Study shows caffeine consumption linked to estrogen changes

Posted by admin on January 26th, 2012 | No Comments »

Asian women who consumed an average of 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day—the equivalent of roughly two cups of coffee—had elevated estrogen levels when compared to women who consumed less, according to a study of reproductive age women by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

However, white women who consumed 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day had slightly lower estrogen levels than women who consumed less. Black women who consumed 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day were found to have elevated estrogen levels, but this result was not statistically significant.

Total caffeine intake was calculated from any of the following sources: coffee, black tea, green tea, and caffeinated soda.

Findings differed slightly when the source of caffeine was considered singly. Consuming 200 milligrams or more of caffeine from coffee mirrored the findings for overall caffeine consumption, with Asians having elevated estrogen levels, whites having lower estrogen levels, and the results for blacks not statistically significant. However, consumption of more than one cup each day of caffeinated soda or green tea was associated with a higher estrogen level in Asians, whites, and blacks.

The changes in estrogen levels among the women who took part in the study did not appear to affect ovulation. Studies conducted in animals had suggested that caffeine might interfere with ovulation.

The study was published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“The results indicate that caffeine consumption among women of child-bearing age influences estrogen levels,” said Enrique Schisterman, Ph.D., of the Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and Prevention Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the NIH institute where some of the research was conducted. “Short term, these variations in estrogen levels among different groups do not appear to have any pronounced effects. We know that variations in estrogen level are associated with such disorders as endometriosis, osteoporosis, and endometrial, breast, and ovarian cancers. Because long term caffeine consumption has the potential to influence estrogen levels over a long period of time, it makes sense to take caffeine consumption into account when designing studies to understand these disorders.”

The study authors noted that 89 percent of U.S. women from 18-34 years of age consume the caffeine equivalent of 1.5 to two cups of coffee a day.

The study’s first author was Karen C. Schliep, Ph. D., M.S.P.H., from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, who conducted the study during a research appointment at NICHD. Dr. Schliep undertook the research with Dr. Schisterman and colleagues at the University of Utah, the NICHD and the State University of New York at Buffalo.

More than 250 women from 18 to 44 years old participated in the study between 2005 and 2007. On average, they consumed 90 milligrams of caffeine a day, approximately equivalent to one cup of caffeinated coffee.

Most of the participants in the study reported to the study clinic one to three times a week for two menstrual cycles. Their visits were scheduled to correspond with specific stages of the menstrual cycle. At the visits, the women reported what they had eaten in the last 24 hours and answered questions about their exercise, sleep, smoking and other aspects of their lifestyle and reproductive hormone levels were measured in blood. The study authors noted that collection of these details during multiple time points across two menstrual cycles produced more precise information about the link between caffeine and hormones than was possible in earlier studies. The researchers also noted that the study participants were more racially diverse than those who took part in previous studies.

 Source: Eurekalert

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Compounds in mate tea may induce death in colon cancer cells

Posted by admin on January 25th, 2012 | No Comments »

Eurekalert 1/23/2012

URBANA – Could preventing colon cancer be as simple as developing a taste for yerba mate tea? In a recent University of Illinois study, scientists showed that human colon cancer cells die when they are exposed to the approximate number of bioactive compounds present in one cup of this brew, which has long been consumed in South America for its medicinal properties.

“The caffeine derivatives in mate tea not only induced death in human colon cancer cells, they also reduced important markers of inflammation,” said Elvira de Mejia, a U of I associate professor of food chemistry and food toxicology.

That’s important because inflammation can trigger the steps of cancer progression, she said.

In the in vitro study, de Mejia and former graduate student Sirima Puangpraphant isolated, purified, and then treated human colon cancer cells with caffeoylquinic acid (CQA) derivatives from mate tea. As the scientists increased the CQA concentration, cancer cells died as a result of apoptosis.

“Put simply, the cancer cell self-destructs because its DNA has been damaged,” she said.

The ability to induce apoptosis, or cell death, is a promising tactic for therapeutic interventions in all types of cancer, she said.

de Mejia said they were able to identify the mechanism that led to cell death. Certain CQA derivatives dramatically decreased several markers of inflammation, including NF-kappa-B, which regulates many genes that affect the process through the production of important enzymes. Ultimately cancer cells died with the induction of two specific enzymes, caspase-3 and caspase-8, de Mejia said.

