Fluoride Content in Black Tea, White Tea, Green Tea, and Oolong Tea

Fluoridated water is already overexposing many of us, so avoiding teas that contain high levels of fluoride in addition is a very good choice. 

Many studies recommend consuming a large quantity of tea daily to see health benefits. However, the quality of the tea may be the most important factor to consider since higher quality, loose leaf tea corresponds to minimizing toxins such as fluoride. Green, black, white and oolong teas naturally have differing levels of fluoride in the leaves.

Fluoride in Tea

As the controversy swells regarding fluoride in drinking water, it's important to look at our diet to minimize other sources of fluoride.
For some tea leaves, the fluoride content is high. The type of tea and quality of tea, however, determine the level of fluoride present. Making a healthier choice in tea will both minimize fluoride intake and maximize overall health benefits.
There are varying levels of fluoride in some popular teas: black tea, white tea, green tea and oolong tea. First you will want to understand the potential dangers of fluoride.

Less Fluoride in Young Tea Leaves

The Camellia sinensis plant is what produces the tea leaves for white, green, black and oolong teas. When this tea plant grows, the roots absorb fluoride from the soil and deposit the majority of it in the leaves.
The tea plant in particular is much more efficient at this process than other plants.
Since older, more mature leaves have had more time for this deposition, they contain up to 20 times more fluoride than younger tea leaves.

Anit-Oxidant EGCG Level in Tea Leaves

The powerful anti-oxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) present in tea is responsible for health benefits such as lowering LDL and has anti-cancer properties.
The level of EGCG decreases in more mature tea leaves, giving us further reason to prefer younger tea leaves.

Fluoride Content in Different Types of Tea

Type of Tea	Age of Tea Leaves	Fluoride Content	Notes
Green tea	mature	high	not allowed to oxidize, preserves flavonoids, catechins and polyphenols associated with health benefits
Black tea	mature	high	leaves oxidize after harvest to create unique flavors
Oolong tea	mature	medium/high	oxidation time between green and black tea to create smooth flavors
White tea	buds and young leaves	low	3x more antioxidants than green or black tea
Herbal tea	herbal tea is not made from a true tea plant	none	made from flowers, roots, herbs, etc.

See Linus Pauling Institute website for more detailed fluoride content of teas.

Quality of Tea and Fluoride Content

Younger tea leaves are used in higher quality teas and contain lower fluoride levels.
See the list from highest quality to lowest quality.
1. Loose leaf tea ~ Best Quality
2. Tea dust (tea bags)
3. Bottled tea (fluoride in water plus flouride in tea)
4. Brick tea (oldest leaves formed into brick shape) ~ Lowest Quality

Fluoride Content in Chinese Green Tea vs Japanese Green Tea

Soil in Japan is naturally lower in fluoride compared to China, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, Japanese green tea will naturally have lower fluoride levels than Chinese green tea.
WHO lists several areas of the world where high naturally occurring fluoride concentrations affect tea crops and drinking water: India, Sri Lanka, parts of Africa and the Middle East (more information).

So... What is the Healthiest Type of Tea?

We should be limiting our total exposure to fluoride from tea, based on the potential dangers associated with fluoride exposure and the high levels present in many types of tea. At the same time, incorporating benefits from different types of teas provides a wide variety of benefits.

• White tea is a true tea that contains high antioxidant power and has low fluoride levels, especially in loose-leaf form.
• Green tea health benefits are well-studied. To incorporate benefits of green tea in the diet, finding a loose leaf option from Japan or a loose leaf option with younger leaves will limit fluoride while providing benefit.
• Loose-leaf black tea and oolong tea from areas with lower environmental fluoride are best if you prefer black or oolong tea.
• The fluoride-free options are herbal teas, but then the health benefits from true tea are not felt.

 Source; http://melisann.hubpages.com/

Leukemia and Lymphoma linked to Aspartame in new landmark study on humans

As few as one diet soda daily may increase the risk for leukemia in men and women, and for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in men, according to new results from the longest-ever running study on aspartame as a carcinogen in humans. Importantly, this is the most comprehensive, long-term study ever completed on this topic, so it holds more weight than other past studies which appeared to show no risk. And disturbingly, it may also open the door for further similar findings on other cancers in future studies.

The most thorough study yet on aspartame - Over two million person-years

For this study, researchers prospectively analyzed data from the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study for a 22-year period. A total of 77,218 women and 47,810 men were included in the analysis, for a total of 2,278,396 person-years of data. Apart from sheer size, what makes this study superior to other past studies is the thoroughness with which aspartame intake was assessed. Every two years, participants were given a detailed dietary questionnaire, and their diets were reassessed every four years. Previous studies which found no link to cancer only ever assessed participants' aspartame intake at one point in time, which could be a major weakness affecting their accuracy.

One diet soda a day increases leukemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphomas

The combined results of this new study showed that just one 12-fl oz. can (355 ml) of diet soda daily leads to:

- 42 percent higher leukemia risk in men and women (pooled analysis)
- 102 percent higher multiple myeloma risk (in men only)
- 31 percent higher non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk (in men only)

These results were based on multi-variable relative risk models, all in comparison to participants who drank no diet soda. It is unknown why only men drinking higher amounts of diet soda showed increased risk for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Note that diet soda is the largest dietary source of aspartame (by far) in the U.S. Every year, Americans consume about 5,250 tons of aspartame in total, of which about 86 percent (4,500 tons) is found in diet sodas.

