Drinking black and green tea regularly can help protect you against Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease.
Drinking tea is a traditional custom in China and other Asian countries. However, tea culture has gained popularity in the United States in recent years due to its multiple health benefits. Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water and can be found in almost 80 percent of all U.S. households, according to the Tea Association of America. The age of the emerging tea-drinking class in the United States is no longer more than 50 years old; young people in their 20s have also begun to drink tea, including Lady Gaga. Many people drink tea daily and use it as a health and wellness “secret weapon.” Recently, scientists have found that habitual tea drinking can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events by 42 percent and cognitive dysfunction by 74 percent. This suggests that tea can help prevent heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Habitual Tea Consumption Can Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
In August 2022, a study published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience claimed that a higher frequency of tea consumption had a protective effect on cognitive function. The study collected data on green tea consumption and ratings of cognitive performance from 264 adults aged 50 to 70 years. Researchers found that drinking more than 1 L of green tea per day reduced the risk of cognitive impairment by 74 percent. Even drinking as little as 300 mL per day reduced the risk of cognitive impairment by 51 percent. The researchers also addressed whether green tea could alleviate Alzheimer’s disease-related pathological changes (serum pTau and total Aβ-amyloid), and improve resistance to oxidative stress, which is one of the main risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease. Their findings seem to suggest that drinking tea may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in middle-aged and older populations.
What is the science behind green tea’s reduction of Alzheimer’s disease? The answer is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a key substance for improving cognitive function, which is found in green tea extract, according to a recent study. Many studies have demonstrated the important role of EGCG in neuroprotection. In addition, it may be associated with rescuing nerve cells, promoting nerve growth, and promoting nerve cell survival.
Tea Consumption Can Also Prevent Heart Disease
Tea has long been known as a healthy beverage, and many studies have revealed its potential benefits for the heart. Researchers have evaluated the relationship between tea consumption and the risk of ischemic heart disease. A study of a total of 199,293 men and 288,082 women showed that tea consumption was negatively associated with the risk of ischemic heart disease and major coronary events. In the past year, those who drank more than 100 mL of tea per day showed an 8 percent reduction in the risk of ischemic heart disease and a 10 percent reduction in the risk of major coronary arteries. In addition, more tea consumption was associated with a decreased risk of heart disease, cerebral infarction, and overall mortality. In November 2022, black tea’s ability to reduce the risk of heart disease was also confirmed. This study found that older adults who drank 200 mL, 400 mL, and 600 mL of black tea per day were 16 percent, 30 percent, and 42 percent less likely to develop heart disease, respectively.
Black tea is rich in flavonoids, theaflavins, catechins, and other active substances, which are effective anti-inflammatories and antioxidants, and can protect the brain from vascular damage and neurodegenerative lesions.
Tea Can Reduce Depression and Mental Distress
Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan have found that drinking several cups of green tea (≥400 mL) a day can help alleviate depression in older adults. Geriatric depression is a common psychological disorder in older adults, and chronic depression or stress is an important predisposing factor for geriatric depression. The study surveyed 1,058 older adults aged 70 years or older. Researchers comprehensively analyzed the social, economic, gender, dietary, medical history, and antidepressant medications taken by the survey participants and subsequently concluded that people over 70 who drank more than 400 mL of green tea a day had a 44 percent lower risk of developing depression.
Previously, other researchers in Japan confirmed that increasing the amount of green tea drunk can help reduce psychological distress. They found that drinking more than 500 mL of green tea per day reduced the risk of psychological distress in middle-aged and older adults by 20 percent, compared to subjects who drank <100 mL of green tea per day. The theanine in tea can calm the mind and can achieve a soothing effect on the nerves. For people who are stressed and prone to anxiety, drinking tea is a good choice because it is natural and can have a stabilizing effect on emotions.
How to Brew Black Tea to Make It Taste Better
Black tea is a fully fermented tea suitable for both young and old. It is popular among many types of people; even those who are new to tea will appreciate its mild taste. With the following tips, you can make your black tea taste better:
Use approximately 203 F (95 C) water to brew the tea. You need to prepare two tea cups—one with a lid and the other without a lid. Put the tea leaves in the cup with a lid. Then add water and cover it.
The recommended brew time for black tea is between three to five minutes. Afterward, pour the whole tea broth into another empty cup and drink it slowly.
Black tea can be brewed three to four times, but you should try to drain the tea leaves each time after you pour out the tea broth. Otherwise, it will affect the flavor of the next tea broth.
Follow these steps to improve the taste of your black or green tea.
How Should You Drink Green Tea?
