck.

As a business owner, you know all about making smart decisions that will increase the health of your company in the long term.  This is one of those decisions, but it has a benefit for our environment as well.  And who wouldn’t want to do business with a company that’s environmentally responsible?  Install the D-gas system, and you’re likely to see some new customers ringing you up for quotes!

Call 1 800 78 48 82 today and let us quote you examples of savings on rigs just like yours!


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Does anyone know of a good eco-friendly laundry detergent?

Posted: April 2009 in Cleaning & Laundry
20

I’ve been using Tide for years and it has always worked really well. However, I know that it’s not biodegradable (okay the packaging says it is BUT in reality it takes 5 years for Tide to completly biodegrade) and I really don’t feel good about polluting the water so I can have clean clothes. Any suggestions on eco-friendly laundry detergents that work well? Thanks!
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Mega-T Green Tea Diet

Posted: April 2009 in Advice
17

They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well, we say a Mega-T Green Tea Diet caplet a day keeps the doctor away…indefinitely!

Mega-T Green Tea Diet is the newest weight loss product to hit the market. A unique blend of green tea and other ingredients, Mega-T Green Tea Diet is the one product that can promote mega weight loss.

Mega-T Green Tea Diet includes a high amount of green tea extract that helps suppress your appetite and at the same time, increase your metabolic rates. Green tea in Mega-T Green Tea Diet contains substances that affect how the hormone noradrenaline acts.

The key to controlling the appetite is by controlling the release of this hormone first. And with Mega-T Green Tea Diet, that shouldn’t be a hard task. Mega-T Green Tea Diet is a natural when it comes to suppressing the appetite.

Aside from being an appetite-suppressant, the green tea in Mega-T Green Tea Diet also helps promote thermogenesis in the body. Thermogenesis is the process wherein calories are converted into heat energy for the body to use. Mega-T Green Tea Diet contains polyphenols which are antioxidants that interact with each other to stimulate thermogenesis. In this regard, Mega-T Green Tea Diet helps increase your body’s metabolic rates and helps you burn fats faster. More fats burned means more weight lost!

Green tea in Mega-T Green Tea Diet also has other benefits aside from weight loss. Studies have shown that green tea in Mega-T Green Tea Diet can cure cancer, arthritis, ulcers, and other diseases. The antioxidants in Mega-T Green Tea Diet also help reduce the cholesterol levels of the body, thereby maintaining the delicate balance between LDL and HDL cholesterols. In this regard, Mega-T Green Tea Diet also helps reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks among its users.

Mega-T Green Tea Diet also contains chromium. Chromium in Mega-T Green Tea Diet helps prevent fat storage. This ingredient of Mega-T Green Tea Diet also increases your metabolic rates by increasing the rate at which fat is burned. Therefore, with Mega-T Green Tea Diet, you are in for some mega fat-burning!

Another ingredient of Mega-T Green Tea Diet is Garcinia Cambogia. This herb found Mega-T Green Tea Diet can help you overcome food cravings and hunger pangs. Garcinia Cambogia in Mega-T Green Tea Diet, like green tea, acts as a natural appetite-suppressant. In this way, Mega-T Green Tea Diet gives you the perfect method to avoid going overboard with your eating program. Remember, the lesser calories you take, the lesser calories you store!

Mega-T Green Tea Diet contains a small amount of caffeine to provide you with enough energy to get you through the day. But if that isn’t enough, especially if you’re working out, Mega-T Green Tea Diet also contains Guarana and Siberina Ginseng. These two herbs in Mega-T Green Tea Diet are known energy-boosters. So if you want energy for your workout regimens, then Mega-T Green Tea Diet is right for you! Mega-T Green Tea Diet will provide you with all the energy that you need in order to achieve a healthier, slimmer you!


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What are some eco-friendly motion control shoes?

Posted: April 2009 in Running
17

I read an article a few month ago in a running magazine about the enormous waste present in current shoe manufacturing. especially after cutting the plastic/foam pieces to shape. These pieces take thousands of years to degrade. So im’ interested in an eco-friendly shoe. I need motion control though. Any suggestions?
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What’s something a group of teenagers can do for earth day?

Posted: April 2009 in Earth Day
15

i want to propose activites that a club at my school i’m in can participate in on earth day to help out. anywhere from about 5-20 students & a couple adults will probably participate. what can we do?
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What are some good eco-friendly habits to have when grocery shopping?

Posted: April 2009 in Etiquette
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Any tips for shopping eco-friendly, to help the environment?
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What colors go best with hunter green?

Posted: April 2009 in Decorating & Remodeling
12

I am getting a 3 piece hunter green leather sofa set and need to know what accent colors would go best with this. Any ideas?
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How would you say going green is a bad thing?

Posted: April 2009 in Green Living
11

I have to do this essay for english class about the bad things about going green in homes. I’m having a bit of a problem though, I can’t seem to find any specific evidence that going green is a bad thing. I need help and fast please, if you can help me out please answer or send me websites that can help me with my project.
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