“If we can reduce the activity of NF-kappa-B, the important marker that links inflammation and cancer, we’ll be better able to control the transformation of normal cells to cancer cells,” she added.

The results of the study strongly suggest that the caffeine derivatives in mate tea have potential as anti-cancer agents and could also be helpful in other diseases associated with inflammation, she said.

But, because the colon and its microflora play a major role in the absorption and metabolism of caffeine-related compounds, the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects of mate tea may be most useful in the colon.

“We believe there’s ample evidence to support drinking mate tea for its bioactive benefits, especially if you have reason to be concerned about colon cancer. Mate tea bags are available in health food stores and are increasingly available in large supermarkets,” she added.

The scientists have already completed and will soon publish the results of a study that compares the development of colon cancer in rats that drank mate tea as their only source of water with a control group that drank only water.

This in vitro study was published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, vol. 55, pp. 1509-1522, in 2011. Co-authors include Sirima Puangpraphant, now an assistant professor at Kasetsart University in Thailand; Greg Potts, an undergraduate student of the U of I; and Mark A. Berhow and Karl Vermillion of the USDA, ARS, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois. The work was funded by the U of I Research Board and Puangpraphant’s Royal Thai Government Scholarship.

Source: Eurekalert January 23 2011

 

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Research aids understanding of how cocoa flavanols work

Posted by admin on January 25th, 2012 | No Comments »

MCLEAN, VA. (Jan. 25, 2012) — A comprehensive investigation of flavanol absorption and metabolism has provided a critical step forward in our understanding of how cocoa flavanols work in the body to exert their circulatory and cardiovascular benefits. Through the development of improved analytical methods, this recent work provides detailed insights into the extensive metabolism of flavanols, which calls into question the reliability of in vitro studies using un-metabolized materials. This collaborative research was conducted by an international team of scientists from Mars, Incorporated, the University of California, Davis (US) and the University of Reading (UK).

Increasing scientific evidence indicates that (−)-epicatechin, the main flavanol in cocoa, can have a positive impact on the circulatory and cardiovascular systems. Absorption and metabolism, however, play a key role in determining the exact effect food constituents and nutrients such as (−)-epicatechin have in the body. Following absorption, nutrients are metabolized – transforming them into new compounds that are different from those originally present in food. As metabolic transformation has a significant impact on how nutrients support healthy functions, investigating this process is critical to furthering our understanding of exactly how cocoa flavanols are linked to health benefits.

While the metabolism of flavanols has been established in previous studies, the development and validation of improved analytical methods in this research enabled a far more detailed assessment than previously possible. As a result, this study was able to clearly and reliably demonstrate the extensive metabolism of (−)-epicatechin following consumption of a flavanol-containing cocoa drink. As in vitro studies using un-metabolized cocoa flavanols do not take this metabolism into account, they are not able to accurately reflect what is happening in the body. For example, early findings looking at flavanols in a test tube suggested that they exerted their benefits through an antioxidant mechanism. However, this latest research adds to a growing body of evidence challenging this notion and indicating that – when examined in the body – flavanols’ cardiovascular benefits are in fact independent of any antioxidant properties.

Commenting on the impact of this work for future research in the field, Dr. Hagen Schroeter – study author and director of fundamental health and nutrition research at Mars, Incorporated – stated: “By significantly advancing our understanding of the absorption and metabolism of cocoa flavanols, this research helps to address existing disagreement in this area and sets a new standard in flavanol analytics that will improve the scientific tools available. Furthermore, this work again calls into question the validity of in vitro research that does not take into account the extensive metabolism of compounds like (−)-epicatechin.”

“The study provides a critical step towards a more complete understanding of flavanols and their benefits and, ultimately, towards the translation of this knowledge into innovative flavanol-rich food products and concrete health recommendations,” added Dr. Schroeter.

The research has been published in the international journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine .

Source: Eurekalert

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Study: Why coffee drinking reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes

Posted by admin on January 11th, 2012 | No Comments »

Why do heavy coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, a disease on the increase around the world that can lead to serious health problems? Scientists are offering a new solution to that long-standing mystery in a report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.