Green tea is a common tea known by many people for its refreshing aroma and invigorating effects. You can make your green tea taste better by following these tips:
The brewing water temperature is best at about 185 F (85 C). Too high a temperature will lead to the destruction of vitamin C and tea polyphenols, a decrease in the fresh taste, and a darker color.
Pour boiling water into a 250-ml cup, filling 70 percent of the cup. Whether you add tea leaves first or water first will not affect your delicious cup of tea.
Open the lid of the cup for a better taste. Covering the cup affects the aroma of the green tea, making the aroma impure and affecting the taste.
Add honey or lemon. Honey or lemon slices add flavor to green tea while offsetting the bitterness. But do not add milk, as it may overpower the flavor of the tea.
Now that you know about the health benefits of tea and the science behind it, why not give it a try? You may be surprised by the benefits that tea brings to your health!
For those facing mental health issues, there are powerful remedies besides the one-size fits all drug treatments
Brain SPECT imaging of Type 6 ADHD/ADD also known as “Ring of Fire” is characterized by abnormally increased activity in multiple brain regions.
When people ask me how brain imaging can impact mental health care, I tell them about one of my favorite patients named Jarrett. As a little boy, he was hyperactive, restless, impulsive, highly vocal, and wouldn’t pay attention. His behavior was so disruptive that other kids didn’t want to play with him, and he didn’t have a single friend. Diagnosed with ADHD as a preschooler, Jarrett seemed to be on a bad path, and his parents were distraught.
Jarrett’s parents took him to five different doctors who prescribed five types of stimulant medications for ADHD. But none of them worked. In fact, they made things worse by triggering extreme mood swings and severe rages that frightened his siblings. Jarrett’s conduct got so out of control that one physician suggested antipsychotic medication. That was the last straw for his mother, who decided to bring Jarrett to see us at Amen Clinics, which I founded over 30 years ago.
In the past three decades, we have been using brain SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography) imaging—a well-researched tool that measures blood flow and activity in the brain—on tens of thousands of patients with emotional, behavioral, learning, and cognitive problems. Our database of over 225,000 brain scans relating to behavior shows us that as psychiatrists, we are not dealing with “mental” health issues but rather brain health issues that steal people’s minds. And this one idea changes everything.
When we scanned Jarrett’s brain, it clearly showed significant overactivity in a pattern we call the “Ring of Fire.” His brain was working way too hard. It’s no surprise that the stimulant medications weren’t working. Using stimulants on an overactive brain is like pouring gasoline on a fire. Our published research shows that stimulants make this brain pattern worse 80 percent of the time.
We took a very different approach to treating Jarrett. Combining nutritional supplements to calm his overactive brain with a host of brain-healthy daily lifestyle habits and parent training led to significant improvements in Jarrett’s behavior. At school, his grades went up and he started making the honor roll. The rages disappeared. And he finally started making friends. Today, Jarrett is doing well in college and training to be a firefighter because, as he says, “On somebody’s worst day, I want to make it better.” If no one had ever looked at his brain, Jarrett could have been doomed to stay on a very unhealthy path.
How Do You Know Unless You Look?
Did you know that psychiatry remains the only medical specialty that virtually never looks at the organ it treats? Cardiologists look at the heart, oncologists scan the body for cancerous tumors, and orthopedists take x-rays of bones. Psychiatrists guess. If you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or other issues, no one will look at your brain.
That’s insane!
The repercussions of “brainless psychiatry” have contributed to alarming statistics:
25 percent of Americans are taking at least one prescription mental health medication
27 percent of doctor visits result in a prescription for benzodiazepines (anxiety medication)
According to a large epidemiological study in Archives of General Psychiatry, 51 percent of the U.S. population will struggle with a mental health issue at some point in their lives.
Things have only gotten worse due to the pandemic. These statistics seem dire, but there is hope.
What Brain Imaging Reveals About Mental Health
Brain imaging is changing the way we think about mental health. There is a growing understanding in the field of psychiatry that mental health is really brain health. And experts, such as the journal Radiology, have validated the use of brain imaging in psychiatry. In 2021 the Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine endorsed brain SPECT imaging for the assessment of:
Neuropsychiatric disorders, such as ADHD, bipolar disorder, depression, OCD, and PTSD
Suspected dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontal temporal lobe dementia, vascular dementia, and mild cognitive impairment
Traumatic brain injury
Substance abuse
Strokes
To clarify, brain imaging is not used as a stand-alone diagnostic tool. The data must be analyzed in conjunction with other elements of a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, such as a person’s history, neuropsychological testing, and more.
Some of the ways brain SPECT imaging can be beneficial is by helping identify the root causes of psychiatric symptoms, and by prompting psychiatrists to ask better questions to get to the source of a person’s symptoms.
