Friday TeaDay 8/29/08 Tea and disease prevention?

[Chip]

Chip- I have read that green tea can restore a more natural alkalinity in your body but teas that are heavily oxidized can do the opposite. I actually bought some irish breakfast tea last year that had me burping up acid every time I drank it. Eventually I threw it out because it was just too much.

One tea brew that I drink on a weekly basis is kombucha which is a well known fermented tea beverage.

Sippin' the shincha right now

Very interesting, like I said, it was when I switched at the time almost enirely to greens, that is when I noticed the change. So, ironically, it is possible that blacks and oolongs may have brought the ARD on, and the greens reversed the problem. Curious.

(Silver Needle, I am curious what your TeaMix is????)

Kombucha, I have not gotten the courage to try that yet!!!

Name your Shincha?

Finishing the day with Long Jing that I started many hours ago, I am surprised how much of a caffeine jolt I have been gotting from LJ which I just starting drinking again after months without.

[silverneedles]

re: "natural alkalinity" or "acidity" "in the body"

"the body" always tends towards equilibrium. there are many mechanisms to ensure equilibrium. renal does its job, lungs, red blood cells, all contribute to maintain eq.

outside interference with these mechanisms is not needed unless you're in renal failure or have lung disease or overdosed on aspirin for example.

in the digestive tract acidity and alkaline have their places and that's how digestion works. stomach is acid for a reason(digestion and protection from infection), the colon is alkaline for a reason.

not everything always comes out perfect - some people are more sensitive to some substances and keeps the "door" to the stomach open, and acid splashes back in the esophagus. i've gone thru many types of teas and not noticed any that keep my "sphincter" closed more than others. its partly in the diet, chocolate, peppermint as Chip said. when i do drink lots of coke or orange juice or i think the pizza's cheese or oils does it to me, sometimes fruits...eh it depends.

not sure what i'm writing, i am 1/2 asleep. hope it makes some sense.

[Victoria]

I am just hopeful the antioxidant properties will prevail.

Having some Aloalo tea from Lupicia - A Hawaiian blend of Assam, Darjeeling and hibiscus.
Not bad for a blend.

[Riene]

I am just hopeful the antioxidant properties will prevail.

Yes, that's my hope. I don't think any one food has magical properties to aid weight loss, cure allergies or colds, prevent cancer, etc. Tea, being a natural and minimally processed food, hopefully is a healthy drink (as opposed to soda in any form).

[Grubby]

I believe in science, unlike a lot of people in this forum. You can come with all the theories about Ying and Yang and all that crap, but what matters is what can be shown scientifically. I can believe that eating red mushrooms will make me immune to cancer, and if i never get cancer you can't prove me wrong. I probably will be though.

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qhc-gtea.html

It is not proven or substantiated, but there is a lot of evidence supporting it, not preventing, but LOWERING THE CHANCE OF some kind of diseases. Therefore i voted the first option.

[Geekgirl]

I believe in science, unlike a lot of people in this forum.

That's nice.

[scruffmcgruff]

I believe in science, unlike a lot of people in this forum. You can come with all the theories about Ying and Yang and all that crap, but what matters is what can be shown scientifically. I can believe that eating red mushrooms will make me immune to cancer, and if i never get cancer you can't prove me wrong. I probably will be though.

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qhc-gtea.html

It is not proven or substantiated, but there is a lot of evidence supporting it, not preventing, but LOWERING THE CHANCE OF some kind of diseases. Therefore i voted the first option.

I agree, mostly anyway. I do find it rather silly when people say they "believe" one way or another about a scientifically-proven (as in a biological pathway or somesuch, nothing religious) concept, unless they have some good scientific findings to back up their belief.

The one exception I keep for my position is in the case of the human body/medicine, as we all know how powerful the placebo effect can be. I still think it's silly to claim tea is a miracle cure, but it's not completely *wrong* (however misinterpreted it may be) if the tea causes a placebo effect that does some good.

[silverneedles]

...i believe in science...

...it is not proven or substantiated...
...but there is a lot of evidence supporting it...
isnt that contradictory?

...voted the first option... -tea can be instrumental in preventing disease

so even tho there is no clear evidence, and you believe in science, you still vote for the strongest statement that says tea is instrumental in prevention of disease.

[Riene]

I work in the field of science, and would never say that I "believe" in science. I accept scientific fact as fact, understand theory as theory, and supporting evidence or data as such. To me, belief implies faith, and faith has little to do with science.

[Chip]

I work in the field of science, and would never say that I "believe" in science. I accept scientific fact as fact, understand theory as theory, and supporting evidence or data as such. To me, belief implies faith, and faith has little to do with science.

I believe you are correct with a +/-5% degree of error.

[kongni]

Name your Shincha?

Still drinking Maeda-en shincha. I'm not sure what type exactly. It came in a purple paper cannister. I usually drink a whole bag/cannister before going on to the next. I've switched yunnan gold for the afternoon . I have a lot to accomplish today so I need a good strong brew to keep me going!

[Grubby]

I knew my post would be attacked

...i believe in science...

...it is not proven or substantiated...
...but there is a lot of evidence supporting it...
isnt that contradictory?

...voted the first option... -tea can be instrumental in preventing disease

so even tho there is no clear evidence, and you believe in science, you still vote for the strongest statement that says tea is instrumental in prevention of disease.

No it's not a contradiction. There is a lot of evidence (studies) suggesting that tea has some benefits but it is not STRONG ENOUGH (methodological issues, such as not done on enough people, not considering other part of the diet ETC. ETC.) to draw any conclusions.

So thats why i don't know that tea can reduce the riscs of certain diseases, but i BELIEVE it. Lets say science gives tea 60% chance of preventing disease. Then i believe that it does, because this is the most likely option. About the vote, why do you think i wrote "but there is a lot of evidence supporting it, not preventing, but LOWERING THE CHANCE" ? Because i obviously didn't agree with the wording of the vote, but ofcourse you removed this when citing my post. So i voted option 1 even though i didn't agree with it since it was the closest.

[silverneedles]

forgive my ways-i'm not always good with words,
i'm not "attacking" you, i'm trying to understand your view,

so, you believe in science unlike most of the people on this forum
and you don't know that tea reduces risk of disease
but
you believe it does,
based on studies without strength that you can't draw any conclusions from.

did i get THAT right?

[Katrina]

I think this discussion has the potential to become heated and I certainly don't want to inflame anything/anyone. However...

I have to take issue with the statement made regarding the scientific interest of people in the forum. I think it is quite an assumption to make. I have a very strong science background and have worked as a researcher. I know there are a great many others who have a significant interest in science whether as vocation or avocation. Many of us also believe that thousands of years of experience and learning ("ying and yang and all that crap") have merit. It would be in everyone's best interest if more research focus was placed on actually studying "that crap" and extracting important lessons from it before we dismiss it.

I'm not trying to pick a fight with anyone. I just want to encourage us to be careful of our assumptions and make sure that our discussions remain open discussions that encourage dialogue.

[Chip]

This can be a controversial subject, so please be respectful of other's opinions.

LOL, how prophetic.

And I would add, be respectful of others as well.

Thank you kindly.