Jun 13

By: James Whittle

Mutiple studies have been done on diabetes and green tea. We are mostly speaking of type 2 Diabetes here. Over and over again green tea has been demonstrated to be of profound value in regulating blood glucose and improving insulin resistance. As you may know matcha is powdered green tea that is superior to regular green tea in terms of nutritional content and catechins. It stands to reason that matcha would be even more beneficial than regular green tea for diabetes and blood sugar control. Certain chemicals in matcha called catechins are responsible for many of matchas health benefits. Catechins are polyphenolic antioxidant plant metabolites. They belong to the family of flavonoids.

University of Colorado researchers recently determined the amount of catechins and “epigallocatechin gallate” (EGCG) found in matcha green tea and compared it with other varieties of tea including Chinese green tea. Results indicated that the concentration of EGCG available from drinking matcha is 137 times greater than the amount of EGCG available from China Green Tips green tea, and at least three times higher than the largest literature value for other green teas. This suggests matcha could be even more beneficial than regular green tea for diabetes, high blood sugar, metabolic syndrome and obesity.

Catechins have also been shown to lower blood sugar in human subjects. Additionally, polysaccharides in green tea have been shown to lower blood sugar demonstrating the powerful benefits of green tea and matcha for diabetes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently reported that the green tea catechin “epigallocatechin gallate” (EGCG), could enhance the action of insulin. In fact, researchers have found that EGCG influences the primary way glucose is absorbed. EGCG may also help diabetics by mimicking the actions of insulin and inhibiting the liver’s production of glucose, thus lowering blood sugar.

The liver produces some glucose but the most common sugar spikes occur from the food we eat. Recent studies suggest green tea catechins may reduce the amount of glucose that passes through the intestine and into the bloodstream. This will benefits diabetics by preventing blood-sugar spikes when tea is taken with meals. Matcha is radically higher in catechins than most green tea.

Matcha green tea is one of the plants most likely responsible for the “Japanese Paradox” that explains why Japanese people remain the healthiest in the world. Many Japanese drink matcha regularly and diabetes and obesity rates are very low in Japan

Another study found that feeding green tea to rats reduced both blood glucose and insulin levels, and that catechins were very effective starch and sucrose blockers in the digestive tracts of rats. Similar results were observed in humans.

When 300 mg (about 3 cups) of green tea was given to subjects ten minutes before taking in 50 grams of starch, their glucose and insulin levels did not rise nearly as much as was expected. And this is an imporant fact, since we know that one cup of matcha green tea is equivalent to about 10 cups of regular green tea. I would suggest matcha green tea over regular green tea for diabetes, blood sugar problems or obesity. If matcha is so superior to regular green tea, it stands to reason that it would be superior in preventing the diseases green tea has been researched for:

Clinical trials reveal that the compounds in matcha green tea are beneficial for a number of reasons namely:

* Flavonoids inhibiting cancer cells
* Reduces excess skin oil (sebum) for its anti-androgenic effects
* Has shown anti-aging benefits with its high ORAC value (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity, purity test for its antioxidant effects)
* anti-inflammatory effects (arthritis, acne)
* Reduces bad cholesterols LDL and triglyceride levels

In addition to green tea’s starch-blocking effect, it may also help get rid of excess fat. Multiple studies have been done on green tea and its’ apparent beneficial effect on fat burning.

One study, reported by the UK Council on Tea, showed that people who consume green tea regularly are at a lower risk of developing Type II diabetes than those who don’t. In this study, over 17,000 participants were evaluated. The participants had no history of Type II diabetes, heart disease or cancer at the beginning of the study. The participants included both men and women, between the ages of 40 and 65.

The patients’ lifestyles were evaluated at the beginning of the study, and then again in 5 years. At the five year follow up, the study concluded that the participants who drank tea were less likely to develop Type II diabetes during the five year period. The participants who drank 3 or more cups of tea a day showed a more significant lowering of the chances of contracting diabetes. Drinking one cup of matcha is equivalent in nutritional terms to 10 cups of regular green tea.  So we can surmise that matcha (since one cup is nutritionally equivalent to 10 cups of regular green tea) would have a profound effect on blood sugar and on diabetes.

This news is extremely positive for those who are looking for ways to reduce their chances of contracting diabetes. It seems there’s an additional tool in our arsenal for protecting ourselves against diabetes. Matcha green tea can’t ensure on its own that you don’t contract diabetes, but they do seem to be a simple habit that has a significant effect.

