Health Canada Approves Several Health Claims for Tea
It's Official: Tea is much more than a refreshing great tasting beverage

TORONTO, May 29 /CNW/ - Health Canada's Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD) has deemed tea to be a natural health product and has officially recognized tea for its role in maintaining good health.

After a period of extensive review, the NHPD has approved three health claims for tea. All types of tea infusions (black, green and oolong) are recognized as a source of antioxidants for the maintenance of good health. Tea is approved for increasing alertness. And tea is further accredited as helping to maintain and/or support cardiovascular health.

Green Tea extract is approved as a source of antioxidants for the maintenance of good health. It is also approved for use as an adjunct treatment in a weight management program in combination with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

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2007-09-09 18:56:22
Identity crisis for Darjeeling Tea
From Commodity Online

By Prakash Dubey
How the exotic brew from West Bengal is facing an onslaught from 'original' duplicates

Real glory of Darjeeling, queen of hill stations, stems from its 87-odd tea gardens producing the exotic stuff for connoisseurs of the brew across the world. Those who have once relished it would go for no other substitute.

“No doubt, the Darjeeling Tea has its genesis from China. But the Chinese tea seeds-bred tea plants in Darjeeling have acquired unique traits which even the Chinese have failed to bestow upon their plants despite relentless research and efforts,” says Rannen Datta, a senior consultant to various Darjeeling Tea gardens and the erstwhile secretary of Darjeeling Planters’ Association, which has now been rechristened as Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA) .

But the grandeur of Darjeeling Tea could be in peril. The consumers have been growing skeptical about the authenticity of Darjeeling Tea. Statistics indicate that less than 10 million kg of tea is being churned out by the 87 gardens in Darjeeling annually. But some 40 million kg of ‘Darjeeling Tea’ is being traded globally every year.

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A cup of tea solves everything
THE GREAT BRITISH BREW IS BACK IN FASHION THANKS TO ITS MANY HEALTH BENEFITS. AND IT CAN EVEN HELP YOU SLIM TOO

By Helen Gent 11/09/2007

Next to water, we consume more tea than any other drink in the world. And despite the popularity of Starbucks, coffee doesn't even come close.

In the UK we drink a staggering 165 million cups of tea every day. Coffee manages just 70 million cups.

Tea Council spokesman Bill Gorman says: "Over the past 30 years, tea lost ground to cold drinks like water and juices but now it's enjoying a renaissance.

"Tea used to be seen as a comfort, something you did automatically, but now we are all trying to create a better balance in our diet, tea is enjoying a revival."

And no wonder - it's low in caffeine, virtually calorie-free when drunk black and is now being recognised for its therapeutic qualities.

"It's a good source of antioxidants," adds Bill, "and studies show that if you regularly drink tea it can lower cholesterol, keep your heart healthy and inhibit the growth of certain cancers."

So put the kettle on and continue reading..

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Green tea may brew up healthier skin

Published September 5, 2007

Lansing State Journal

Green tea may hold promise as a new treatment for psoriasis and other inflammatory skin conditions, including dandruff and lupus-related skin lesions, according to a U.S. study.

edical College of Georgia researchers found that green tea slowed the growth of skin cells in rodents genetically predisposed to psoriasis.

The findings were published in the Aug. 18 issue of the journal Experimental Dermatology.

"Psoriasis, an autoimmune disease, causes the skin to become thicker, because the growth of skin cells is out of control," lead investigator Dr. Stephen Hsu, an oral biologist in the MCG School of Dentistry, explained in a statement. "In psoriasis, immune cells, which usually protect against infection, instead trigger the release of cytokines, which causes inflammation and the overproduction of skin cells."

Previous research has shown green tea helps suppress inflammation.

Hsu and his colleagues suggested green tea helps treat psoriasis and other inflammatory skin diseases by regulating the expression of Caspase-14, a protein in genes that regulates the life cycle of skin cells.

"That marker guides cells by telling them when to differentiate, die off and form a skin barrier. In people with psoriasis, that process is interrupted, and the skin cells don't die before more are created and the resulting lesions form," Hsu said.

Tea cosies hot item for picky thief
By BECK ELEVEN - The Press | Thursday, 13 September 2007 (New Zealand)

Batten down your tea cosies, Christchurch, a kitsch burglar is on the loose and your cuppa could go cold.

Six antique tea cosies, worth up to $175 each, were the only items stolen from a second-hand store in the central city, leaving the owner baffled by the picky thief. The tea cosies were collectibles because each was topped with a china doll, making the woollen cosy appear to be a flamboyant skirt. Retropolitan owner Diane Ramsay said the theft was bizarre because four other shelves full of tea cosies were untouched.

The cosies were part of a not-for-sale collection in the corner of the shop. Ramsay arrived at work on Tuesday to find a side-door, which had its hinges reinforced with metal plates after a previous break-in, had been jemmied. She remembered telling one customer recently the cosies were not worth anything, "except for those ones," pointing to the six special cosies. "Someone must have overheard me," she said. "It's not a tragedy like everything else The Press has been reporting this week, but it's just so bizarre."

Ramsay was particularly upset about three of the most recent cosies, which she had bought from an elderly woman. "They had belonged to her mother and when she sold them to me she said, `Mum would love to think they've gone to a good home'. That's what's sad. I really treasured them because of that. They looked wonderful. One was a '20s lady with a cloche hat; the other was a flamenco dancer." A sign in Ramsay's store was obviously no deterrent to the thief. It reads: "No video surveillance, no store detective, no ink tags. Just karma."