The followings are good articles on how to control your insulin level and managing your weight:
http://naturalhealthdossier.com/2010/09/enlist-your-hormones-in-the-battle-for-weight-loss/
"A high starch diet creates higher levels of insulin, which builds and stores fat.
If you’re always eating starches and sugar, your body is always producing insulin. That can lead to your second weight-gain problem: insulin resistance.
This happens when a hormone is in the bloodstream too often and for too long. Once you’re insulin resistant, your body has to make more and more insulin to do the same job. And suddenly you’re producing more and more insulin… storing more and more fat… and gaining dangerous amounts of weight".
"“Protein balances your blood sugar,” says Dr. Mark Hyman. “The best way to control blood sugar throughout the day is by eating protein with every meal. It keeps a slow infusion of energy going through your system rather than being quickly absorbed.”
Protein powers up your metabolism like no other nutrient. That’s because it’s your body’s best source of energy. Because you’re giving your body what it needs, it doesn’t store protein as fat. Instead it uses protein as pure energy.
If you always eat plenty of protein you keep your energy supply high. And this tells your body it doesn’t need to keep fat stored up anymore. You’re basically training your body to burn fat.
Protein is also loaded with 20 amino acids; eight of those are vital to good health. You can’t get them any other way than through protein.
Controlling weight loss is easy if you understand how your hormones respond to food. Balancing your insulin levels is a dramatic tool for burning fat and building muscle."
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
How to tackle sleeping problem
The following articles highlight the side effects of prescribed sleeping pills and recommend safer alternative solutions:
http://naturalhealthdossier.com/2012/03/common-drugstore-pill-increases-cancer-risk-35-percent/
http://naturalhealthdossier.com/2012/02/one-tart-fruit-boosts-sleep-hormone-levels/
"Cherry juice makes you produce more melatonin. And high levels or melatonin help you sleep. He also thinks this is why cherry juice might also help with disturbed sleep.
http://naturalhealthdossier.com/2011/12/flying-over-the-holidays-take-this/
"If you’re going to take melatonin, you should take 2-5 mg an hour before you want to sleep. You can find it online or at any health foods store. It’s available as a liquid or in capsules. But make sure you get the natural form of melatonin and not the synthetic version."
http://naturalhealthdossier.com/2012/03/common-drugstore-pill-increases-cancer-risk-35-percent/
http://naturalhealthdossier.com/2012/02/one-tart-fruit-boosts-sleep-hormone-levels/
"Cherry juice makes you produce more melatonin. And high levels or melatonin help you sleep. He also thinks this is why cherry juice might also help with disturbed sleep.
http://naturalhealthdossier.com/2011/12/flying-over-the-holidays-take-this/
"If you’re going to take melatonin, you should take 2-5 mg an hour before you want to sleep. You can find it online or at any health foods store. It’s available as a liquid or in capsules. But make sure you get the natural form of melatonin and not the synthetic version."
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Health benefits of tea
Health Benefits of Tea:
Epigallocatechin is one of the main
antioxidants in tea.Tea has many health benefits, and they are only beginning to be studied scientifically and understood thoroughly. However, there is also a lot of misinformation about the health benefits of tea, much of it being put forth by tea companies or nutritional supplement companies with an interest in promoting their products. Here, we strive to provide an impartial resource that reviews the scientific literature about tea and provides direct citations to current research on the health effects of tea. While reading this page, it is important to remember that tea is primarily a beverage, not a medicine.
Here are some of the more well-established benefits of tea drinking:
Concentration - Tea contains caffeine, and also L-theanine, which seem to interact to promote alertness and concentration. This is the primary benefit of tea drinking, the most immediately noticeable one.
Antioxidants - Tea is rich in antioxidants, called flavonoids. These chemicals are often implicated in some of the potential health benefits of tea, although it is not entirely clear the degree to which they actually promote health or provide direct benefits.
Preventing heart disease - According to the Linus Pauling Institute's review of the scientific literature, there is evidence that tea consumption, especially consumption of 3 cups daily, provides a small but significant reduction in the risk of heart disease. However, there are still many unanswered questions and conflicting results surrounding tea and heart disease.
Antiviral activity - Chemicals from green tea were found to inhibit the replication of the influenza virus.[1] It is not clear the degree to which this effect would actually translate into drinking tea having any anti-viral effects.