To put it simply, SPECT scans reveal 3 important things:
Regions of the brain that work well
Regions of the brain that are working too hard, indicating abnormally high blood flow
Regions of the brain that are not working hard enough, indicating low blood flow
In general, when the brain is working too hard or not working hard enough, it is associated with a wide range of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive health problems.
Our brain-imaging work at Amen Clinics has also shown that mental health problems are not single or simple disorders. They all have multiple types and each require targeted treatment plans. Giving everyone with ADHD, for example, the same treatment may help some people, but can make others worse. Think of how the standard ADHD treatment exacerbated Jarrett’s symptoms. Knowing which type you have can help find the most effective treatment.
You Can Change Your Brain and Change Your Life
One of the most exciting things we have learned from our brain-imaging work is that you’re not stuck with the brain you have. You can make it better. You can literally change your brain and change your life for the better.
Every day, your brain is changing. Either it is getting healthier and helping you think, feel, and act better, or it is getting unhealthier and making you feel sad, mad, anxious, forgetful, or stressed. In large part, it depends on your daily thoughts, decisions, diet, supplements, and habits.
11 Risk Factors That Harm The Brain
Based on our brain imaging work and more than 30 years of clinical practice, we have identified the 11 major risk factors that harm the brain and steal your mind. We developed the mnemonic BRIGHT MINDS to help you remember them.
B is for blood flow. Blood flow delivers oxygen and other nutrients to your body and brain and carries away waste products. Low blood flow seen on brain SPECT imaging is associated with many psychiatric symptoms and is the #1 brain imaging predictor of Alzheimer’s disease.
R is for retirement and aging. When you stop learning, your brain starts dying.
I is for inflammation. Chronic inflammation is like a constant internal fire that harms your organs and can destroy your brain.
G is for genetics. Brain health issues clearly run in families, but genes are not a death sentence. They should be a wake-up call to take brain health seriously.
H is for head trauma. Mild traumatic brain injuries—even bumps or blows to the head that don’t cause you to black out—are a major cause of psychiatric symptoms, but few people know it because psychiatrists don’t look at the brain.
T is for toxins. Exposure to environmental toxins—such as alcohol or marijuana, or those found in household cleaners and personal care products—has been linked to numerous psychiatric symptoms.
M is for mental health. Having untreated ADHD, depression, or other conditions can be devastating and is associated with increased risk of divorce, job failure, and general unhappiness.
I is for infections. Infectious illnesses, such as COVID-19, Lyme disease, and streptococcus (strep throat), are a major cause of psychiatric and cognitive problems that few medical professionals recognize. A 2022 study in BMJ found that people who have had COVID—even mild cases—are 60 percent more likely to struggle with mental health problems. And one of the study’s authors said that more than 2.8 million new cases of psychiatric illness can be linked to COVID infections.
N is for neurohormone issues. When hormones are imbalanced, it can lead to a host of psychiatric symptoms. For example, research shows that hypothyroidism is associated with depression, memory loss, attention problems, and mental sluggishness.
D is for diabesity. The word “diabesity” combines diabetes and obesity, both of which decrease the size and function of your brain, according to research. One study found that obesity is also associated with greater risk of depression, bipolar disorder, addictions, and more.
S is for sleep. Your brain needs sleep to stay healthy, but 60 million Americans aren’t getting adequate shut-eye. Research shows that over time, sleep problems can lead to a higher risk of depression, ADHD, panic attacks, brain fog, memory problems, and dementia.
11 Daily Habits That Boost Brain Power
The exciting news is that you can boost your brain health and mental well-being by adopting the following daily habits.
Boost blood flow. Engaging in regular exercise (anything you love that gets your heart pumping) and practicing meditation or prayer have been shown to improve blood flow.
Engage in new learning. To keep your brain active, learn something new. Take piano lessons, play a new sport, or learn a foreign language. And don’t retire! A 2021 study found that holding off on retirement decreases the rate of cognitive decline.
Reduce inflammation. Avoid pro-inflammatory foods (such as sugar, refined carbohydrates, trans fats, artificial sweeteners, and gluten). Instead, consume prebiotics (apples, beans, cabbage, psyllium, artichokes, onions, leeks, asparagus, and root veggies) and probiotics (fermented foods like kefir, kombucha, and unsweetened yogurt, or supplements).
Know your family history. Find out if any of your relatives have had any emotional, behavioral, or cognitive problems. You may also want to consider genetic testing.
