Study: Green Tea Reduces Holiday Stresses!

Two brand new studies find green tea may be just what you need this holiday season!

By Colette Bouchez

Are you getting crazed just thinking about the upcoming holiday season? If so, listen up: Two studies just published report new benefits of green tea - and these can make a big difference in your health - and your attitude - in the upcoming holiday season!

In fact, if you're a smoker – or regularly exposed to second-hand smoke during that round of holiday parties - this one is for you: A study just published in the journal Respiratory Medicine found daily consumption of an extract found in green tea may slow lung damage caused by exposure to the poisons found in cigarette smoke.

More specifically, the study found that a specific compound found in green tea - epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) – was able to enlarge the air space of the lungs of animals exposed to cigarette smoke, as well as increase the number of mucous producing cells – which help to keep lungs healthy. Animals fed other types of Chinese tea did not garner the same protection.

“These results indicate that increased levels of systemic oxidative stress after cigarette smoke exposure play an important role in the induction of lung damage,” wrote the researchers.

Further, they concluded that: “Chinese green tea may have the ability to suppress cigarette smoke-induced oxidative stress that leads to protection of lung injury.”

While the best way to keep lungs healthy is not smoke – and avoid spending time around those who do – if that's just not possible at the moment, you may gain some protection by adding some green tea to your diet.

The study was lead by Judith Mak from the University of Hong Kong.

Drink Tea – Reduce Stress – Be Happy!

What do you get when you add holidays to a year already filled with stressful events? Anxiety and plenty of it ! But now researchers say you just might cut your stress levels significantly and avoid many of the psychological stresses that abound this time of year, by taking some time out to sip green tea.

Indeed, in one large study published in The American Journal of Nutrition researchers suggest that natural chemicals found in green tea appear to carry some potent anti-anxiety effects. Indeed, a group of Japanese researchers looked at over 42,000 men and women including nearly 3,000 who were diagnosed with stress related conditions.

What they found : Those who drank at least 5 cups of green tea a day were far less likely to suffer with psychological stress when compared to those who drank 1 cup or less per day. In some instances the number of those affected by stress was reduced by as much as 20% among the tea drinkers.

Moreover, the results held true even after researchers figured in other influencing factors – such as age, sex, history of disease, BMI, alcohol consumption, smoking and diet.

Although this was the largest study ever conducted on the psychological effects of green tea, it dovetails with previous research suggesting that green tea may counter the effects of both physical fatigue and emotional stress.

Despite the size of the study, researchers say they aren't sure what components of green tea are responsible for the psychological lift – or if it's tea itself or the lifestyle associated with those who take the time out of their day to sip 5 cups of green tea.

But either way, putting a few relaxing moments into your day where you stop, take a breath and have a cup of green tea may have a big health payoffs, particularly in these stressful times. Studies show that chronic stress plays a role in heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and even some cancers.

For more round-the-clock good living advice visit RedDressDiary.com - Your Source for Health & Beauty Over 40!

Colette Bouchez is the co-author of the new book The New Fertility Diet Guide: Delicious Food Secrets To Help You Get Pregnant Faster At Any Age!

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this RedDressDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. All formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license, and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

Why A Woman's Heart Should NEVER Be Broken!

Attention Red Dress Fashionistas: Show the world why a woman's heart should never be broken with a new contest designed to bring out your inner fashionista while raising a ton of money & awareness for women & heart disease!

By Colette Bouchez

A woman’s heart should never be broken … but sometimes, it just is.

No, the villain isn’t that philandering boyfriend or nasty ex-husband. It’s heart disease - the number one threat to a woman’s heart, and her life.

In fact while heart disease used to be pretty much a man’s domain, you may be surprised to learn that today more than half of the deaths from heart attack - some 52% - occur in women, reports the US Centers For Disease Control (CDC).

And if you think it’s just our Mums and Grandmums who are at risk, here’s an even bigger shocker: According to the CDC, heart disease is the third leading cause of death in women aged 25 to 44.

I thought that might get your attention - because it sure got mine!

But the good news is there is something we can all do about it - and bring out our inner RedDress fashionista in the process!

First, take steps to reduce your personal risk of heart disease - by watching your weight, getting regular exercise, cutting down on the junk food and cutting out cigarettes.

Next, be super aware of the symptoms of heart attack, which in women, not only include chest pain, but sometimes pain in the upper back or upper stomach, and an unyielding sense of fatigue. If you - or any woman you know - is experiencing these symptoms, seek medical attention right away! Don’t wait - and insist on a workup for heart disease!

And third: Design a fabulous red evening or cocktail dress!

Indeed, Campbells Soup in conjunction with American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women Heart Disease campaign are once again sponsoring a spectacular Address Your Heart Red Dress Design Contest - with a ton of money going to the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women Heart Disease Awareness campaign - and a grand prize that will knock your socks off - red or not - going to one spectacular winner!

To enter all you need do is fill out a short form, then submit a drawing of your fabulous red dress design - anything from a simple pencil scribbling to an elaborate computer generated work of art is fine! Just describe a few of the details (like fabric and embellishments) and you’re on your way!

In mid November Project Runway’s Tim Gunn and his staff of design mavens will pick 3 of your fabulous Red Dress design entries, and they will be created by a top design firm, professionally photographed and put on display for public vote. (Just visit RedDressDiary.com after November 6th for more news, pictures of the finalist’s dresses and links where you can cast your vote!)

