What is the most effective way to take green tea? Should I drink it (if so, how much?) or should I take it in capsule form (and how much)?
I would drink it. Get it the way it's meant to be.
I don't know about 'how much', but there are some 'brewing' rules that need to be followed to reap all of the benefits. Will try to find them and post back.
(did you run a search of some of the tea threads? I think I posted about the proper brewing temps before)
Search on: Green Tea* (<-make sure you use the *)
and limit to posts by: katcarney
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J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 May 29; [Epub ahead of print] Links
Lower Levels of Urinary 2-Hydroxyestrogens in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.Salih S, Xu X, Veenstra TD, Duleba AJ, Fouad H, Nagamani M, Al-Hendy A.
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555; Laboratory of Proteomics and Analytical Technologies, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Frederick, Maryland; and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511.
Context: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have anovulation due to arrested follicular maturation. The substrate (2-hydroxyestrogen) and the product (2-methoxyestrogen) of catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) have been shown to modulate proliferation and angiogenesis of granulosa cells. Objective: To evaluate COMT ovarian expression, as well as the production of estrogen metabolites (2-hydroxyestrogen and 2-methoxyestrogen) in subjects with PCOS. Design: Immunohistochemistry was used to assess COMT expression in ovarian tissues. Urinary levels of 10 different estrogens and estrogen metabolites were measured using enzyme-labeled immunoassays and/or liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Setting: Tertiary University Referral Center Patients and Other Participants: Ovarian tissues were obtained from 6 control subjects and 6 subjects with PCOS. Fasting first-void urinary samples were collected from 49 subjects with PCOS and 36 healthy control subjects. Main Outcome Measure(s): COMT protein expression in ovarian tissues. Urinary levels of 2-hydroxyestrogen and 2-methoxyestrogen levels in PCOS patients. Results: While immunohistochemistry showed that COMT was expressed in ovaries from control and PCOS subjects, its expression was significantly higher in ovaries from subjects with PCOS, both in the follicular structures and in the ovarian stroma. The urinary 2-hydroxyestrogen level was significantly lower in subjects with PCOS, compared with normal controls (P = .009). Additionally, urinary 2-hydroxyestrogen levels negatively correlated with serum insulin levels in subjects with PCOS (r = -0.333, P = .031). Conclusions: Urinary 2-hydroxyestrogen is decreased in subjects with PCOS, which could be due in part to increased ovarian expression of COMT. Further studies are needed to ascertain the role of estrogen metabolism in PCOS before this information can be used in clinical settings.
The most important rules in making green tea is to never boil the water in an aluminum pot, and never steep the tea in teapots or cups made of plastic or aluminum, which badly affect the taste.
Good choices for teapots are glass, which makes it easy to monitor the strength of the tea, or either china or porcelain. Although china or porcelain cups are most commonly used in China and Japan, clear glass mugs can enhance one's appreciation for the delicate color of most green teas.
Water should be below boiling temperature when added to most green teas. One way of adjusting the water to the right temperature is to bring the water to a boil, immediately remove from heat and allow the water to cool 1-3 minutes, depending on the amount of water used, until the steam drifts sideways rather than rising straight up.
J Med Food. 2006 Winter;9(4):451-8. Links
Green tea extract thermogenesis-induced weight loss by epigallocatechin gallate inhibition of catechol-O-methyltransferase.Shixian Q, VanCrey B, Shi J, Kakuda Y, Jiang Y.
South China Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
Epidemiological studies have shown that intake of tea catechins is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. The antioxidative activity of tea-derived catechins has been extensively studied. Reports have shown that green tea extract intake is associated with increased weight loss due to diet-induced thermogenesis, which is generally attributed to the catechin epigallocatechin gallate. That catechin-polyphenols are known to be capable of inhibiting catechol-O-methyltransferase (the enzyme that degrades norepinephrine) is a possible explanation for why the green tea extract is effective in stimulating thermogenesis by epigallocatechin gallate to augment and prolong sympathetic stimulation of thermogenesis. Knowledge about thermogenesis-induced weight loss produced by green tea's epigallocatechin gallate and its ability to inhibit catechol-O-methyltransferase is important for health benefits and for prolonging the action of norepinephrine in the synaptic cleft.
