Author
|
Topic: You Tea-Drinkers, You
|
proxieme Knowflake Posts: 4274 From: Southern 'Bama Registered: Aug 2002
|
posted January 09, 2005 11:58 PM
Chamomile Tea May Have Medicinal Value Scientists find ingredient in brew might ease colds, crampsBy Kathleen Doheny HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDayNews) -- Chamomile tea, long touted as a cure-all for the sick or the stressed, may relieve a wide range of health problems, including colds and menstrual cramps. Elaine Holmes, a chemist with the Imperial College London, and her team used German chamomile, also called manzanilla, whose flowers and leaves are brewed as a flavorful tea. Fourteen volunteers each drank five cups of the tea daily for two weeks. "There have been many studies on the effects of individual ingredients of chamomile in animal models, but there have been very few studies on the effect of chamomile on human metabolism so far," Holmes said. Daily urine samples were collected and tested before, during and after the study. A significant increase was found in urinary levels of hippurate, a breakdown product of plant-based compounds known as phenolics. Some of those have been associated with increased antibacterial activity, and this might explain why the tea seems to fight infections associated with colds, the researchers said. Drinking the tea was also linked with an increase in urinary levels of glycine, an amino acid that has been shown to relieve muscle spasms. That might be why the tea seems to ease menstrual cramps, the researchers said. Glycine also can act as a nerve relaxant, perhaps explaining the tea's sedative value, they added. Holmes' group found that the levels of both hippurate and glycine remained elevated for up to two weeks after the subjects stopped drinking the tea, so the compounds might work their magic for some time. Oxford Natural Products, a pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and technology company, funded the study. The report appears in the Jan. 26 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In other research, scientists have found that tea may have anticancer properties and may help lower cholesterol, among other health benefits. "Other types of tea may work as well," Holmes said. "We don't know as yet." The chamomile appears to be altering the gut microflora, which leads to an increase in urinary hippurate and glycine, she explained. "One of the most interesting findings was that the effect of the chamomile tea lasted at least two weeks after the volunteers had stopped drinking the tea," she noted. The findings are probably a true reflection of the science, said Hasan Mukhtar, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin who has studied green tea and its role in stemming the spread of prostate cancer. To learn more about tea, visit the Tea Association of Canada @ http://www.tea.ca/consumers_teatypes.asp?section=consumers
IP: Logged |
NeoKitty Knowflake Posts: 386 From: Heaven Registered: Dec 2004
|
posted January 10, 2005 12:59 AM
I love the stuff... I want to grow it myself, it's very versatile. IP: Logged |
pixelpixie Moderator Posts: 5889 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Aug 2003
|
posted January 10, 2005 01:45 AM
*waves emphatically to Proxieme*HOW THE HECK ARE YOU? IP: Logged |
proxieme Knowflake Posts: 4274 From: Southern 'Bama Registered: Aug 2002
|
posted January 10, 2005 08:08 PM
pixelp - I've been fine - up in VA for most of December into the early part of this month. Busy, mostly. I guess I'm feeling a bit dissappated. But focused-y. 'Tis odd. Oh, and I've been playing video games while Jase's been on over-night funeral details. X-Men Legends rawks. My husband feels similarly regarding Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. Meg's crawling like a mad monkey now and is pulling herself up - she's even "cruising" between furniture - and is currently recovering nicely from being spoiled rotten by three sets of Grandparents, two Great-Grandmas, Great-Grandad, and various well-wishers. Today at playgroup, she pushed a month-older boy who had taken her toy; she waved on her own initiative for the first time this afternoon to a passing Mom and toddler. It's 75d here today IP: Logged |
miss_apples Knowflake Posts: 374 From: white bear lake, MN, USA Registered: Oct 2004
|
posted January 11, 2005 01:26 AM
Chammomile is extremily easy to grow. I grew some last summer and it literally spread everywhere! Its wonderful stuff and it is very pretty too. They look like tiny little daisies!IP: Logged |
Yin Knowflake Posts: 845 From: Registered: May 2004
|
posted January 11, 2005 10:07 AM
Proxie, please make sure you become a writer! So, Meg is almost walking How cool!!! IP: Logged |
zoso Knowflake Posts: 99 From: Nevada Registered: Sep 2004
|
posted January 11, 2005 11:08 PM
Does the Oxford Natural Products company happen to make chamomile tea, perchance?I love it, although teas with hibiscus flowers make me VERY happy (mostly from the dyed red color). IP: Logged |
Everlong Knowflake Posts: 554 From: Southeast Florida Registered: Nov 2003
|
posted January 13, 2005 05:29 AM
When I was little I would vomit about twice or three times a year, and it was a big deal, because I would get pretty hysterical. I HATE vomitting, but then, most people do. My granny would give make me take some manzinilla though, and it usually did help my stomach calm down for a couple of hours.IP: Logged |
The_Toothfaerie Knowflake Posts: 37 From: Anacortes, Washington, USA Registered: Jan 2005
|
posted January 16, 2005 10:51 AM
wow thats great, maybe thats why i never get colds, or cramps for that matter, i drink at least one cup of the stuff a day, chammomile grows like a weed here, its all over the place------------------ Buying dope, so an 80 year old can eat, is a crime id be honored to commit. -unknown journalist for the Seattle PI (it was an artical about an 80 year old woman who couldnt stomach food or take her pills unles she smoked a joint first...) IP: Logged |
Kat Knowflake Posts: 272 From: Cleveland, Ohio Registered: Jan 2003
|
posted January 16, 2005 03:36 PM
I stay clear of chamomile tea! Long ago I had a stomach ache and a neighbor gave me chamomile tea. I doubled over dry heaving. About a year later I thought back on the incident and wondered if I drank chamomile tea again if I would have the same effects. Yep! I felt like pewking. Here I found out that chamomile is a form of ragweed and I'm allergic to ragweed!!!!!IP: Logged | |