To order the finest organic matcha green tea in the world at an affordable price just click here.

James Whittle is a healer, a practitioner of energy medicine, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine: www.blueridgeclinic.com, a sought after speaker in alternative and complementary medicine, a writer, and the founder of two companies: for the finest organic matcha green tea in the world visit: www.living-qi.com, to learn about losing weight with Chinese medicine and controlling blood sugar and sugar cravings visit: www.tcmnutra.com

©James Whittle, All Rights Reserved, 2009.

References

1.Weiss DJ, Anderton CR. 2003 Sep 5. Determination of catechins in matcha green tea by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. 1011:173-80. J Chromatogr A.

2. Benelli R, Vene R, Bisacchi D, Garbisa S, Albini A: Anti-invasive effects of green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-galleate (EGCG), a natural inhibitor of metallo and serine proteases.Biol Chem 2002, 383:101-105.

3. Weisburger JH, Chung FL: Mechanisms of chronic diseases causation by nutritional factors and tobacco products and their prevention by tea polyphenols. Food Chem Toxicol 2002, 40:1145-1154.

4. Wu LY, Juan CC, Hwang LS, Hsu YP, Ho PH, Ho LT: Green tea supplementation ameliorates insulin resistance and increases glucose transporter IV content in a fructose-fed rat model.Eur J Nutr 2004, 43:116-124.

5. (Note this study discusses a new vitamin found in green tea, matcha is green tea perfected.) Kasahara T, Kato T: A new redox-cofactor vitamin for mammals.Nature 1993, 422:832.

6. Wu L-Y, Juan C-C, Ho L-T, Hsu Y-P, Hwang L-S: Effect of green tea supplementation on insulin sensitivity in Sprague-Dawley rats. J Agric Food Chem 2004, 52:643-648.

7. Kobayashi Y, Suzuki M, Satsu H, Arai S, Hara Y, Suzuki K, Miyamaoto Y, Shimizu M: Green tea polyphenols inhibit the sodium-dependent glucose transporter of intestinal epithelial cells by a competitive mechanism. J Agric Food Chem 2000, 48:5618-5623.

8. Sabu MC, Smitha K, Kuttan R: Anti-diabetic activity of green tea polyphenols and their role in reducing oxidative stress in experimental diabetes. J Ethnopharmacol 2002, 83:109-116.

9. Keijzers GB, De Galan BE, Tack CJ, Smits P: Caffeine can decrease insulin sensitivity in humans. Diabetes Care 2002, 25:364-369.

10. Nakanishi T, Koyama R, Ikeda T, Shimizu A: Catalogue of soluble proteins in the human vitreous humor: comparison between diabetic retinopathy and macular hole. Chromatogr B Analyt Technical Biomed Life Sci 2002, 776:89-100.

11. Kaszkin M, Beck K-F, Eberhardt W, Pfeilschfter J: Unravelling green tea’s mechanisms of action: More than meets the eye.Mol Pharmacol 2004, 65:15-17.

12. Loew D, Kaszkin M: Approaching the problem of bioequivalence of herbal medicinal products.Phytother Res 2002, 16:705-711.

13. Stanley S, Wynne K, Bloom S: Gastrointestinal satiety signals III. Glucagon-like peptide 1, oxyntomodulin, peptide YY, and pancreatic polypeptide. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2004, 286:G693-G697.

14. Baetens D, Stefan Y, Ravazzola M, Malaisse-Lagae F, Coleman DL, Orci L: Alteration of islet cell populations in spontaneously diabetic rats. Diabetes 1978, 27:1-7.

15. Shiwa M, Nishimura Y, Wakatabe R, Fukawa A, Arikuni H, Ota H, Kato Y, Yamori T: Rapid discovery and identification of a tissue-specific tumor biomarker from 39 human cancer cell lines using the SELDI ProteinChip platform. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2003, 309:18-25.

Jun 3

Dear Patients and Friends,

Create your mood™ with Living Qi organic matcha green tea.

I would like to introduce you to our new matcha tea company: Living Qi. Already word of mouth is growing fast about our tea products. Please let me tell you a little bit about matcha, I am crazy about it and drink it everyday.

Why pay $3.99 for a sugar filled coffee drink when you can pay a little over $1 for a serving of matcha that has the health benefits of 10 cups of green tea. Not to mention the fact the much of the green tea in tea bags that you get from the grocery store has been grown in China and may contain pesticide or chemical residue. Our matcha is always USDA certified organic.

