Toshimi A. Kayaki - Green Tea Living: A Japan-Inspired Guide to Eco-friendly Habits, Health, and Happiness

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INTRODUCTION

My husband lay feverish and weak from bacterial pneumonia in a hospital ICU here in California several years ago.

In came the food server with his dinner. Along with roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and Jell-O, was coffee on the tray. I was momentarily immobile with astonishment.

Can an almost dying person eat this food and drink coffee? I thought.

Are they trying to kill him?

Dont they know how coffee can upset his stomach and overstimulate his heart?

Do Americans have entirely different internal organs?

After the initial shock subsided, I contemplated, What would the Japanese serve a sick person to drink?

Green tea!

After that, I started to research the benefits of green tea.

According to medical studies done by Dr. Andrew Weil, clinical professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Arizona and a world-renowned integrative medicine expert, theres a specific antioxidant in green tea, known as EGCG, that shows impressive activity against many kinds of cancer, while appearing to protect the heart and arteries from oxidative damage.

A new Japanese scientific study (October 2009) says that green tea can fight againshe H1N1 flu. Tokushima Bunri University research reports that it is the catechins from the green tea that can fight against the virus.

Green tea affects not only the body. In the section Drinking green tea for relaxation, below, I mention a study that shows how green tea helps reduce stress. It is easy for me to believe the reports of science because when I was young, Grandma told me having green tea was not only for enjoying the taste. Its a natural medicine. It can help body and mind to keep a healthy balance.

I believe green tea always helped me to get better when I was sick. When I am sad, angry, anxious, or feeling physically ill with an upset stomach, diarrhea, or fatigue, I have to have my green tea. Green tea has become a part of my life.

Green tea is, as we say in Japanese, yasashii. That means gentle and mild. Its like soft cotton on the skin to me.

Green tea is well known all over the world now for its enjoyable flavor as well as for promoting weight loss and longevity.

But there is so much more to living a vibrant life the way the Japanese do.

GREEN BEAUTEA: HELP FOR AGING

I know a lady who works on her farm all day, every day, but she doesnt look like a farmer. Her skin is smooth, youthful, and moisturized. She has almost no age spots or wrinkles.

With so much sunshine soaking into her skin day after day, why does she still look so young? Its green tea! she says.

But this time its not drinking green tea. She actually packs it on her face, and this is how you can do it too:

1. Grind up used green tea leaves into a fine, almost powdery substance.

2. Mix the green substance with water and flour until it thickens into a paste.

3. Wash your face and apply the pack for 10 minutes.

4. Rinse it off with water; then put on your favorite lotion.

5.... or instead of paste, just put tea bags on your face

Ive tried this, and its working. My skin is getting smoother and my age spots are fading away. Now I dont need to hide my skin under a dark foundation.

Its inexpensive, its cosmopolitan, and its eco-friendly, too!

GREEN TEA TO HELP MAINTAIN HEALTHY BODY WEIGHT

Drinking green tea is getting so popular, you can order it in coffee shops, toohere in California, at least.

Have you seen all the ads for weight loss by drinking green tea? Are they telling the truth?

My whole life I have believed that green tea is good for my health. When I drink it, I feel refreshed. It calms the spirit and eases the mind. But I never thought it had anything to do with losing weight.

When I was watching The Oprah Winfrey Show, I heard for the first time that people drink green tea to shed pounds. Japanese researchers claim that drinking five cups of green tea a day can burn 70 to 80 extra calories. Dr Nicholas Perricone, a self-proclaimed anti-aging specialist, appeared on Oprah that day and told her viewers they can lose 10 pounds in six weeks drinking green tea instead of coffee.

After this show, green tea became a hot media topic. But I still wasnt clear on why it helps weight loss, so I researched the Japanese reports. And they say it does help if you drink it before eating meals. Green tea contains catechins, which help make a film on the lining of the stomach. This coating prevents the intake of extra calories and stimulates the burning of more! It keeps you regular, too.

If you want to drink green tea for losing weight, remember to have a cup just before you eat. It works.

GREEN TEA FERTILIZER

After drinking green tea, you can use the leftover leaves for fertilizing your flowers or vegetable garden.

Mix the green tea leaves into the dirt for gardening.

The leaves will ferment and make the soil rich.

In case youve been using other kinds of raw garbage to make compost, consider this: much of it contains salt because it has been processed or cooked. Green tea leaves, however, are 100% natural, so they enrich the soil without polluting it with sodium chloride.

You can put the green tea leaves in planters and flowerpots, too.

Just put the leaves on top of the soil around the plant or flower, then water. The tea leaves will hold moisture into the dirt. After my skin pack, I always put the leaves into my potted plants.

How wonderfula terrific triple bonus! This is really green living.

GREEN TEA CAVITY PROTECTION

Here is an interesting report about cavities and green tea.

Japanese elementary school kids have too many cavities in their teeth. One elementary school in Kyoto had its young students participate in an experiment using green tea for gargling every day after lunch. Three years later, there was a 50% decrease in the number of cavities among those children.

According to a study by the Tokyo Medical and Dental School, the fluorine in green tea actually does make strong teeth. Catechins protect teeth from plaque. Tannins kill bacteria inside the mouth.

After a meal, try gargling with green tea. You dont have to do it three times a day. Even just once a day should be enough.

It will help. Dont you think it would be better than putting liquid chemicals in your mouth?

Green tea is safe and economical.

DRINKING GREEN TEA FOR RELAXATION

When I am nervous or worried, my body and mind call for green tea. After having a cup or two, I can relax. I dont know why it helps; I just follow Grandmas way.

She always told me to drink green tea if I was tense. I took it for granted that she knew what she was talking about. Current medical reports seem to confirm that she was right.

According to a study at the Nagoya University Department of Psychology in 2007, L-theanine is an amino acid in green tea leaves known to block the binding of L-glutamic acid to glutamate receptors in the brain.

Because the characteristics of L-theanine suggest that it may influence psychological and physiological states under stress, it was suggested that the oral intake of L-theanine could have stress-reducing effects by inhibiting stimulation of cortical neurons.