Sleep Benefits - Tea disrupts sleep less than coffee, and many teas have a high concentration of L-theanine, which promotes relaxation and plays an important role in sleep.
Relaxation / Stress reduction - There is evidence that drinking black tea reduces stress and promotes relaxation;[2] stress is known to have many negative impacts on the body, whereas relaxation promotes healing and overall good health.
It is important to recognize that these benefits are suggested, not proven, by science. Much of the evidence supporting the supposed health benefits of tea comes from animal studies or epidemiological studies (surveys of large populations). This type of evidence is much weaker than the evidence from carefully controlled studies with large sample sizes. Science also requires repeated replication of studies, and subjection of studies to scrutiny and analysis, before something can be established as "proven".
a Black Tea from
Harney & Sons
Are some kinds of tea healthier than others?
Yes and no. Many tea companies and health websites make claims that green tea or white tea are healthier than black tea, claiming that they have more antioxidants and less caffeine. This is not necessarily true. One study measured the antioxidant content of 77 different teas, including black, green, white, oolong, and herbal teas. The study found a huge variability in antioxidant content and caffeine content from one tea to the next, even within each category (green, black, etc.). These differences were much larger than average differences between the various categories.[3]
Green tea has often gotten most of the attention when it comes to discussion of the health benefits of tea. This is due largely to a historical accident, with a large dose of hype and possibly some misinformation. Japan has been the country to lead the way in terms of scientific research into the health benefits of tea, and the Japanese drink almost exclusively green tea. As such, discussion about the health benefits of green tea, which often cites studies referencing green tea, can be highly misleading. Most of these studies do not compare green tea to other types of tea, and the few studies that have been conducted have failed to come up with any strong evidence that green tea (or any type of tea) is universally healthier than other types.
Health risks and drawbacks associated with tea:
Too much of a good thing is often not good for you, and tea is no exception. Tea contains caffeine, which in excess can contribute to a number of health problems, including anxiety and insomnia.
Tea can also inhibit iron absorption. The effects of tea on iron absorption are complex, but both tea and various herbal teas can inhibit the absorption of non-haem iron sources (plant sources—animal sources of iron are unaffected).[4] This effect is strongest when the tea is consumed together with a meal containing plant sources of iron.
Health benefits of herbal teas:
Herbal teas are not made from the tea plant and their health benefits are best considered separately from that of true tea. However, RateTea has compiled a lot of health-related information on the pages for individual herbal teas, such as chamomile, lemongrass, mint, rooibos, and tulsi or holy basil. Like tea, many herbal teas are rich in antioxidants. However, many herbs have other benefits and, in some cases, health risks.
References:
1. Mikio Nakayama et al. Antiviral effect of catechins in green tea on influenza virus, Antiviral Research, Vol. 68, No. 2, Nov. 2005, pp. 66-74.
2. The effects of tea on psychophysiological stress responsivity and post-stress recovery: a randomised double-blind trial , Psychopharmacology, Vol. 190, No. 1, Jan. 2007.
3. M. Friedman et. al. Distribution of catechins, theaflavins, caffeine, and theobromine in 77 teas consumed in the United States, Journal of food science, 2005 Nov-Dec, v. 70, no. 9, p. C550-C559.
4. Richard F. Hurrell et. al., Inhibition of non-haem iron absorption in man by polyphenolic-containing beverages, British Journal of Nutrition (1999), Vol. 81, pp. 289-295.
Further Reading:
U. Maryland's Reference on Uses of Green Tea in Complementary Medicine - Well-referenced with numerous citations to recent scientific studies.
Linus Pauling Institute's Page on Tea - Comprehensive and well-referenced summary of the health effects of tea. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/tea/
Source:
http://ratetea.com/topic/health-benefits-of-tea/8/
Epigallocatechin is one of the main
antioxidants in tea.Tea has many health benefits, and they are only beginning to be studied scientifically and understood thoroughly. However, there is also a lot of misinformation about the health benefits of tea, much of it being put forth by tea companies or nutritional supplement companies with an interest in promoting their products. Here, we strive to provide an impartial resource that reviews the scientific literature about tea and provides direct citations to current research on the health effects of tea. While reading this page, it is important to remember that tea is primarily a beverage, not a medicine.
Here are some of the more well-established benefits of tea drinking:
Concentration - Tea contains caffeine, and also L-theanine, which seem to interact to promote alertness and concentration. This is the primary benefit of tea drinking, the most immediately noticeable one.