Ling Zheng, Kun Huang and colleagues explain that previous studies show that coffee drinkers are at a lower risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90-95 percent of diabetes cases in the world. Those studies show that people who drink four or more cups of coffee daily have a 50 percent lower risk of Type 2 diabetes. And every additional cup of coffee brings another decrease in risk of almost 7 percent. Scientists have implicated the misfolding of a substance called human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) in causing Type 2 diabetes, and some are seeking ways to block that process. Zheng and Huang decided to see if coffee’s beneficial effects might be due to substances that block hIAPP.

Indeed, they identified two categories of compounds in coffee that significantly inhibited hIAPP. They suggest that this effect explains why coffee drinkers show a lower risk for developing diabetes. “A beneficial effect may thus be expected for a regular coffee drinker,” the researchers conclude.

from Eurekalert January 11 2012

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Green tea flavonoid may prevent reinfection with hepatitis C virus following liver transplantation

Posted by admin on December 1st, 2011 | No Comments »

German researchers have determined that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG)—a flavonoid found in green tea—inhibits the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from entering liver cells. Study findings available in the December issue of Hepatology, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, suggest that EGCG may offer an antiviral strategy to prevent HCV reinfection following liver transplantation.

HCV infection can lead to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or primary liver cancer. HCV is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease and a primary indication for liver transplantation, affecting up to 170 million individuals worldwide according to estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO). Prior studies report that nearly 2% of the world population is infected with chronic HCV and up to 20% of the population in some countries.

While standard treatment with interferon with ribavirin and newer protease inhibitors may clear infection in some individuals, a substantial number of patients still may not respond to these therapies. For individuals receiving liver transplants due to complications from HCV, reinfection of the healthy donor liver remains a significant concern. Antiviral strategies that target HCV in its early stages are urgently needed to prevent graft reinfection and improve long-term outcomes for patients.

To address this critical issue, Dr. Sandra Ciesek and Dr. Eike Steinmann from the Hannover Medical School in Germany investigated the effect of the EGCG molecule, which is a major component of green tea, in preventing HCV from attaching to liver cells. “Green tea catechins such as EGCG and its derivatives epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechingallate (ECG), and epicatechin (EC) have been shown to exhibit antiviral and anti-oncogenic properties,” explains Dr. Ciesek. “Our study further explores the potential effect these flavonoids have in preventing HCV reinfection following liver transplantation.”

Results showed that unlike its derivatives, EGCG inhibits entry of HCV into liver cells. The authors suggest that EGCG may impede HCV cell entry by acting on the host cell as the green tea catechin was not found to alter the density of virus particles. Pretreatment of cells with EGCG before HCV inoculation did not reduce the infection; however application during inoculation inhibited the rapid spread of the HCV. Lastly, researchers showed that EGCG inhibits viral attachment—the initial step in the HCV infection process. “The green tea antioxidant EGCG inhibits HCV cell entry by blocking viral attachment and may offer a new approach to prevent HCV infection, particularly reinfection following liver transplantation.” concludes Dr. Ciesek.

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Full Citation: The Green Tea Polyphenol Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG) Inhibits Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Entry.” Sandra Ciesek, Thomas von Hahn, Che C. Colpitts, Luis M Schang,Martina Friesland, Jörg Steinmann, Michael P. Manns, Michael Ott, Heiner Wedemeyer, Philip Meuleman, Thomas Pietschmann and Eike Steinmann. Hepatology; Published Online: November 30, 2011 (DOI: 10.1002/hep.24610);
Print Issue Date: December 2011.

Source: Eurekalert

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Coffee may protect against endometrial cancer

Posted by admin on November 22nd, 2011 | No Comments »

PHILADELPHIA — Long-term coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk for endometrial cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D., professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, said coffee is emerging as a protective agent in cancers that are linked to obesity, estrogen and insulin.

“Coffee has already been shown to be protective against diabetes due to its effect on insulin,” said Giovannucci, a senior researcher on the study. “So we hypothesized that we’d see a reduction in some cancers as well.”

Giovannucci, along with Youjin Je, a doctoral candidate in his lab, and colleagues observed cumulative coffee intake in relation to endometrial cancer in 67,470 women who enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study.