Protect your head. Wear a helmet while biking or skiing, hold the handrail when you walk downstairs, and don’t text while you’re walking or driving. If you’ve had a head injury, consider hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), which uses pure oxygen to accelerate the healing process. A brain SPECT imaging study in Plos One involving 56 people with mild traumatic brain injuries found that treatment with HBOT resulted in improved brain activity levels as well as significant improvements in cognitive function and quality of life.
Limit exposure to toxins. To avoid toxins, quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption. Use an app like Think Dirty to check if your personal care products or household cleaners contain toxins and eliminate those items from your home.
Seek treatment for mental health issues. Seeking treatment is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of strength. Look for a professional who understands that brain health is the key to mental health and uses the least toxic, most effective treatments.
For example, neurofeedback is a non-invasive, interactive treatment that allows you to strengthen and retrain your brain to enhance emotional, behavioral, and cognitive health. A 2016 review of scientific studies on neurofeedback shows its benefits include better memory, improved focus, decreased anxiety, enhanced mood, less anger, reduced stress, and more.
If you’re struggling with the effects of past emotional trauma, a psychotherapeutic technique called EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) can have a powerful effect. A 2014 review of 24 randomized controlled trials found that EMDR can be beneficial in the treatment of emotional trauma and adverse life experiences. What makes this therapy even more appealing is that some evidence shows it is more effective and produces results more rapidly than traditional psychotherapy.
Shore up your immune system and treat infections. Boost your vitamin D level and lower your stress. One of my favorite evidence-based immunity-boosting stress-management techniques is laughter. Watch a comedy on TV.
If you’re struggling with fatigue, brain fog, and other issues related to long COVID, you may want to consider HBOT, which was described earlier. A 2021 study on 10 people with long COVID found that 10 sessions of HBOT produced improvements in fatigue, cognition, attention, executive function, information processing, and verbal function. Other clinical trials are underway to assess the benefits of HBOT for long COVID.
Support your hormones. To promote healthy hormones, avoid smoking, chronic stress, processed food, caffeine, and alcohol.
Eat a brain-healthy diet. Eat organic colorful fruits and vegetables (especially berries and leafy greens), sustainably raised fish and meat, low-glycemic foods, high-fiber foods, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats (avocados, coconut oil, olive oil). As I like to tell my patients, only love foods that love you back!
In addition, it’s critical to take nutritional supplements to support optimal brain health. I recommend that everyone take a multivitamin, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics for gut health, and vitamin D (if your levels are low). Other supplements with scientific evidence include GABA to help calm anxious brains; saffron to boost moods; rhodiola, ashwagandha, and green tea extract to support focus and energy; and phosphatidylserine to support memory.
Make sleep a priority. Adopt a good sleep hygiene program—such as keeping your bedroom dark, cool, and quiet, and try hypnosis to promote more restful sleep.
When you learn to love and care for your brain every day, it helps you boost your mood, memory, focus, mental clarity, and sense of calm. Are you ready to make brain and mental health a daily practice?
Long COVID, or post-COVID conditions, are evolving terms, and as time passes, we’re learning more about the aftereffects of COVID-19 infection. One of the most common symptoms that have been observed is chest pain, which affects up to 22 percent of patients two months after acute infection.
“It’s very common with patients that experienced significant cough during their COVID infection, but can also be a sign of something more troubling,” Dr. Thomas Gut, medical director of the Post-COVID Recovery Center at Staten Island University Hospital, part of Northwell Health in New York, told The Epoch Times.
While this can be frightening for COVID survivors, it doesn’t always mean you’re experiencing a life-threatening condition.
Post-COVID Chest Pain Cause 1: Heart Disease and Blood Clotting
“COVID has been associated with heart disease and also abnormal blood clots,” observed Gut.
A large study found COVID-19 was linked to a severely increased risk of blood clot-related issues immediately after diagnosis compared to people never infected. This includes heart attack and stroke. Researchers also found that this risk remained higher for up to 49 weeks, although dropped sharply by the second week.
The study shows that if someone had COVID-19, “then they should be talking with their physicians about managing their cardiovascular risk, which is likely to be increased for some level of time,” study senior author Jonathan Sterne, a professor of medical statistics and epidemiology at England’s University of Bristol, said in a statement.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that COVID-19 survivors have twice the risk of developing pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs) or respiratory conditions.
Chest pain after COVID-19 could also be related to pericarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart), and coronary artery disease (low blood flow to the heart), according to Dr. Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, division chief of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann.
Pericarditis is often mild and goes away on its own. However, if not treated, some cases can become chronic and seriously affect your heart. While it can take weeks or months to recover, full recovery is most likely with rest and ongoing care, which can also reduce the risk of getting it again.