Antioxidants - Tea is rich in antioxidants, called flavonoids. These chemicals are often implicated in some of the potential health benefits of tea, although it is not entirely clear the degree to which they actually promote health or provide direct benefits.
Preventing heart disease - According to the Linus Pauling Institute's review of the scientific literature, there is evidence that tea consumption, especially consumption of 3 cups daily, provides a small but significant reduction in the risk of heart disease. However, there are still many unanswered questions and conflicting results surrounding tea and heart disease.
Antiviral activity - Chemicals from green tea were found to inhibit the replication of the influenza virus.[1] It is not clear the degree to which this effect would actually translate into drinking tea having any anti-viral effects.
Sleep Benefits - Tea disrupts sleep less than coffee, and many teas have a high concentration of L-theanine, which promotes relaxation and plays an important role in sleep.
Relaxation / Stress reduction - There is evidence that drinking black tea reduces stress and promotes relaxation;[2] stress is known to have many negative impacts on the body, whereas relaxation promotes healing and overall good health.
It is important to recognize that these benefits are suggested, not proven, by science. Much of the evidence supporting the supposed health benefits of tea comes from animal studies or epidemiological studies (surveys of large populations). This type of evidence is much weaker than the evidence from carefully controlled studies with large sample sizes. Science also requires repeated replication of studies, and subjection of studies to scrutiny and analysis, before something can be established as "proven".
a Black Tea from
Harney & Sons
Are some kinds of tea healthier than others?
Yes and no. Many tea companies and health websites make claims that green tea or white tea are healthier than black tea, claiming that they have more antioxidants and less caffeine. This is not necessarily true. One study measured the antioxidant content of 77 different teas, including black, green, white, oolong, and herbal teas. The study found a huge variability in antioxidant content and caffeine content from one tea to the next, even within each category (green, black, etc.). These differences were much larger than average differences between the various categories.[3]
Green tea has often gotten most of the attention when it comes to discussion of the health benefits of tea. This is due largely to a historical accident, with a large dose of hype and possibly some misinformation. Japan has been the country to lead the way in terms of scientific research into the health benefits of tea, and the Japanese drink almost exclusively green tea. As such, discussion about the health benefits of green tea, which often cites studies referencing green tea, can be highly misleading. Most of these studies do not compare green tea to other types of tea, and the few studies that have been conducted have failed to come up with any strong evidence that green tea (or any type of tea) is universally healthier than other types.
Health risks and drawbacks associated with tea:
Too much of a good thing is often not good for you, and tea is no exception. Tea contains caffeine, which in excess can contribute to a number of health problems, including anxiety and insomnia.
Tea can also inhibit iron absorption. The effects of tea on iron absorption are complex, but both tea and various herbal teas can inhibit the absorption of non-haem iron sources (plant sources—animal sources of iron are unaffected).[4] This effect is strongest when the tea is consumed together with a meal containing plant sources of iron.
Health benefits of herbal teas:
Herbal teas are not made from the tea plant and their health benefits are best considered separately from that of true tea. However, RateTea has compiled a lot of health-related information on the pages for individual herbal teas, such as chamomile, lemongrass, mint, rooibos, and tulsi or holy basil. Like tea, many herbal teas are rich in antioxidants. However, many herbs have other benefits and, in some cases, health risks.
References:
1. Mikio Nakayama et al. Antiviral effect of catechins in green tea on influenza virus, Antiviral Research, Vol. 68, No. 2, Nov. 2005, pp. 66-74.
2. The effects of tea on psychophysiological stress responsivity and post-stress recovery: a randomised double-blind trial , Psychopharmacology, Vol. 190, No. 1, Jan. 2007.
3. M. Friedman et. al. Distribution of catechins, theaflavins, caffeine, and theobromine in 77 teas consumed in the United States, Journal of food science, 2005 Nov-Dec, v. 70, no. 9, p. C550-C559.
4. Richard F. Hurrell et. al., Inhibition of non-haem iron absorption in man by polyphenolic-containing beverages, British Journal of Nutrition (1999), Vol. 81, pp. 289-295.
Further Reading:
U. Maryland's Reference on Uses of Green Tea in Complementary Medicine - Well-referenced with numerous citations to recent scientific studies.
