Have a cuppa theanine
09/19/07 09:49 AM
Well, yesterday was the big day, hope you didn't miss
it! The Fourth International Scientific Symposium on
Tea and Human Health presented its latest findings
and apparently the teaologists are all atwitter over
the discovery that a component of tea called theanine
apparently enhances alpha brain-wave activity,
leading to "a calmer, yet more alert" state of mind.
It works synergistically with caffeine and probably
explains why I, a 32 ounce per day tea drinker, am
such a lert, he calmly testified. If you want
theonine, you've got to drink tea; apparently tea
holds the patent on this stuff 'cuz you can't get it
from any other sources.
Other compounds in tea, polyphenols, flavonoids, catechins and magic fairy dust, may help prevent dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurological disorders, all of which are far more common in Americans than in Asians. Mrs Runalong notes that apparently it doesn't do anything to reverse congenital neurological disorders; but I'm not sure what she's trying to get at.
Anyway, tea also may fight cancer, heart disease, obesity and global warming. OK, they didn't say "global warming" but they do say "may" a lot though they never point out the obvious implication of the word "may" which is that it also "may not" do any of these things. So why not add global warming to the list!
Seriously, these were Real scientists (link), and the benefits of tea drinking, while not fully established in every detail, look to be manifold. But be warned: the stuff they sell in bottles in the convenience store, next to the soda pop, has so much "high-fructose corn syrup" that it will probably do you more harm than good. HFCS is proving to be one of the worst things in our diet, but I'll save that for another time. Right now, I've got to finish my cup of Yunnan.
Disclaimer: I made up the part about magic fairy dust. Sorry to disillusion you. Here's a true fact to make up for it: Canadians drink more than seven billion cups of tea per year! Per capita! OK, that's one true fact and one false fact. I can't help myself, it seems to be some kind of neurological disorder that even theanine can't cure.
Other compounds in tea, polyphenols, flavonoids, catechins and magic fairy dust, may help prevent dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurological disorders, all of which are far more common in Americans than in Asians. Mrs Runalong notes that apparently it doesn't do anything to reverse congenital neurological disorders; but I'm not sure what she's trying to get at.
Anyway, tea also may fight cancer, heart disease, obesity and global warming. OK, they didn't say "global warming" but they do say "may" a lot though they never point out the obvious implication of the word "may" which is that it also "may not" do any of these things. So why not add global warming to the list!
Seriously, these were Real scientists (link), and the benefits of tea drinking, while not fully established in every detail, look to be manifold. But be warned: the stuff they sell in bottles in the convenience store, next to the soda pop, has so much "high-fructose corn syrup" that it will probably do you more harm than good. HFCS is proving to be one of the worst things in our diet, but I'll save that for another time. Right now, I've got to finish my cup of Yunnan.
Disclaimer: I made up the part about magic fairy dust. Sorry to disillusion you. Here's a true fact to make up for it: Canadians drink more than seven billion cups of tea per year! Per capita! OK, that's one true fact and one false fact. I can't help myself, it seems to be some kind of neurological disorder that even theanine can't cure.
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