During the course of 26 years of follow-up, researchers documented 672 cases of endometrial cancer.

Drinking more than four cups of coffee per day was linked with a 25 percent reduced risk for endometrial cancer. Drinking between two and three cups per day was linked with a 7 percent reduced risk.

A similar link was seen in decaffeinated coffee, where drinking more than two cups per day was linked with a 22 percent reduced risk for endometrial cancer.

Giovannucci said he hopes this study will lead to further inquiries about the effect of coffee on cancer because in this and similar studies, coffee intake is self-selected and not randomized.

“Coffee has long been linked with smoking, and if you drink coffee and smoke, the positive effects of coffee are going to be more than outweighed by the negative effects of smoking,” said Giovannucci. “However, laboratory testing has found that coffee has much more antioxidants than most vegetables and fruits.”

Source: Eurekalert November 22 2011

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Honest Tea Publishes Annual Mission Report

Posted by admin on October 27th, 2011 | No Comments »

BETHESDA, Md. – (October 26, 2011) – Honest Tea, the nation’s top-selling organic bottled tea company, today released Keeping It Honest, the second edition of Honest Tea’s annual Mission Report. Last year, Honest Tea committed to examining and reporting on the progress and challenges of advancing its mission. The new report takes dialogue with consumers to a new level of engagement through an online version available on Tumblr.

The 2011 Mission Report details the company’s progress on social and environmental initiatives related to its products, packaging, the planet, its people and partners. Achievements, such as the 1) conversion of all teas to Fair Trade Certified™ 2) first annual service day and 3) launch of Honest CocoaNova®, and challenges, such as packaging, are addressed in the report, providing consumers with a genuine, introspective look at how the company strives to scale a mission-driven business.

In addition to the digital report available at Honesttea.com/MissionReport, Honest Tea also launched an online version of Keeping It Honest on the company’s first Tumblr page, honesttea.tumblr.com. The Honest Tumblr page will be updated throughout the year as the company works to advance its mission. This innovative medium allows Honest Tea to maintain a regular dialogue with its readers and allows new readers to learn what Honest Tea is doing through posts on individual topics of interest. Honest Tea’s Facebook page will also host a new Keeping It Honest tab, during Honest’s Mission Month, where Honest fans can choose a personal mission each week, creating their own agenda for change.

Seth Goldman, president and TeaEO, commented, “Our commitment to our mission requires us to stretch our thinking and our business in new directions. Keeping It Honest is the closest thing we have to a roadmap for change. In this year’s report, we include results of a Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Analysis for two of our best-selling beverages, and identify new challenges in regard to sourcing and packaging.”

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Study Examines Caffeine Use and Risk of Stimulant Abuse

Posted by admin on October 11th, 2011 | No Comments »

Parents of young caffeine consumers take heed: that high-calorie energy drink or soda might present more than just obesity risk. In fact, according to a double-blind, placebo-controlled study that examined responses to stimulants, an individual’s subjective response to caffeine may predict how he or she will respond to other stimulant drugs, possibly reflecting differences in risk for abuse of other more serious drugs of abuse, such as amphetamine and cocaine.

The new findings are reported in the November issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence by Stacey Sigmon, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, a drug abuse researcher whose previous studies have looked at caffeine withdrawal and interactions between psychomotor stimulants and cigarette smoking.

“People differ dramatically in how they respond to drugs,” says Sigmon. “For example, a single dose of a drug can produce completely opposite effects in two people, with one absolutely loving and the other hating the drug’s effects. It is important to improve our understanding of these differences, as they may reflect key individual differences in vulnerability or resilience for drug abuse,” adds Sigmon, who, with colleagues from Johns Hopkins University, examined how individual differences in response to caffeine might predict a person’s subsequent response to d-amphetamine, a classic psychomotor stimulant with similar effects to other commonly-abused stimulants like cocaine.