Drug Metab Dispos. 2004 May;32(5):497-504. Links
Strong inhibitory effects of common tea catechins and bioflavonoids on the O-methylation of catechol estrogens catalyzed by human liver cytosolic catechol-O-methyltransferase.Nagai M, Conney AH, Zhu BT.
Department of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina, Room 617 of Coker Life Sciences Building, 700 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208.
In the present investigation, we studied the inhibitory effects of three tea catechins [catechin, epicatechin, and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate] and two bioflavonoids (quercetin and fisetin) on the O-methylation of 2- and 4-hydroxyestradiol (2-OH-E(2) and 4-OH-E(2), respectively) by human liver cytosolic catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). We found that catechin and epicatechin each inhibited the O-methylation of 2-OH-E(2) and 4-OH-E(2) in a concentration-dependent manner. The IC(50) values for inhibition of 2-OH-E(2) methylation by catechin and epicatechin were 14 to 17 microM and 44 to 65 microM, respectively, and their IC(50) values for inhibition of 4-OH-E(2) methylation were 5 to 7 microM and 10 to 18 microM, respectively. Our data showed that these two catechins had 2- to 6-fold higher inhibition potency for the O-methylation of 4-OH-E(2) than for the O-methylation of 2-OH-E(2). (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate was found to have a distinctly high inhibition potency for the O-methylation of 2- and 4-OH-E(2) (IC(50) values of 0.04-0.07 microM and 0.2-0.5 microM, respectively). The crude extracts from green tea and black tea also showed very strong activity in inhibiting human liver COMT-mediated O-methylation of catechol estrogens. We also determined, for comparison, two common bioflavonoids (quercetin and fisetin) for their inhibitory effects on human liver COMT-mediated O-methylation of catechol estrogens. The IC(50) values for quercetin and fisetin were 0.9 to 1.5 microM and 3.3 to 4.5 microM, respectively, for inhibiting the O-methylation of 2-OH-E(2), and 0.5 to 1.2 microM and 2.6 to 4.2 microM, respectively, for inhibiting the O-methylation of 4-OH-E(2). Enzyme kinetic analyses showed that both tea catechins and bioflavonoids inhibited human liver COMT-mediated O-methylation of 4-OH-E(2) (a representative substrate) with a mixed mechanism of inhibition (competitive plus noncompetitive). In summary, the catechol-containing tea catechins and bioflavonoids are strong inhibitors of human liver COMT-mediated O-methylation of catechol estrogens. More studies are warranted to determine the extent of such inhibition in human subjects and the potential biological consequences.
PMID: 15100171 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Cancer Res. 2003 Nov 1;63(21):7526-9. Links
Tea intake, COMT genotype, and breast cancer in Asian-American women.Wu AH, Tseng CC, Van Den Berg D, Yu MC.
Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. annawu@hsc.usc.edu
There is substantial in vitro and in vivo evidence implicating tea polyphenols as chemopreventive agents against various cancers. In a case-control study conducted among Asian-American women in Los Angeles County, we reported a significant inverse relationship between intake of green tea and risk of breast cancer (A. H. Wu et al., Int. J. Cancer, 106: 574-579, 2003). Because catechol-containing tea polyphenols are very rapidly O-methylated by human catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), we are interested in determining whether the association between tea intake and breast cancer differed in women according to COMT genotype. We examined the interrelationships between tea intake, COMT genotype, and breast cancer risk in 589 incident cases and 563 population-based controls from a population-based case-control study of breast cancer in Chinese-, Japanese-, and Filipino-American women in Los Angeles County. Risk of breast cancer was influenced significantly by intake of tea, particularly green tea intake. However, the inverse association between tea intake and breast cancer risk was observed only among individuals who possessed at least one low-activity COMT allele. Among women who carried at least one low activity COMT allele, tea drinkers showed a significantly reduced risk of breast cancer (adjusted odds ratio, 0.48; 95% confidence interval, 0.29-0.77) compared with nontea drinkers after adjustment for relevant demographic, menstrual, reproductive, and dietary factors. This risk reduction was observed in relation to both green tea and black tea intake. In contrast, risk of breast cancer did not differ between tea drinkers and nontea drinkers among those who were homozygous for the high activity COMT allele (adjusted odds ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.66-1.60). In conclusion, tea catechins appeared to reduce breast cancer risk in this study of Asian-American women. Reduction in risk was strongest among persons who had the low activity COMT alleles, suggesting these individuals were less efficient in eliminating tea catechins and may derive the most benefit from these compounds.
