Green tea has been used for ages for optimal health. Thanks to many new studies we now know a few scientifically proven benefits of drinking green tea.

Green tea can be an excellent substitute for a morning cup of joe or for a sugary juice or beverage. It is a great energy booster, without the jitters that drinking coffee can come with.

It is also great in smoothies instead of juice for diabetics or to prevent blood-sugar spikes.

Some of the longest living cultures have drank green tea as a way to increase overall health and wellbeing.

Here are some of the proven benefits of drinking green tea:

1. Kills Cancer Cells.

In various studies, green tea has been shown to kill cancer cells, without harming normal cells. Due to it’s powerful antioxidants, it could reduce your risk of cancer including Breast cancer, Prostate cancer and Colorectal cancer. Moreover, Green tea drinkers are  significantly less likely to get various types of cancer.

2. Promotes weight loss.

Green tea is used in many weight loss supplements, and for good reason – it is shown to burn fat and boost the metabolic rate. The caffeine in green tea has also been shown to improve physical performance by mobilizing fatty acids from the fat tissues and making them available for use as energy.

3. Kills bacteria and lowers your risk for Infections.

Catechins in green tea have been shown to kill bacteria and inhibit viruses like the influenza virus, potentially lowering your risk of infections. Catechins also inhibit the growth of streptococcus mutans in the oral cavity and improves overall dental health, including bad breath.

4. Reduces type II diabetes.

Studies show that green tea can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar levels, making you less likely to get Type II Diabetes.

5. Improves cardiovascular health.

Studies show that green tea improves total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Green tea also dramatically enhances the antioxidant capability of the blood, which protects the LDL cholesterol particles from oxidation (one of the major causes of heart disease). In fact, green tea drinkers have up to a 31% lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

6. Increases longevity.

In a study of 40,530 Japanese adults, those who drank 5 or more cups of green tea per day were significantly less likely to die during an 11 year period.

7. Helps prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.  

Green Tea may Protect Your Brain in Old Age and improve brain function in the short term. Multiple studies show that these amazing catechin bioactive compounds in green tea can have various protective effects on neurons, potentially reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

8. It makes you smarter.

The caffeine in green tea has been shown to improve brain function and block Adenosine ( an inhibitory neurotransmitter). Studies on caffeine show improved mood, vigilance, reaction time and memory. Furthermore, the amino acid L-theanine is prevalent, which is used for anxiety. Dopamine (the happy hormone) and alpha waves are also increased. Caffeine and L-theanine together work synergistically to improve brain function.

9. Enhances blood flow and lowers cholesterol.

Green tea is great for heart health including blood pressure and cardiovascular health.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a way to get mega anti-oxidants in your system and increase your overall health, green tea is a great option. Some people are sensitive to the naturally occurring caffeine in green tea, so listen to your body to determine how much green tea is right for you. Opt for high-end organic green tea to protect yourself against harmful pesticides in some teas.

Here’s to a healthier you!

According to the National Institutes of Health, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the United States for people ages 15-44, affecting approximately 14.8 million American adults. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million American adults, and frequently co-occur with depressive disorders.

Burning incense has been used for millenniums as a way to appease the spirits, pleasure the senses, heighten the vibration, heal the body and sooth the soul. In a new study, biologists have found that it’s good for our brain and mood too.

An international team of scientists and researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, state that burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression.

This may be the new “psychoactive drug” that has been right under our noses the whole time.

Rachel Mechoulam, one of the research co-authors, said, “We found that incensole acetate, a Boswellia resin constituent, when tested in mice lowers anxiety and causes antidepressive-like behavior. Apparently, most present day worshipers assume that incense burning has only a symbolic meaning.”

“Perhaps Marx wasn’t too wrong when he called religion the opium of the people: morphine comes from poppies, cannabinoids from marijuana, and LSD from mushrooms; each of these has been used in one or another religious ceremony,” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal.

“Studies of how those psychoactive drugs work have helped us understand modern neurobiology. The discovery of how incensole acetate, purified from frankincense, works on specific targets in the brain should also help us understand diseases of the nervous system. This study also provides a biological explanation for millennia-old spiritual practices that have persisted across time, distance, culture, language, and religion–burning incense really does make you feel warm and tingly all over!”

Here are some common incenses and their properties:

Amber – knowledge, meditation, love

Cedarwood – strength, power,  clearing

Cinnamon – protection, passion, lust, aphrodisiac, raises energy

Copal – clearing, purification

Clove – wealth, healing, divination, clairvoyance

Frankincense – luck, calm, peace, stress and anxiety relief

Jasmine – love, beauty, aphrodesiac, friendship

Lavender – beauty, magic, healing, calming

Lotus – mental clarity, increased focus, heightened intelligence

Musk – restoring balance and order, realigning ones energies, sealing portals, creating barriers and protection

Myrrh – heavenly purification and exorcism

Nag Champa – sacred, purification, spiritual enlightenment, evolution

Patchouli – happiness, joy

Rose –love, sex, desire, clairvoyance

Sandalwood – purification

Sweetgrass – positive energy, clearing, purification

Vanilla – love, lust, intelligence

If you’re trying to learning something new, whether a foreign language or a subject in college, a new study says you may have to get physically involved. According to the researchers, it’s easier to learn using different sensory perceptions combined.

“When someone not only hears vocabulary in a foreign language, but expresses it using gestures, they will be more likely to remember it. Also helpful, is learning with images that correspond to the word. Learning methods that involve several senses, and in particular those that use gestures, are therefore superior to those based only on listening or reading.”

This multisensory learning theory claims that the brain can learn better when several senses are stimulated at the same time.

“The subjects’ recollection was best in relation to terms they themselves had expressed using gestures. When they heard the term and its translation and also observed a corresponding image, they were also better able to remember the translation.” explains Katja Mayer of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.

