TEA TALK

with Colette Lottinger

I subscribe to a Wellness Report edited by Dr. Russell Blaylock for NewsMax.com. Since he attended the LSU medical school in New Orleans, I suppose I felt more comfortable about getting his report.

He recently retired from his neurosurgical practice to devote full attention to nutritional studies and research.

The newest Wellness Report talks about the beneficial properties of drinking tea.

White tea is best and green tea is second best; then oolong tea and black tea.

Actually they all come from the same tea plant, Camellia sinesis, and the processing is the thing that gives them an order of importance.

It was written that the number of active compounds in tea and expressly the catechins may reduce stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes.

The quercetin, another compound in tea, is reportedly an anti-inflammatory which protects against cancer and protects the brain.

It was such an informative report, and went on to say that tea can help you lose weight, is a great digestive aid, and can help protect the retina from free-radical damage- the type that causes macular degeneration and glaucoma.

Of major interest is to know that using lemon in tea is not a good thing. Normally only a little of the naturally occuring aluminum in tea is absorbed because it is bound by catechins, but when lemon is added the absorption of aluminum is increased close to 700 percent!

Something called brick tea, made from black tea leaves and stems has tremendously high levels of fluoride, and it can cause fluorosis, which can destroy the skeleton, teeth, and can even damage organs, including the brain.

High levels of aluminum and fluoride in the soil are a particular problem, it is said, with tea grown in India and communist china.

So, the drink of choice according to the report should be preferably white tea or green tea.

Made strong with 2 or 3 bags per cup and steeped some 10 minutes with bags squeezed. And mint instead of lemon.

According to the report the concentration used to prevent colon cancer is equal to drinking two to three cups of strong white tea per day.

Studies have shown that women who drink green tea regularly have a lower incidence of breast cancer.

Questions? Comments? Story ideas? Email Lifestyles Editor Heather R. Breaux at heatherb@heraldguide.com.