What is matcha and how is it made?

Matcha green tea is a unique Japanese green tea that has largely been unknown in the west until now. Matcha is a superfood and a mood altering beverage. The earliest spring tea leaves are harvested and then stone ground into a fine powder. The powder is then mixed with hot water and whisked into a frothing oxygenated beverage. The result is a green tea 10x higher in antioxidants than regular green tea.

The Japanese discovered how to create matcha more than a thousand years ago. For two to three weeks in early spring the tea plants are covered to induce shade that drives valuable nutrients into the leaf. Shade growing the tea plants also increases the amino acid L-theanine in the tea leaf. The young tender spring tea leaves also have much higher concentrations of L-theanine.

What is L-theanine?

L-theanine is a powerful amino acid found in tea leaves that causes the brain to release endorphins (the body’s natural pain killers and “feel good” chemicals.) Recent research also shows L-theanine causes the brain to go into alpha state, which the brain wave state associated with happiness, pleasure and relaxation.

What makes matcha so special and why is it different from coffee?

While coffee stimulates your body to produce adrenaline and cortisol causing jitters, stressing out your body, and inducing your body to store fat. Matcha increases endorphins (the body’s natural pain killers) puts your brain into alpha state (the state associated with relaxation and happiness) and induces your body to burn fat.

Coffee, regular green tea and yerba mate all have one thing in common: they may increase energy with caffeine, but they also cause jitters and increase adrenaline and cortisol (stress hormones that cause the body to store fat and increase inflammation.) The super high concentration of L-theanine in matcha counteracts the negative affects of caffeine (production of stress hormones) and puts the body into a stress free state.

Living Qi is the first company in the United States to exclusively provide the highest quality organic matcha green tea online.

Why did monks meditate only with matcha and not other green teas?

Matcha has been used in Japanese tea ceremonies for over 800 years, and specifically by Zen Buddhist monks who use matcha to meditate. Why do they meditate with matcha? Because matcha can relieve stress and increase mental clarity at the same time.

Here is what a recent customer said about matcha:

“I was having a very stressful day recently and had a bad headache. I whisked up some Living Qi matcha green tea and 45 minutes later I was pain free and totally relaxed. It was like I was a different person! Matcha is incredible for stress and now I realize also for headches!”

The affects of matcha can be summed up in a few different ways:

* Energized and Relaxed
* Focused and Calm
* Alert and Peaceful
* Charged and Grounded
* Zest and Zen

You might be wondering how a tea can make you feel energized and relaxed at the same time. Well, I am about to tell you the secret that can radically increase your vitality and totally change your mood…(and one reason I was glad to discover this is because the caffeine in regular green tea and coffee makes many people anxious and jittery including me).

ANTIDOTE TO THE COFFEE JITTERS…

Living Qi matcha is a stress reliever and an energy enhancer!

When I say “antidote to coffee jitters” I mean that literally. Yes, your hands will not shake and you will not feel jittery. But you will also feel the alertness you get from coffee. You can drink living Qi organic matcha green tea anytime you are anxious and you will feel calm yet energized. New research shows that matcha green tea can lower blood pressure. Living Qi matcha neutralizes the jittery affects of caffeine.

To see James on video explaining some health benefits of matcha click here.

You see, one of the most amazing things about Living Qi matcha tea is that it is packed with an amino acid called L-theanine. When L-theanine is absorbed into your bloodstream dopamine levels increase in your brain. Dopamine is a hormone that is associated with a feeling of well-being. It is a neurotransmitter that is released during pleasurable activities such as eating and sex.

Some studies also suggest that L-theanine may increase your brain’s production of serotonin and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid).

Recent research also shows that L-theanine increases alpha brain waves. Why do we want the brain to be in the frequency of alpha? Because when our brains are in alpha we feel tremendously happy, we feel relaxed and we feel alert.

In fact, recent scientific research has discovered that Living Qi organic matcha may support:

* A stress free mental state
* Healthy blood pressure
* Healthy blood sugar levels
* Healthy energy levels*

ALL MATCHA IS NOT CREATED EQUALLY! DO NOT BUY CHEAP MATCHA FROM CHINA OVER THE INTERNET!

A SUPERIOR CHOICE: LIVING QI ORGANIC MATCHA

Certainly you can find other sources of matcha out there on the internet, but my promise to you is that we are providing the highest quality organic matcha found anywhere in the world.

