Wednesday 19 January 2011

Consuming Matcha Green Tea if you are Pregnant

Becoming with child can require sacrificing a lot of stuff which you may typically eat and drink.

Some guidance actually goes as far as to assert currently pregnant ladies must avoid eating hot-dogs! (Studies show that this can increase your children's risk of developing tumors).

However, given that matcha green tea is without a doubt commonly seen as a particularly nutritious beverage, are there any specific precautions that need to be applied when consuming matcha while expecting a baby?

Well, health care specialists suggest that pregnant women ought to cut-down their caffeine consumption - some say to approximately 200mg per day.

And, even though the particular caffeine in matcha green tea is actually different to that observed in coffee (matcha has a slow-release form of caffeine), it is nevertheless sensible to limit your matcha consumption, and all other sources of caffeine, while expecting a baby.

However exactly how severely should you reduce matcha intake whilst pregnant?

Well, a one gram serving size of matcha supplies 34mg of caffeine - considerably less than an average cup of coffee - so consumption doesn't necessarily need to be limited too significantly.

To be on the safer side, and in order to consider for many other food/drink incorporating caffeine, we would likely advise restricting your matcha green tea consumption while expecting to a couple of mugs per day.

Precisely what are generally the dangers associated with consuming too much caffeine whilst pregnant?

Scientific tests have shown that ingesting excessive levels of caffeine while expecting may increase the likelihood of your baby acquiring diabetic issues.

But 'mother's to be' drinking matcha green tea don't have to stress too much, as you would have to ingest about half a dozen mugs a day to exceed the recommended caffeine limit (assuming you do not obtain caffeine via any other food/drink you ingest).

Therefore, to answer the query, is it harmless to ingest matcha green tea whilst pregnant?

Indeed, it is. Nevertheless limit the volume you drink each day.

Other things you really should steer clear of throughout having a baby:

Alcohol, tobacco use, and taking banned substances - For obvious reasons

Selected over-the-counter as well as prescribed drugs - As soon as you discover you are actually expecting a baby, talk about your ongoing medications etc with your health practitioner

Reptiles - These could transmit the salmonella virus to your unborn child

Wearing shorts or maybe a skirt in the country side - This can attract tick bites, which may have lyme disease which may be lethal to unborn children

Vitamin A health supplements - Can lead to birth defects if ingesting more than the RDA

Seafood - This features a substantial level of methylmercury which has been found to influence the neurological development of unborn children

For more information, visit Matcha Green Tea or click here.

Sunday 2 January 2011

Five top types of green tea for health and wellness

There's lots of blends and varieties of green teas in the marketplace, however which one is best for your overall health?

Here we count down the 5 most powerful.

But before I begin, I must point out that the antioxidant/nutrient level of any tea is usually dependent on the cultivating environments and the point in time at which the tea is actually plucked.

And whilst these factors are usually the ones that ultimately determine the ‘type’ of tea it is labelled as, there still remains some amount of difference in nutrient/antioxidant values in the various categories of teas - dependant upon the quality of the tea .

5. Longjing

Longjing is actually a massively popular Chinese green tea, and the variety of leaf you will often find in supermarket and lots of mainstream blends of green tea.

Filled with vitamin C, amino acids, and a powerful amount of catechins, this variety of green tea can also have even further incarnations - which means the level of above mentioned vitamins and nutrients might actually change from type-to-type of LongJing.

Bai Longjing (albeit technically not a real LongJing tea), is considered to be the one LongJing to contain the most amino acid content.

4. Kukicha

Kukicha green tea is basically a by-product of sencha or gyokuro tea (see no. 2) - composed of stems, stalks and also twigs.

It is because of its basic, unrefined formula that it has become a popular staple of the ‘macrobiotic diet’ which precisely avoids the intake of refined or refined food products.

3. Schincha

Schincha is actually a Japanese green tea that basically translates to ‘new tea’ i.e. the very first, young brand-new leaves from the plant which grow at the begining of Springtime.

Because these leaves are harvested so early on, they comprise concentrated nutrients that the tea plant has held onto over the winter months.

Although it has a high vitamin and amino acid content, catechin content is fairly minimal (which has long been found to possess cancer-fighting qualities). Thus, over to our number 2 rated green tea for health properties.

2. Gyokuro

Gyokuro is shade-grown for approximately the last twenty days of production - letting the plants to fill with a strong content level of amino acids and nutritional vitamins.

Alongside the health benefits, Gyokuro moreover features a distinct scent and fairly sweet flavour shared by our top rated positioning green tea.

1. Matcha

Matcha is cultivated in a really similar manner to Gyokuro. The major variation comes about through the processing of the tea.

Matcha is actually ground up on traditional stone-mills when Gyokuro is left to look like a standard green tea (dried up foliage). Which means that, with matcha, you actually ingest the tea leaves themselves.

Also , since the growth method enables these leaves to fill with a concentration of amino acids and vitamins, you will get the immediate advantage of this with a level of strength equalled by no other green tea.

And so, that's it, our top 5 green teas based on their health attributes.

For more information, visit Health Benefits of Green Tea.

Tuesday 28 December 2010

Why is matcha green tea good for your health?

Matcha green tea has become very popular of late due to its health benefits and flavour.

With 137x the antioxidants of standard green tea, health fanatics, celebrities, and athletes alike are using matcha as a detoxifying beverage.

What's more, it also delivers a sustainable energy release over 6 hours, helps to lower cholesterol, focusses the mind, and even boosts metabolic rate - allowing you to burn fat faster and easier.

In this sense, matcha green tea is seen as a weight-loss tea, or 'diet' tea, by a lot of celebrities.

Studies have shown that matcha can actually increase one's metabolism by a massive 30-40%!

However, the most dominant and noticeable benefit that matcha offers is a sense of calm and mental clarity. In fact, Buddhist Monks have used matcha green tea for centuries to help them endure 12-hour meditation sessions.

To try matcha for yourself, visit the Matcha Green Tea specialists.