Linus Pauling Institute's Page on Tea - Comprehensive and well-referenced summary of the health effects of tea. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/tea/
Source:
http://ratetea.com/topic/health-benefits-of-tea/8/
Green tea
Plant Description:
Green, black, and oolong tea are all derived from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Originally cultivated in East Asia, this plant grows as large as a shrub or tree. Today, Camellia sinensis grows throughout Asia and parts of the Middle East and Africa.
People in Asian countries more commonly consume green and oolong tea while black tea is most popular in the United States. Green tea is prepared from unfermented leaves, the leaves of oolong tea are partially fermented, and black tea is fully fermented. The more the leaves are fermented, the lower the polyphenol content (See: "What's It Made Of?") and the higher the caffeine content. Green tea has the highest polyphenol content while black tea has roughly 2 - 3 times the caffeine content of green tea.
What's It Made Of?:
Researchers think the health-giving properties of green tea are mostly due to polyphenols, chemicals with potent antioxidant properties. In fact, the antioxidant effects of polyphenols seem to be greater than vitamin C. The polyphenols in green tea also give it a somewhat bitter flavor.
Polyphenols contained in teas are classified as catechins. Green tea contains six primary catechin compounds: catechin, gallaogatechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and apigallocatechin gallate (also known as EGCG). EGCG is the most studied polyphenol component in green tea and the most active.
Green tea also contains alkaloids including caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline. They provide green tea's stimulant effects. L-theanine, an amino acid compound found in green tea, has been studied for its calming effects on the nervous system.
Available Forms:
Most green tea dietary supplements are sold as dried leaf tea in capsule form. Look for standardized extracts of green tea. There are also liquid extracts made from the leaves and leaf buds. The average cup of green tea contains 50 - 150 mg polyphenols (antioxidants). Decaffeinated green tea products contain concentrated polyphenols. Caffeine-free supplements are available.
How to Take It:
Pediatric
Green tea has not been studied in children, so it is not recommended for pediatric use.
Adult
Depending on the brand, 2 - 3 cups of green tea per day (for a total of 240 - 320 mg polyphenols) or 100 - 750 mg per day of standardized green tea extract is recommended. Caffeine-free products are available and recommended.
Precautions:
The use of herbs is a time-honored approach to strengthening the body and treating disease. However, herbs contain active substances that can trigger side effects and interact with other herbs, supplements, or medications. For these reasons, people should take herbs with care, under the supervision of a practitioner knowledgeable in the field of botanical medicine.
People with heart problems or high blood pressure, kidney problems, liver problems, stomach ulcers, and psychological disorders, particularly anxiety, should not take green tea. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should also avoid green tea.
People with anemia, diabetes, glaucoma, or osteoporosis should ask their health care provider before drinking green tea or taking an extract.
People who drink large amounts of caffeine, including caffeine from green tea, for long periods of time may experience irritability, insomnia, heart palpitations, and dizziness. Caffeine overdose can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, and loss of appetite. If you are drinking a lot of tea and start to vomit or have abdominal spasms, you may have caffeine poisoning. If your symptoms are severe, lower your caffeine intake and see your health care provider.
Possible Interactions:
If you are being treated with any of the following medications, you should not drink green tea or take green tea extract without first talking to your health care provider:
Adenosine -- Green tea may inhibit the actions of adenosine, a medication given in the hospital for an irregular and usually unstable heart rhythm.
Beta-lactam -- Green tea may increase the effectiveness of beta-lactam antibiotics by making bacteria less resistant to treatment.
Benzodiazepines -- Caffeine, including caffeine from green tea, may reduce the sedative effects of these medications commonly used to treat anxiety, such as diazepam (Valium) and lorazepam (Ativan).
Beta-blockers, Propranolol, and Metoprolol -- Caffeine, including caffeine from green tea, may increase blood pressure in people taking propranolol (Inderal) and metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL). These medications are used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease.
Blood Thinning Medications -- People who take warfarin (Coudamin) should not drink green tea. Since green tea contains vitamin K, it can make this medication ineffective. You should not mix green tea and aspirin because they both prevent blood from clotting. Using the two together may increase your risk of bleeding.
Chemotherapy -- The combination of green tea and chemotherapy medications, specifically doxorubicin and tamoxifen, increased the effectiveness of these medications in laboratory tests. However, the same results have not been found in studies on people. On the other hand, there have been reports of both green and black tea extracts affecting a gene in prostate cancer cells that may make them less sensitive to chemotherapy drugs. For that reason, people should talk to their doctors before drinking black and green tea or taking tea extracts while undergoing chemotherapy.