Many other companies that call their matcha “drinking grade” or even “ceremonial” are merely mixing food grade matcha with higher quality matcha to make more money. It is important for you to know that the nutrients that are in the soil end up in the tea leaf. That is why we only provide matcha that is certified organic and grown in highly nutritous soil.

Living Qi organic matcha is free of heavy metals, pesticides and chemical residues!

We source our matcha from small organic biodynamic farms in Japan. Our matcha regularly wins taste test awards in Japan which is a testament to our quality. Just like the french have perfected the art of wine making, the Japanese have perfected the art of making matcha. There are fine wines and fine matchas. we always carry the finest matcha varietals.

Many companies “cut” their matcha because most Americans are not sophisticated in their matcha sensibilities to know the difference.

Even worse, some companies buy cheap matcha from China. Often this low grade matcha is grown in inferior soil and therefore contains inferior nutrients.

As a health professional and as someone who has seen thousands of patients in my own clinic, I am convinced that Living Qi matcha green tea is one of the most powerful superfoods on the planet.

Recently you might have heard about some superfoods like Acai from South America, or Noni from Tahiti, or Goji from China.

And everytime a new healthy superfood comes onto the market in America, people want to know which one is the best or healthiest and what the products “ORAC” value is.

* Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) is a scalar value useful for comparing the antioxidant content of different foods or nutritional supplements.

You want a lot of anti-oxidants in your blood to prevent toxins from damaging your cells. Anti-oxidants also prevent cancer, aging, and disease.

Living Qi matcha green tea has a higher ORAC value than noni, acai and goji!

Simply put Living Qi matcha green tea has one of the highest ORAC values of any edible plant on earth.

* The ORAC value of Living Qi organic matcha is 1348 units per gram, compared to 57 units for prunes or 24 units for blueberries

You have heard that green tea is healthy right?

* Because of the high ORAC value Living Qi organic matcha green tea is (10x) healthier than regular green tea.

But don’t just take my word for it. Here is what Dr. Andrew Weil, one of the world’s most famous experts on natural medicine, has to say about matcha green tea:

“In addition to providing trace minerals and vitamins (A, B-complex, C, E, and K), matcha is rich in catechin polyphenols – compounds with high antioxidant activity. These compounds offer protection against many kinds of cancer, help prevent cardiovascular disease and slow the aging process. They also reduce harmful cholesterol in the blood, stabilize blood sugar levels, help reduce high blood pressure and enhance the resistance of the body to many toxins. The most important polyphenol in matcha is EGCG (epigallo-catechin gallate), which is the subject of many medical studies. Matcha has a significant amount of dietary fiber and practically no calories.”

Click here to order Living Qi organic matcha safely and securely over the internet, you don’t need a paypal account only a major credit card to order!

Top 19 Reasons to Drink Living Qi Matcha Green Tea:

* Matcha is the ultimate coffee substitute: you feel energized and relaxed at the same time
* Research showed people drinking green tea burned 17% more fat during exercise
* Green tea has been researched more than any herb in the world for cancer prevention
* One cup of our matcha has the same amount of anti-oxidants as 10 cups of regular green tea and is incredible for your skin
* Matcha is an antidote to the coffee or caffeine jitters: if you feel shakey, try a cup, it works!
* Living Qi matcha is always USDA and IMO certified organic and free of heavy metals and pesticides
* We don’t buy cheap matcha from China, only the highest quality from small biodynamic, organic farms in Japan
* Matcha Gives you energy and relaxes you at the same time
* Our matcha wins taste test awards in Japan
* Research on matcha shows it can help normalize blood pressure
* Matcha is a meditation aid and has been used for meditation by monks for more than a thousand years
* Our matcha is higher in anti-oxidants than goji, noni, blueberry or acai
* Unlike other matcha companies, we don’t “cut” our matcha with cheap food grade tea to make more money
* Matcha has excellent nutritional benefits, it is high in protein and flavonoids
* Green tea has been extensively researched as a blood sugar lowering herb (Diabetes is becoming an epidemic worldwide)
* New research shows green tea to be extremely beneficial for the heart (Heart disease is the #1 killer in the US)
* Matcha is higher in L-theanine than regular green tea (theanine is an amino acid that increases alpha brain waves)
* There are fine wines and fine matchas and Living Qi always supplies the finest matcha varietals
* 110% money back guarantee: if you don’t like it, we pay you!

Click here to order Living Qi organic matcha safely and securely over the internet, you don’t need a paypal account only a major credit card to order!