The Tip of the IceburgWritten by Daniel James Ahern
For thousands of years, tea has been considered a healthy, even medicinal drink in China. And why not? China has a long history of herbal medicines. There is a widely-used herbal medicine called kugan that cures common cold. The treatment for cancer is an herbal remedy which patient must drink five times a day for a few years, a much more comfortable process than that used in west. But, it was only recently that western methods have been used to study science of Chinese medicine. Since then, we've seen that Chinese medicines not only work, but work without unpleasant side effects of manufactured medicines. But, until funding for such research increases, we'll have to continue using those manufactured medicines as prescribed by our doctors. FDA approval costs are high, and drug industry, which does much of that funding, makes it's money from manufacture of *patented* drugs, not from growing widely available herbs. We have been blessed though, mostly by British Medical Association, with research on that most common Chinese medicine - tea. Not distinguishing here between different types of tea leaves, which all come from same plant but are processed differently, we can explore many health benefits of tea, most of which are closely related to its antioxidant content, and include benefits to metabolism, strong bones and teeth, hydration and prevention of aging diseases. One not so well known fact about tea is its flouride content. One cup of tea will provide you with 70% of your minimum recommended daily flouride intake. Fluoride is, of course, needed to support bone mineralization and protect against tooth decay. Drinking two cups of tea a day will therefore have preventative effects against osteoporosis and cavities. It is a much better source of caffeine than coffee, therefore, since coffee has opposite effect on bones. Tea also has less caffeine than coffee, less than half of fresh-brewed coffee. It's not safe to consume more than 300mg of caffeine in a day. Your average cup of fresh-brewed coffee has 115mg of caffeine, while tea has a mere 50mg. Because of its caffeine content, tea is a central nervous system stimulant, aiding in your focus and attention; a bronchodialator, helping you to breath more easily; and a diuretic, helping you to clean your system out.
| | Movement That Matters: Exercise With a Greater PurposeWritten by Gillian Hood-Gabrielson
You’ve seen commercials – “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” While this has been a topic of many jokes and late-night comedy skits, reality is falling is a very real danger for many people. Too often falls can lead to broken bones, hospitalization, and sometimes life-threatening illnesses due to being confined to a bed while recovering. A less extreme, but still real situation is when a person lacks leg strength to get out of a chair. Or someone who throws out their back just picking up a child or groceries from trunk of car. Did you know that this is not inevitable? With consistent and effective exercise, you will maintain your daily activities without injury well into your sixties, seventies, eighties, and beyond. You may have heard buzzwords “functional training” and “core training” mentioned in latest fitness magazines. While these terms sound complicated, they are really terms for most effective and exciting system of strength training being used today. Functional training strengthens your body for everyday movements it has to perform. This could be any type of movement, whether for a sport, your job, or just picking up your kids. Most injuries occur in course of our everyday lives. Strengthen your body for these activities and you will sustain less injury. Functional training also improves balance. This is essential for preventing falls. A combination of strength and balance will give you confidence to move through your day with ease! Core training works on strengthening your “core”, your abdominal and low back muscles. Just as a house needs a foundation to build upon, so does your body. Work on core first and every other exercise you add will be more effective and make you stronger. Many functional training exercises incorporate core training. There are also exercises that isolate core for maximum benefit. Core training is idea behind Pilates and is also used in yoga.
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