Clozapine (Clozaril) -- The effects of the clozapine may be reduced if taken within 40 minutes after drinking green tea.
Ephedrine -- When taken with ephedrine, green tea may cause agitation, tremors, insomnia, and weight loss.
Lithium -- Green tea has been shown to reduce blood levels of lithium, a medication used to treat bipolar disorder. That can make lithium less effective.
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) -- Green tea may cause a severe increase in blood pressure, called a "hypertensive crisis," when taken together with these drugs used to treat depression. Examples of MAOIs include:
Isocarboxazid (Marplan)
Moclobemide (Manerix)
Phenelzine (Nardil)
Tranylcypromine (Parnate)
Birth control pills -- Oral contraceptives can prolong the amount of time caffeine stays in the body, which may increase its stimulating effects.
Phenylpropanolamine -- A combination of caffeine, including caffeine from green tea, and phenylpropanolamine, used in many over-the-counter and prescription cough and cold medications and weight loss products, may cause mania and a severe increase in blood pressure. The FDA issued a public health advisory in November 2000 to warn people of the risk of bleeding in the brain from use of this medication and urged all manufacturers of this drug to remove it from the market. Most drugs that contained phenylpropanolamine have been reformulated without it.
Quinolone antibiotics -- Green tea may makes these medications more effective and also increase the risk of side effects. These medications include:
Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)
Enoxacin (Penetrex)
Grepafloxacin (Raxar)
Norfloxacin (Chibroxin, Noroxin)
Sparfloxacin (Zagam)
Trovafloxacin (Trovan)
Other medications -- Green tea, especially caffeinated green tea, may interact with a number for medications, including:
Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
Dipyridamole (Persatine)
Estrogen
Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
Methotrexate
Mexiletine (Mexitil)
Phenobarbital
Theophylline
Verapamil (Bosoptin, Calan, Covera- HS, Verelan, Verelan PM)
To be safe, check with your health care provider before drinking or taking green tea if you also take other medications.
Alternative Names:
Camellia sinensis
Reviewed last on: 10/14/2011
Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD, Solutions Acupuncture, a private practice specializing in complementary and alternative medicine, Phoenix, AZ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
Supporting Research
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Source:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/green-tea-000255.htm
Green, black, and oolong tea are all derived from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Originally cultivated in East Asia, this plant grows as large as a shrub or tree. Today, Camellia sinensis grows throughout Asia and parts of the Middle East and Africa.
People in Asian countries more commonly consume green and oolong tea while black tea is most popular in the United States. Green tea is prepared from unfermented leaves, the leaves of oolong tea are partially fermented, and black tea is fully fermented. The more the leaves are fermented, the lower the polyphenol content (See: "What's It Made Of?") and the higher the caffeine content. Green tea has the highest polyphenol content while black tea has roughly 2 - 3 times the caffeine content of green tea.
What's It Made Of?:
Researchers think the health-giving properties of green tea are mostly due to polyphenols, chemicals with potent antioxidant properties. In fact, the antioxidant effects of polyphenols seem to be greater than vitamin C. The polyphenols in green tea also give it a somewhat bitter flavor.
Polyphenols contained in teas are classified as catechins. Green tea contains six primary catechin compounds: catechin, gallaogatechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and apigallocatechin gallate (also known as EGCG). EGCG is the most studied polyphenol component in green tea and the most active.
Green tea also contains alkaloids including caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline. They provide green tea's stimulant effects. L-theanine, an amino acid compound found in green tea, has been studied for its calming effects on the nervous system.
Available Forms:
Most green tea dietary supplements are sold as dried leaf tea in capsule form. Look for standardized extracts of green tea. There are also liquid extracts made from the leaves and leaf buds. The average cup of green tea contains 50 - 150 mg polyphenols (antioxidants). Decaffeinated green tea products contain concentrated polyphenols. Caffeine-free supplements are available.
How to Take It:
Pediatric
Green tea has not been studied in children, so it is not recommended for pediatric use.
Adult
Depending on the brand, 2 - 3 cups of green tea per day (for a total of 240 - 320 mg polyphenols) or 100 - 750 mg per day of standardized green tea extract is recommended. Caffeine-free products are available and recommended.
Precautions:
The use of herbs is a time-honored approach to strengthening the body and treating disease. However, herbs contain active substances that can trigger side effects and interact with other herbs, supplements, or medications. For these reasons, people should take herbs with care, under the supervision of a practitioner knowledgeable in the field of botanical medicine.
