Green Tea: Nature's Insulin?

Green Tea: Nature's Insulin?

Is it possible that simply switching your breakfast beverage from coffee to green tea can have a drastic impact on your health? Researchers say yes.

This popular beverage has been in the news repeatedly in the past few years, touting bold claims of its antioxidants, and anti-cancer, anti-aging benefits. New research is pointing to another benefit; the moderation of blood sugar levels. 

A specific ingredient in the tea, epigallocatechin (EGCG), has been linked to reducing blood sugar spikes in mice. "The spike in blood glucose level is about 50 percent lower than the increase in the blood glucose level of mice that were not fed EGCG," said Joshua Lambert, a Penn State food scientist.

The science behind these results makes sense. A specific enzyme that helps the body turn starch into sugar, alpha-amylase, is inhibited by the compound EGCG by up to 34 percent. 

When starch is broken down in the body, it results in molecules of maltose and glucose. Glucose is absorbed directly into the blood steam as blood sugar, while maltose will be taken to the liver to be further broken down into glucose. EGCG's hindrance on this process maybe the direct cause of decrease blood sugar spikes.

"If what you are eating with your tea has starch in it then you might see that beneficial effect," Lambert said. "So, for example, if you have green tea with your bagel for breakfast, it may reduce the spike in blood glucose levels that you would normally get from that food." The research also noted that this benefit of the EGCG was not noted when it was consumed with glucose alone, as glucose does not have to go through the process that the EGCG inhibits. 

"That may mean that if you add sugar into your green tea, that might negate the effect that the green tea will have on limiting the rise in blood glucose level." Lambert also noted that the greatest benefit was seen when consuming the EGCG and the starchy food simultaneously.

The amount of EGCG that was given to the mice was a relatively low dose, the equivalent of about one and a half cups of green tea. "The relatively low effective dose of EGCG makes a compelling case for studies in human subjects," the researchers said.

Coffee, the traditional morning beverage in the U.S., also touts numerous health benefits. However, if you wouldn't mind sacrificing one of your morning pick-me-ups with a green tea while you fuel up with your cereal or toast, switching to a cup of green tea might be worth a shot.

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What Is Anemia And How Is It Treated?

What Is Anemia And How Is It Treated?

Anemia is perhaps one of the most common blood disorders known today. It is characterized by symptoms like chronic fatigue and is generally caused by a lack of red blood cells being produced. 

There are more than 400 different kinds of anemia in the world today, each one caused by one of three common reasons. The treatment of this condition will depend on what is causing it, so anyone who finds themselves suffering from chronic fatigue is advised to see their doctor as soon as possible for a complete checkup. Only through blood tests and various monitoring tests will the anemia be detected.

Types Of Anemia

In addition to the most common form of anemia, there are more than 400 different types of anemia known to medicine today. To help keep it all straight, let's just say that the different types can easily be categorized into three separate categories depending upon their diagnoses.

• Caused by blood loss: This could be because of hemorrhoids, menstruation, cancer or long-term internal bleeding.

• Caused by decreased red blood cell production (most common): This could be brought on by deficiency in iron or vitamins or problems with the stem cells or bone marrow.

• Caused by the destruction of red blood cells: This is usually brought on by blood disorders, thalassemia, distended spleen, advanced kidney or liver disease or anything that stresses the immune system such as certain drugs, insect or snake venom and severe food allergies.

Treatment

The exact treatment of your particular type of anemia will depend upon what other symptoms you might have, what might be the cause of the red blood cell depletion and whether there are significant missing vitamins or minerals such as iron or potassium that need to be a part of the treatment.

The total length of time that would be needed to undergo this type of therapy will also be dependent upon your exact condition. 

Your doctor will be able to tell you how long you will need to be on whatever medications or supplements you are prescribed and what may happen if you should go off of them. In the majority of cases, simple iron deficiency is the cause and can be made up for by adding iron supplements to your daily diet.

Extreme cases are usually rare but they do exist, so seeing your doctor is the most important part of treatment for any case of anemia today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Juanita_Swindell

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How to Untag Yourself in Someone's Photo on Facebook

How to Untag Yourself in Someone's Photo on Facebook
By Jacqui Lane, eHow Contributor

Your default Facebook privacy settings allow friends to tag you in pictures, which then appear in your Photos section and on your Timeline.

Because tagged images were uploaded by others, you can't delete them if they're unflattering. You can, however, untag yourself, a procedure which removes the photo from your profile.

You can also change your privacy settings to control how tags are handled in the future.

Instructions

Untagging Photos

1
Sign in to your Facebook account from a Web browser and navigate to your profile page.

2
Click "Photos" and scroll down to the section labeled Photos and Videos of You. This section displays all of the photos in which you're tagged.

3
Click on the photo that you want to untag to open it in the the photo viewer.

4
Mouse over the photo in the photo viewer and click the "options" button that appears. Select "Report/Remove Tag."

5
Check "I want to remove the tag" and click "Continue." The tag is removed immediately and you're presented with the option to complete a survey about why you untagged the photo; click "No" if you don't want to participate.

Controlling Future Tags

6
Click the arrow in the upper right corner of your Facebook homepage and select "Privacy Settings."

7
Click "Edit Settings" in the Timeline and Tagging section.

8
Click "Off" next to the option that asks if you want to review tags before they're posted to your Timeline. In the window that appears, click the drop-down menu and select "Enabled." When friends tag you in a status update or photo, you'll be notified and have the option to decline being tagged.

9
Select whether you want all of your friends, just a few or none to be able to see posts in which you're tagged by clicking the drop-down menu next to the fourth option.

10
Choose whether you want to review tags that friends add to your own posts by clicking on the drop-down menu and selecting the option to enable Tag Review.

11
Click "Friends" next to the last option and select "No One" from the drop-down menu to disable your profile from appearing as a suggested tag.

12
Click "Done" to save all of your changes.

Tips & Warnings

Untagging a photo doesn't remove it from your friend's profile, and people with access to her Facebook profile can still view it on her page. If it's a truly unflattering or unprofessional picture of you, send a personal email to ask if she'll consider deleting it altogether.

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