The study suggests that the brain learns better when the information is reinforced from different sensory organs. “If for example we follow a new term with a gesture, we create additional input that facilitates the brain’s learning,” says Katharina von Kriegstein, head of the study at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.

And it’s not only gestures that help with learning – it’s incorporating all our senses. Touch, taste, sound, smell as well as feelings play an important role in learning too.

Here are some ways to use multisensory learning:

1. Get up and move. There are a series of movements called “Educational Kinesiology” that was created to help connect the right and left hemispheres of the brain for better learning. Try and make movements you wouldn’t typically make on a day-to-day basis. Use flash cards so you can walk around and move your body while learning.
   

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2. Act it out. Make a silly play out of the material you are trying to memorize. The stranger and sillier, the more likely you are to remember it.
   

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3. Sniff something. Whether burning incense or diffusing essential oils while learning, scents trigger memories.
   

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4. Get artsy. The more visually appealing, graphic and illustrated, the easier it is to ignite photographic memory.
   

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5. Use your mind. Visualize images that will stand out and be associated with your learning topic.
   

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6. Mint anyone? Eating something with a distinct taste can enhance memorization (and you can pop the same flavored mint, or any other treat of your choice, when it’s time to recall the info).

I know first hand the benefits of exercising before breakfast. However, if I don’t workout early in the morning, I’m more likely to “forget” to do it during the day.

Ever had a day that looks similar to this?

• “Right after breakfast I’ll workout for sure”
• “ I have to wait to digest first!”
• “ Woah! It’s already lunch time!”
• “I’ll digest for an hour…tops.”
• “ I’m hungry…I’ll exercise after dinner.”
• “I’m way too tired…tomorrow, I promise!”

A  study published in The Journal of Physiology says that exercising before breakfast is the best way to go.

For the six-week study, One of the groups ate a big, carbohydrate-rich breakfast before exercising and continued to ingest carbohydrates (like a sports drink), throughout their workouts. The second group worked out without eating first and drank only water during the training.

The results?

Only the group that worked out before breakfast gained almost no weight and showed no signs of insulin resistance. Furthermore, they burned the fat they were taking in more efficiently.

“Our current data indicate that exercise training in the fasted state is more effective than exercise in the carbohydrate-fed state to stimulate glucose tolerance despite a hypercaloric high-fat diet.”

In short, exercising before eating in the morning combated the two most detrimental effects of eating a high-fat, high-calorie diet and prevented weight gain.

Here are some ways to get going in the morning:

1. Stick to a routine. Set your alarm for the same time every day to get your body on a healthy cycle.
   

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2. Prepare the night before. Set out your gym bag, workout clothes and water bottle the night before and get to bed early.
   

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3. Set multiple strange alarms. “I set three different alarms and give them motivational titles to get me moving,” says Taye Johnson, a New York City-based SoulCycle instructor who teaches 6 a.m. classes. “The first alarm, set 15 minutes early, is always labeled, ‘Yes, I Can.’ The next alarm is labeled, ‘Yes, I Will,’ which always gets me out of bed. The third alarm is, ‘Yes, I am Doing So!’ which tells me when it’s time to hit the road.”
   

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4. Wake up super early. “I know it sounds a bit insane, but I usually wake up around 3:50 a.m. to prepare for my 5:30 a.m. classes,” says certified fitness trainer and Stacy’s Bootcamp founder, Stacy Berman. This gives her time to meditate and shower (“an easy way to get the system going,” she says).
   

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5. Drink water as soon as you wake up. All physiological process in the body need H2O. It will also help to wake you up and get ready to GO!
   

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6. Turn up some energizing music. ?A good song will get anyone up and moving.
   

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7. Get Happy. Instead of dreading your morning workout, wake up, stretch, breathe and say some positive self-affirmations in the mirror. Think of 3 things you are grateful for, smile and say “ Today is going to be an amazing day!”

We all know how good it feels to take in nature’s wonders like a waterfall on an island, the view from a mountain top or a day at the beach. We’ve felt the breathtaking experience of visiting a beautiful chapel or mosque. And we’ve been enraptured by paintings, drawings and all forms of art in museums around the world.

According to new research from UC Berkeley, there’s a new found health benefit from these awe-inspiring experiences –reduced inflammation!

Researchers found that positive emotions experienced through nature, art and spirituality are linked to lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (proteins that signal the immune system to work harder).

Jennifer Stellar, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto and lead author of the study, says, “Our findings demonstrate that positive emotions are associated with the markers of good health.”

“That awe, wonder and beauty promote healthier levels of cytokines suggests that the things we do to experience these emotions — a walk in nature, losing oneself in music, beholding art — has a direct influence upon health and life expectancy,” stated Dacher Keltner,  UC Berkeley psychologist and co-author of the study.

In the experiments, more than 200 young adults reported how much they experienced positive emotions such as amusement, awe, compassion, contentment, joy, love and pride. Oral tissue samples, known as oral mucosal transudate, were taken that same day showed that those who experienced more of the emotions of awe, wonder and amazement, had the lowest levels of the cytokine, Interleukin 6 (linked to inflammation).

The study found that depressed individuals had higher levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine known as TNF-alpha than their awe-inspired counterparts.

Why does awe reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines?

“Awe is associated with curiosity and a desire to explore, suggesting antithetical behavioral responses to those found during inflammation, where individuals typically withdraw from others in their environment,” says Stellar.

Which came first – the lowered cytokines or the positive feelings?

Stellar said she can’t know for sure. “It is possible that having lower cytokines makes people feel more positive emotions, or that the relationship is bidirectional,” she said.

One thing is for sure though – everyone can benefit from a good museum, getting into nature and experiencing awe as much as possible.