Confirmation of previous high quality research on animals

This new study shows the importance of the quality of research. Most of the past studies showing no link between aspartame and cancer have been criticized for being too short in duration and too inaccurate in assessing long-term aspartame intake. This new study solves both of those issues. The fact that it also shows a positive link to cancer should come as no surprise, because a previous best-in-class research study done on animals (900 rats over their entire natural lifetimes) showed strikingly similar results back in 2006: aspartame significantly increased the risk for lymphomas and leukemia in both males and females. More worrying is the follow on mega-study, which started aspartame exposure of the rats at the fetal stage. Increased lymphoma and leukemia risks were confirmed, and this time the female rats also showed significantly increased breast (mammary) cancer rates. This raises a critical question: will future, high-quality studies uncover links to the other cancers in which aspartame has been implicated (brain, breast, prostate, etc.)?

There is now more reason than ever to completely avoid aspartame in our daily diet. For those who are tempted to go back to sugary sodas as a "healthy" alternative, this study had a surprise finding: men consuming one or more sugar-sweetened sodas daily saw a 66 percent increase in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (even worse than for diet soda). Perhaps the healthiest soda is no soda at all.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23097267
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16507461
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17805418

About the author:
Ethan Evers is author of the award-winning medical thriller "The Eden Prescription," in which cutting-edge researchers perfect an effective, all-natural treatment for cancer, only to be hunted down by pharmaceutical interests which will stop at nothing to protect their $80 billion cancer drug cash machine. The Eden Prescription is based on the latest science and draws on real historical events stretching back to the beginning of the "War on Cancer." Ethan has a PhD in Applied Science.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037772_aspartame_leukemia_lymphoma.html#ixzz2B5kZJRSU

Eating a high-carb diet increases your chances of Alzheimer's, study finds

There are a number of reasons why a high-carb diet is not wise, but new research has added yet another reason why you cut down on the pasta: You are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.

A new study that was recently released found that older adults who load up on carbs have close to four times the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment.

Researchers also said that sugars played a role in the development of MCI, which very often serves as a precursor to Alzheimer's, according to study results published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. By comparison, eating additional proteins and some fats can offer protection from MCI, USA Today said, citing the journal.

A team of scientists from Mayo Clinic tracked 1,230 people aged 70-89 and asked if they would provide information on what kinds of foods they at the previous year.

Stopping development of MCI is key

Among the group only the 940 people who showed no appreciable signs of cognitive impairment were asked to return in 15 months for follow-up examination. By the fourth year of the study, 200 of the 940 were beginning to show small signs of cognitive impairment, including problems with memory, judgment, thinking and language.

Lead author Rosebud Roberts, a professor in the department of epidemiology at the clinic, which is located in Rochester, Minn., said not everyone who develops MCI progresses to Alzheimer's disease, which affects some 5.2 million adults around the country. Those numbers are expected to triple by 2050, as Baby Boomers continue to age.

"The research field is trying to find things that can help reduce risk factors for pre-dementia problems," Roberts said, according to USA Today. "If we can stop people from developing MCI, we hope we can stop people from developing dementia. Once you hit the dementia stage, it's irreversible."

Among the foods regarded as complex carbohydrates: rice, pasta, bread and cereals. The digestive system turns them into sugars. Fruits, vegetables and milk products are simple carbs.

"A high-carbohydrate intake could be bad for you because carbohydrates impact your glucose and insulin metabolism," says Roberts. "Sugar fuels the brain, so moderate intake is good. However, high levels of sugar may actually prevent the brain from using the sugar - similar to what we see with Type 2 diabetes."

He said high sugar levels - which are prevalent in high-carb diets - could affect blood vessels in the brain, and might also play a role in the development of beta amyloid plaques, which are proteins that are toxic to brain health and are found in the brains of people who are affected by Alzheimer's. Scientists don't yet know what causes the disease; however, they do suspect a buildup of beta amyloid is a leading cause.

Study offers some hope

Here are some of the study's primary findings:

-- People whose diets were the highest in fat (nuts and healthy oils, for instance) were 42 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment, while those who had the highest intake of protein (chicken, meat, fish) saw their risk reduced by 21 percent.

-- Many popular diets, including the Mediterranean (fish, protein from poultry and lots of plant-based foods and healthy fats) and Atkins (low-carb diet featuring plenty of meats), make pitches for multiple health benefits that are derived from lowering carb intake, which includes a reduced risk for heart disease, diabetes and improved brain health.

"This (study) is consistent with what we've seen in past published research on how a lower carbohydrate diet can help to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's," Colette Heimowitz, vice president of Nutrition and Education for Atkins Nutritionals Inc., told the paper.

While there currently is no treatment for Alzheimer's besides drugs, Roberts said the study at least offers some hope because "it shows a modifiable way we can reduce risk for the disease.

"It is important to eat a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat," he added.

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com

http://www.sfgate.com

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/037746_Alzheimers_high-carb_diet_disease.html#ixzz2AqERwiZe