Encouraging Health

Feel a bit scatterbrained now and then? Make yourself a big jug of sun tea.

Not for the caffeine, but for one heck of a potent compound that could fine-tune your focus. It’s theanine.

Your Brain on Theanine
When people in a study consumed theanine (an amino acid) and then performed a challenging mental task that required both looking and listening skills, their brains became quite active. Specifically, the right parietooccipital cortex lit up. That’s a part of the brain’s circuit system tied to attention span. So if you feel more alert and focused after a tea break, it’s no wonder!

Be Like the Brits
More reasons to brew a pot — or steep a jug — anytime of year:
You’ll get antioxidants aplenty. Adding this could hinder the benefits:

Researchers are not sure why milk may blunt tea’s heart-healthy effects, but milk proteins called caseins are possible culprits. Tea is bursting with health-boosting polyphenols, but proteins have been shown to counteract them. In one study, when researchers added a small amount (10 percent) of milk to black tea, it reduced the tea’s concentration of catechins — polyphenols credited with giving tea its antioxidant punch as well as fighting heart disease and boosting weight loss. The study results may help explain, in part, why tea’s heart benefits appear to be missing in the United Kingdom, where milk is usually added to the brew.

Green Tea gives great face.

Two words: skinny jeans: Cupful of Catechins

A mild boost to your weight loss efforts may be brewing in your teapot.

In a small study, Japanese researchers recently noted that adding catechin-rich green tea to the daily diet mildly boosted weight loss efforts in a group of men. Catechins — a type of antioxidant — also are purported to provide heart-health benefits. Other sources of catechins include grapes, wine, chocolate, berries, and apples.

The best way to lose weight is to control your calorie intake and increase the number of calories you burn each week through extra physical activity. A nutritionally balanced diet that doesn’t exclude food groups or discourage healthy eating patterns is your best bet. Boosting your metabolism with muscle-building exercises will make weight loss easier as well. If your weight loss efforts have stalled, consider revising your workout schedule to increase the aerobic portion of your workout. Or, focus on other goals in addition to weight, such as body fat measurements or body size measurements; sometimes improvements in these areas are not apparent on the bathroom scale.

For more health information, browse Encouraging Health.