Five cups of green tea a day lowers cancer risk (?)

No reference for this study is given so it is hard to evaluate but it sounds similar to a lot of Western epidemiological reports. So we have to ask what else characterizes big drinkers of green tea in Japan? Do such people tend to be richer? If so, we could be seeing here nothing more than the usual finding that poor people tend to have poor health. Since antioxidants tend to cause premature death, the explanation for the finding given below is clearly bass ackwards

Drinking five cups of green tea a day can lower the risk of developing certain blood cancers, according to a new Japanese study. Casting a doubt on the theory of all things in small doses, the research showed that high consumption of green tea helps to fight the development of cancer.

The consumption of at least five daily cups of green tea was found in a ten-year study to reduce the risk of blood cancers by 42 per cent and lymph system cancers by 48 per cent.

The health benefits of drinking anti-oxidant rich green tea have been well documented, although they are more commonly associated with lowering the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The new study, conducted by Tohoku University, analysed the age, gender, lifestyle and health of 40,000 Japanese over a ten-year period for a range of scientific research purposes.

In relation to green tea consumption, Dr Toru Naganuma concluded that drinking the beverage may have a favourable effect "for particular cancers". Dr Naganuma examined the impact of varying green tea levels on the health of the people taking part in the study in conjunction with examining their diets in the context of alcohol, soybean and fish consumption.

The results showed that the overall risk of blood cancers was reduced by 42 per cent among participants who drank five or more daily cups in comparison with those who drank one cup or less a day while the findings were 48 per cent lower in relation to lymph system cancers.

SOURCE




People 'anxious' when cut off from internet

So the anti-technology brigade will cause suffering if they get their way. They would like that, of course

People are more likely to feel "anxious" when cut off from the internet or their mobile phone than feel "liberated", according to a survey. Staying in a place with no mobile phone coverage, or suffering from the internet going down, is a cause of high stress and anxiety for an increasing number of people, the study suggested.

As many as 85 per cent of full-time mothers always have the internet turned on at home, while a third of people said they no longer felt any sense of guilt about always being "connected" either by having their mobile phone or computer turned on.

The results indicated that 36 per cent of people were anxious about keeping in touch with their family if they were disconnected, compared with 29 per cent who felt they were liberated. When it came to work 29 per cent cent said they were anxious when cut off, compared with 28 per cent saying they felt liberated.

The survey, undertaken for Virgin Media by the analysts Future Laboratory, identified a type of consumer who "switched on to switch off." James Brook, psychologist, said: "These people know that, the modern world waits for no one and that taking a break from technology means potentially missing out.” “At any time we might miss an important email or a phone call, an old friend may try to get in touch via Facebook or breaking news may come in. If they feel that they cannot keep up with these things because they are not connected, it will naturally have a negative impact on their emotional wellbeing and peace of mind.”

Full-time parents arents are the most likely group to be connected with just under half 49 per cent continually having the digital television switched on. They are also the most frequent users of mobile phones.

Siobhan Freegard, co-founder of online parenting network Netmums, said: “Particularly for new mums, you are confined to the house for quite long periods, and it really is a link to the outside world."

SOURCE