Post-COVID Chest Pain Cause 2: Inflammation of the Lung
COVID-19 can cause lung complications such as pneumonia and, in the most severe cases, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
Newer coronavirus variants might also cause airway disease, like bronchitis, potentially severe enough for hospitalization.
These conditions can create inflammation in the chest severe enough to cause pain.
In those with COVID pneumonia, “the chest pain can come from direct inflammation of the lung lining, called the pleura,” said Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, a board-certified internist and nationally known expert in the fields of chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, sleep, and pain. “[The pain will] tend to get worse with deep breaths.”
This kind of chest pain can resolve with time (months) and anti-inflammatory treatments such as highly absorbable forms of curcumin or ibuprofen, he added.
It Can Be Benign Muscle Pain, One Way to Check
But the chest pain “usually will be benign,” said Teitelbaum.
Those younger than the typical age for increased heart attack risk can look for specific signs that the pain isn’t life-threatening.
For people under 50 years of age, where the pain: is worse upon taking a deep breath, changing position or pushing over the area; does not trigger sweats or left arm pain; isn’t worse with exertion; isn’t associated with coughing up blood or yellow mucus; and doesn’t go away with an antacid, it’s most often just going to be benign muscle pain in your chest-wall area, said Teitelbaum.
If chest pain goes away with an antacid, especially if the pain is worse while lying down or with burping, it’s most often going to be indigestion and acid reflux.
“Do not use PPI acid blockers, as these are toxic and can worsen COVID in general,” Teitelbaum advised. “Instead, use famotidine, which helps the body heal from COVID by improving immunity, or [use] chewable antacids.”
There is a simple way to check whether it’s just pain in your chest muscles.
Push over the area of pain with your fingertips using about five pounds of pressure, which is enough to make your fingernail bed turn white.
If you can “reproduce the pain” by pressing over a bony area, like the ribs, Teitelbaum said, it is most likely a benign muscle pain. The rib cage is like a suit of armor around our internal organs, and pushing on the outside will not make the heart or lung underneath it hurt.
But after having chest pain post-COVID, the first thing you should do is see your doctor immediately to make sure it’s not anything dangerous.
“With chest pain, better safe than sorry,” Teitelbaum said. Essentially, your doctor is ruling out that you are having an acute heart attack, angina, or serious lung issue. “Heart attacks can kill if treatment is delayed.”
As long as a doctor has determined your symptoms are not worrisome, then just using a heating pad and topical comfrey or other creams like Icy Hot (topical aspirin and menthol) can be helpful, advised Teitelbaum.
The SLS rocket and Orion have undergone critical tests to ensure they’re ready for flight.
The mission, Artemis 1, is an uncrewed flight test before flying astronauts in future missions.
NASA’s first big moon rocket since the Apollo missions roared past the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, blasting off on its maiden voyage.
The mission, called Artemis I, aims to send an Orion spaceship around the moon and back. It’s the first of three flights meant to culminate in landing humans on the surface of the moon for the first time since 1972. Eventually, NASA plans to use the new rocket, called the Space Launch System (SLS), to set up a permanent base on the moon.
“This is now the Artemis generation,” Bill Nelson, NASA’s administrator, said at a press briefing on August 3. “We were in the Apollo generation, but this is a new generation, this is a new type of astronaut. And to all of us that gaze up at the moon, dreaming of the day humankind returns to the lunar surface, folks, we’re here. We are going back and that journey, our journey, begins with Artemis I.”
NASA’s ambitious 21st century lunar campaign requires powerful and advanced space hardware in the SLS mega-rocket, including its boosters and core stage, and the high-tech crew vehicle called Orion. Here’s how NASA built these powerful pieces of equipment.See More
The agency is teaming up with the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to make a rocket that could reach Mars in record time. They aim to test that rocket by 2027.
“With the help of this new technology, astronauts could journey to and from deep space faster than ever – a major capability to prepare for crewed missions to Mars,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday.
Is NASA planning to test a nuclear-powered rocket engine?Unmute
NASA’s recent successful Artemis I mission to the moon was only the first step in its plans to advance human space exploration. The agency aims to put humans on Mars, for the first time, by the late 2030s or early 2040s.
Early missions to the red planet would only last about 30 days, so making sure that travel time is minimized is crucial.
Not only would they be able to carry a heavier workload, but they would also travel quicker than their chemical counterparts, per the press release.
Transit to Mars using a nuclear-powered rocket could take four months, a lot shorter than the usual nine months for older rocket models, Reuters reported.
NASA has also funded an application to develop a concept for a new type of nuclear-thermal propulsion system. If that concept proves to work, it could reduce travel time to Mars to just 45 days, per the concept application.
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