People with heart problems or high blood pressure, kidney problems, liver problems, stomach ulcers, and psychological disorders, particularly anxiety, should not take green tea. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should also avoid green tea.
People with anemia, diabetes, glaucoma, or osteoporosis should ask their health care provider before drinking green tea or taking an extract.
People who drink large amounts of caffeine, including caffeine from green tea, for long periods of time may experience irritability, insomnia, heart palpitations, and dizziness. Caffeine overdose can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, and loss of appetite. If you are drinking a lot of tea and start to vomit or have abdominal spasms, you may have caffeine poisoning. If your symptoms are severe, lower your caffeine intake and see your health care provider.
Possible Interactions:
If you are being treated with any of the following medications, you should not drink green tea or take green tea extract without first talking to your health care provider:
Adenosine -- Green tea may inhibit the actions of adenosine, a medication given in the hospital for an irregular and usually unstable heart rhythm.
Beta-lactam -- Green tea may increase the effectiveness of beta-lactam antibiotics by making bacteria less resistant to treatment.
Benzodiazepines -- Caffeine, including caffeine from green tea, may reduce the sedative effects of these medications commonly used to treat anxiety, such as diazepam (Valium) and lorazepam (Ativan).
Beta-blockers, Propranolol, and Metoprolol -- Caffeine, including caffeine from green tea, may increase blood pressure in people taking propranolol (Inderal) and metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL). These medications are used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease.
Blood Thinning Medications -- People who take warfarin (Coudamin) should not drink green tea. Since green tea contains vitamin K, it can make this medication ineffective. You should not mix green tea and aspirin because they both prevent blood from clotting. Using the two together may increase your risk of bleeding.
Chemotherapy -- The combination of green tea and chemotherapy medications, specifically doxorubicin and tamoxifen, increased the effectiveness of these medications in laboratory tests. However, the same results have not been found in studies on people. On the other hand, there have been reports of both green and black tea extracts affecting a gene in prostate cancer cells that may make them less sensitive to chemotherapy drugs. For that reason, people should talk to their doctors before drinking black and green tea or taking tea extracts while undergoing chemotherapy.
Clozapine (Clozaril) -- The effects of the clozapine may be reduced if taken within 40 minutes after drinking green tea.
Ephedrine -- When taken with ephedrine, green tea may cause agitation, tremors, insomnia, and weight loss.
Lithium -- Green tea has been shown to reduce blood levels of lithium, a medication used to treat bipolar disorder. That can make lithium less effective.
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) -- Green tea may cause a severe increase in blood pressure, called a "hypertensive crisis," when taken together with these drugs used to treat depression. Examples of MAOIs include:
Isocarboxazid (Marplan)
Moclobemide (Manerix)
Phenelzine (Nardil)
Tranylcypromine (Parnate)
Birth control pills -- Oral contraceptives can prolong the amount of time caffeine stays in the body, which may increase its stimulating effects.
Phenylpropanolamine -- A combination of caffeine, including caffeine from green tea, and phenylpropanolamine, used in many over-the-counter and prescription cough and cold medications and weight loss products, may cause mania and a severe increase in blood pressure. The FDA issued a public health advisory in November 2000 to warn people of the risk of bleeding in the brain from use of this medication and urged all manufacturers of this drug to remove it from the market. Most drugs that contained phenylpropanolamine have been reformulated without it.
Quinolone antibiotics -- Green tea may makes these medications more effective and also increase the risk of side effects. These medications include:
Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)
Enoxacin (Penetrex)
Grepafloxacin (Raxar)
Norfloxacin (Chibroxin, Noroxin)
Sparfloxacin (Zagam)
Trovafloxacin (Trovan)
Other medications -- Green tea, especially caffeinated green tea, may interact with a number for medications, including:
Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
Dipyridamole (Persatine)
Estrogen
Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
Methotrexate
Mexiletine (Mexitil)
Phenobarbital
Theophylline
Verapamil (Bosoptin, Calan, Covera- HS, Verelan, Verelan PM)
To be safe, check with your health care provider before drinking or taking green tea if you also take other medications.
Alternative Names:
Camellia sinensis
Reviewed last on: 10/14/2011
Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD, Solutions Acupuncture, a private practice specializing in complementary and alternative medicine, Phoenix, AZ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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Source:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/green-tea-000255.htm
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