Sigmon and coauthor Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, first employed a choice procedure to identify participants as caffeine “Choosers” and “Nonchoosers” for the study. Choosers were those who chose caffeine over placebo in the majority (>/= 7) of 10 choice session and Nonchoosers chose placebo over caffeine in the majority of choice sessions. There were no significant differences regarding pre-study caffeine intake or other characteristics between the two groups. During the second phase of the study, all participants received various doses of d-amphetamine and rated how much they liked or disliked each dose. The researchers found that caffeine Choosers reported significantly more positive subjective effects and fewer negative/unpleasant effects of d-amphetamine compared to Nonchoosers, particularly at the highest doses. On the other hand, caffeine Nonchoosers reporter fewer positive effects and more unpleasant effects of d-amphetamine compared to Choosers.

According to Sigmon and Griffiths, the study is the first to demonstrate that caffeine reinforcement prospectively predicts the positive subjective effects of another drug.

“While these data do not mean that every coffee lover is at risk for proceeding to cocaine abuse,” says Sigmon, “this study does show that individuals vary markedly in their subjective and behavioral response to psychomotor stimulants, and those for whom a modest caffeine dose serves as a reinforcer are the same folks who subsequently report more positive subjective effects of d-amphetamine.  Future research will be important to examine whether caffeine reinforcement predicts vulnerability to reinforcement and abuse of classic psychomotor stimulants such as amphetamine and cocaine.”

A total of 22 participants completed the study, which took place over a 10- to 14-week timeframe and was supported by funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® Now Available In Select SoCal Costco Locations

Posted by admin on October 5th, 2011 | No Comments »

Available now, Costco shoppers can stock up on packaged 2lb coffee from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®. Based in Southern California, the specialty coffee and tea retailer that originated from a single Los Angeles café and is responsible for such innovations as The Original Ice Blended®drinks, will offer its signature coffee in select Costco locations around Southern California.

French Roast, one of the most popular blends by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®, is available in a 2lb bag of whole beans.

Beginning in mid-October, Southern California Costco locations will also debut the new The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® All Natural Tea Collection in an exclusive gift package. Each gift package contains six unique varieties of premium whole leaf teas developed by David DeCandia, the company’s master tea blender. The All Natural Tea Collection features Watermelon Taiwan Green, Herbal Apricot Peppermint, Breakfast Blend, French Vanilla Chamomile, Acai White Peony, and Caramel Cream Rooibos for a total of thirty six whole leaf tea bags packed in individual sachets per box. The All Natural Tea Collection will be available this holiday season, making it a unique gift or delicious option for at home holiday entertaining.

“As we continue to grow our product offerings, Costco represents a very welcomed avenue for making our products more accessible to our loyal brand followers,” said Mel Elias, President and CEO of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®. “We are thrilled to see our products on the shelves of one of Southern California’s favorite retailers.”

ABOUT The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®
Founded in 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® is the largest and oldest privately held specialty coffee and tea retailer in the U.S. Embodying a passion for connecting loyal customers to one another with carefully handcrafted products, the company is known for sourcing and providing the finest ingredients and flavors from around the world, as well as product innovations such as The Original Ice Blended® drink. Since its inception from one café in Los Angeles, California, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® has grown to become an international icon with more than 800 company-owned and franchised cafes in 22 countries

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Bigelow Tea Announces Recipe Contest

Posted by admin on October 5th, 2011 | No Comments »

FAIRFIELD, CT, Oct 05, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — The culinary muses at Bigelow Tea know that everyone loves a good recipe (especially when Bigelow Tea is one of the key ingredients!) and are launching the Bigelow Tea Recipe Contest, offering web based cooks (21 years and over) a chance to win a year’s supply of tea — and a bonus gift! The lucky winner will receive a case of his or her favorite Bigelow Tea each month plus a personalized Bigelow Tea chest filled with tea.

You can submit your original recipe using brewed Bigelow Tea until October 30, 2011. To enter, submit your recipe on Bigelow Tea’s Facebook page or on our contest landing page. Bigelow Tea will choose the top 15 finalists and then from November 7-18, a panel of Bigelow Tea judges — culinary experts Michelle Jaffe (baker and owner of Sweet and Simple), Nicole J. Straight (award-winning chef, author and founder of Time to Eat cooking school) and Jackie Gordon (singing chef who blogs at The Diva That Ate New York) — will vote for the Grand Prize Winner along with you. That’s right, we need your vote to determine the grand prize winner!

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