Maturitas. 2002 Apr 15;41 Suppl 1:S55-64. Links
Genetic modeling of estrogen metabolism as a risk factor of hormone-dependent disorders.Huber JC, Schneeberger C, Tempfer CB.
Department of Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility Treatment, University of Vienna School of Medicine, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, A-1090, Vienna, Austria.
Estradiol is a pleiotropic hormone, involved in the etiology of a wide variety of diseases. Over the last decade individual genetic variability of the estradiol metabolism has been described as a significant contributor to disease susceptibility with variations depending on ethnic background. Among others, genetic variations of genes encoding cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes play an important role in this regard. Mutant alleles of the CYP 1A1 gene are major modulators of lung cancer risk among smokers, mediate gender differences in lung cancer susceptibility, and have been associated with an elevated risk for breast, prostate, colorectal, and oral squamous cell cancer. Variants of the CYP 1B1 gene modulate the risk for prostate, ovarian, lung, and breast cancer. Also, mutations in the CYP 1B1 gene are the major genetic determinant of congenital glaucoma. Mutant CYP 17 alleles are associated with serum and plasma levels of steroid hormones, use of hormone replacement therapy, and endometrial, prostate, and breast cancer. Available data indicate that the protective effect of a later age at menarche is limited to mutant CYP 17 allele carriers. Among women with the Polycystic Ovary (PCO) syndrome, mutant CYP 17 alleles are sufficient to aggravate the clinical presentation of the disease. Molecular variants of the CYP 19 gene are associated with an increased risk for breast cancer, advanced disease stage, and tumor aromatase production. Carriage of a mutant catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) allele is associated with breast cancer, neurologic disorders such as Parkinson's disease, and modulates behavior among patients with schizophrenia, alcoholics and the general population. In summary, the available evidence points to estrogen metabolising genes as strong hereditary determinants of the susceptibility to benign and malignant conditions.
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Wow, Kat - this is the way I've been brewing it lately. I've been using my coffee maker (glass pot of course) and the water is never at boiling point.
Now I've only been using one tea bag per pot (I usually make about 6-8 glasses worth per pot). But I never drink that much, I'll be lucky to get in two cups. I'm not crazy about the taste right now.
But going by that other article you posted about COMPT, I think I'll definitely drink it a few times through out the day at least.
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But going by that other article you posted about COMPT, I think I'll definitely drink it a few times through out the day at least.
I hear ya! That news is quite exiting!
Have you looked into Matcha green tea? It's a powdered green tea (not processed, just dried and powered). VERY strong, but it's supposed to be ultra high in antioxidants.
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I wonder if it would be available in the higher-end grocery stores. I'll have to take a look this weekend. Otherwise I could check out some healthfood shops, too.
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I wonder if it would be available in the higher-end grocery stores. I'll have to take a look this weekend. Otherwise I could check out some healthfood shops, too.
My guess is that Whole Foods will have it (or they can certainly special order it for you)
BTW, I don't know if this is true or not, but I thought I'd post it. Red emphasis mine:
Quote:
Premium Certified Organic Japanese Matcha Tea - Matcha Tea is a super fine green tea powder famous for its use in Japanese and Buddhist tea ceremonies. The advantage of drinking matcha tea is that it provides 100% of the health benefits of Japanese green tea because you consume the whole tea leaf, which provides up to 85% higher nutritional values than green tea infusions. A half teaspoon of Matcha in hot water (or other beverage, including soy milk) provides higher levels of antioxidants, including cancer fighting catechins and polyphenols, when compared to green tea infusions where boiling water is poured over tea leaves, and the tea leaves are discarded. You can add Matcha to super green food powders, shakes, soups, porridge, punches, ice creams, jellies and jams, or mix it with flour to make bread, cookies, etc.