But here’s the really great part: For every vote that’s cast, Campbells Soup will donate $1.00 to the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women Movement - the premier fundraising and awareness raising campaign for women and heart disease - until a whopping 625 thousand bucks are raised for the cause!

PLUS: If you win the contest you ( and your spectacular red dress! ) will be on the arm of Tim Gunn strutting down the Red Carpet at the absolute most spectacular, star-studded Red Dress Red Carpet Event sponsored by Woman’s Day Magazine, in February 2010!

So, if you love your Mum, your sister, your Grandma, your best friend - if you love RedDressDiary or if you just love to WEAR RED , help show the world that a woman’s heart should never be broken! Join the contest, join the fun and help the cause - and together we can beat heart disease!

To learn more about how to join the contest and submit your design visit RedDressDiary.com and click the Attention All RedDress Fashionista's link on the top left sidebar!

And visit RedDressDiary 24/7 for the lastest health, beauty and style news for women over 40!

Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved. In addition to US Copyright, the text of this RedDressDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. All formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license, and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.

Study: New Super Chocolate Beats Heart Disease

A new study is the first to show that even those at high risk for heart disease can benefit from chocolate. Not but all chocolate is alike! Read on to learn more...

By Colette Bouchez
Love chocolate? Okay, silly question! Well now you have a new reason to really, really love chocolate! A new study reveals that natural compounds found in some types of cocoa can not only help reduce your risk of heart disease, they do so even if you have high risk factors – including high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.

That's the finding of a new study to be published in an upcoming issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Here, scientists from The University of Barcelona in Spain report that chocolate containing up to 495 mg of polyphenols (a type of antioxidant nutrient) can reduce levels of inflammatory compounds that promote development of heart disease .

“Our results suggest that regular consumption of nutritional doses of cocoa may have an effect on all initial phases of the atherosclerotic process in subjects at high risk of CHD,” write the researchers.

The study is among the first human trials to prove the power of chocolate can make a difference even in those at high risk for heart disease including patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, as well as those who are obese or who smoke.

How Chocolate Protects Your Heart

Increasingly researchers are discovering that one of the reasons factors such as cigarette smoking or a high fat diet lead to heart disease is via the promotion of inflammatory chemicals - natural compounds produced by the body in response to any type of assault.

According to experts from the American Heart Association, these inflammatory chemicals not only contribute to the formation of plaque – the material that clogs blood vessels – but also the development of blood clots. Indeed, research shows that nearly every step involved in the development of heart disease involves some type of inflammatory response.

Now, the new study shows that chocolate rich in a natural compound known as polyphenols – found primarily in dark chocolate or cocoa – may interfere with the production of some of the chemicals that kick off the inflammatory response. And therein lies it's protective qualities.

“These anti-inflammatory effects may contribute to the overall benefits of cocoa consumption against atherosclerosis,” conclude the researchers.

This effect, they say, includes a dramatic reduction in natural body chemicals which would otherwise cause a chain reaction of events that culminate in an increase in inflammation in the lining of blood vessels

How The Chocolate Study Was Done

The research involved 42 people, averaged age 70, all of whom had significant high risk factors for heart disease. This included folks who were smokers and/or had high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol , or a strong family history of heart disease.

At the start of the 8 week study researchers measured blood levels of two bio-markers known to indicate the presence of inflammation. Then, for a period of 4 weeks each participant was randomized to receive either a daily dose of 500ml of skim milk, or 500 ml of skim fortified with 40 grams of cocoa powder containing 425 mg of proanthocyanidins. This is natural compound belonging the family known as “flavonoids” and the specific group known as “polyphenols”.

After four weeks, blood tests were repeated, and the groups switched, so that the folks drinking the plain skim milk were now adding the cocoa powder and vice versa. Four weeks later their blood was again tested for inflammatory markers.

The result: Directly following the intake of the milk plus cocoa powder researchers were able to detect a measurable drop in several types of chemicals involved in the inflammatory process, when compared to the same time frame when they drank the milk minus the chocolate. Both groups also showed a reduction in the chemicals involved in the formation of blood clots following the 4 weeks using the cocoa powder.

In short, even those at seriously high risk for heart disease appeared to benefit from the chocolate.

Can A Chocolate Bar Prevent Heart Disease?

The short answer is “no” - at least not if it's the commercial type which is generally loaded with excess sugar, high fructose corn syrup and other fats, all of which can promote inflammation linked to heart disease.

That said, if you seek out chocolate bars or powders containing a minimum of 70% cocoa – and you can now find some as high as 80% - then even without the extra fortification you will be gaining some important benefits.

It's important to point out, however, that the cocoa used in this study was fortified with extra polyphenols – the active natural compound believed responsible for the results.

While that type of cocoa powder is not yet commercially available ( though it will be soon), you can fortify the power of any chocolate you eat right now by adding in some fruits rich in polyphenols – including strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, pomegranates and grapes. Green tea is also rich in polyphenols, containing 3 times the levels found in black tea.

Colette Bouchez is the co-author of the just published book “The New Fertility Diet Guide: Delicious Food Secrets To Help you Get Pregnant Faster At Any Age.”

For round the clock health and beauty news for women, visit www.RedDressDiary.com – The Source for Women Over 40.
Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved.
In addition to US Copyright, the text of this RedDressDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License. All formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license, and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.