BTW, Matcha tea is not 'tasty'.
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Hey, SoulCysters! Need to eat more veggies, but can't find recipes??
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I called one of the higher-end grocery shops, they don't carry it (or powdered green tea at all apparently). Although I have a hunch that I should check in person. This was the same place that supposedly didn't have the Red Raspberry Leaf tea that I ended up finding myself in the specialty isle.
I also visited a healthfood shop, and it was really strange. The employee looked like a customer at first, and when it appeared that I was leaving, he offered his assistance. He said they didn't carry the tea, but again as I was about to leave, somehow it came to him that they did. Only it turned out to be a different kind for about $7.00 (CDN). Then he went on about White tea and it being much better, etc. Needless to say, I left empty handed!
There are still a number of places I can check, otherwise it looks like I'll need to order on-line. I wish I knew someone in the Asian community around here, I'm sure she would be able to direct me to a reputable shop.
Thanks for all your tips!
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For years, studies have indicated that the antioxidants in green tea offer protection against diseases, including cancer, and even fight dental cavities. One of the most beneficial of these antioxidants is called epigallocatechin gallate. At the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, [scientiest] used the chemical separation technique known as micellar electrokinetic chromatography to analyze matcha and a green tea commonly available in U.S. markets. The researchers found that samples of matcha had 200 times the concentration of epigallocatechin gallate in the common U.S. tea. Although most green teas are prepared in the familiar way-by steeping leaves in water-matcha is prepared by mixing hot water with powdered leaves. This is probably why matcha contains so much epigallocatechin gallate.
Science News, Apr 12, 2003
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Today, I was in a specialty store and found green tea (including matcha) sold in single serve packets you mix into a 16oz bottle of water. There are no other ingredients except GREEN TEA - that's it. The store I was in was a high end gourmet cooking store (not a health food store.) They sell a million teas and coffees, and the sales people are very well-versed on the products. The clerk that was helping me said this brand is very high quality.
Matcha, 100% Premium Tea Powder
Matcha was first used by Zen monks more than 800 years ago to promote a calm state of alertness and focus during extended meditation sessions. Matcha became an integral part of Japanese culture and is the traditional green tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony.
All Natural & Antioxidant Rich
222mg polyphenols per serving!
To Your Health
Matcha is 100% pure green tea without the added extracts, colorants, sweeteners or flavoring agents found in most instant tea products. 1 serving of Matcha delivers the antioxidant value of more than 3 cups of common green tea. Matcha also contains L-theanine, an amino acid found only in tea that is known to counteract the “buzz” from caffeine by calming the central nervous system. L-theanine's natural anti-stress action is anti-depressant and non-sedating. Regular consumption of Matcha promotes creativity, a calm state of alertness and increased energy without the caffeine crash associated with coffee.
Brewed Tea
Regular brewed tea yields only 30% of the total nutritional elements found in tea. The remaining 70% will be thrown away in the spent leaves.
Matcha
Matcha imparts 100% of the nutritional elements that tea offers because the entire tea leaf can be consumed. One serving of Matcha can be prepared in seconds with hot or cold water.
Also regular green teas (a LOT cheaper than the matcha, but fewer polyphenols)...
If it were me, I'd prepare it HOT. I seem to recall reading somewhere that the hot water helps to release some of the antioxidants....don't know if it's true or not.
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I received a sample in the mail a while back of an iced-green tea mix that you add to a 500 ml bottle.
I was talking to my dad this evening and he thinks he knows a place that carries powdered green tea. It's a small store that sells items in bulk, for business only. He has an account there, so I'll have him check for me sometime this week.
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Green Tea? 
