So I’m not much of a blogger.  Hats off to those who can write on a daily bases about any one topic (besides, of course,  their own lives.)  I seem to be having a resurgence of patients that are interested in (or I think they could benefit from) the practice of tea.  So, I feel obligated to continue this website.  The initial idea was to have a place where I could send people to that would have all the answers to the questions that they might have about why the hell I was telling them to drink so much tea.  Where to get it, where not to get it, how to prepare it, what basic things they would need to practice the art of tea in their daily lives, “should I spend $100 on 20 grams of matcha?”, “won’t the caffeine  keep me up at night?”, “Can I just make a gallon of it ahead of time and slam it on the way to work?”  You get the idea.  I only wanted a website to direct patients to so that I didn’t have to answer the same questions ad nauseum and still provide the whole of my own personal experience.

I went through my patients  charts since I last wrote any thoughts down and took note of which patients reported that they experienced benefits from incorporating green tea into their daily ritual.  I also made note of what kind of benefits they were hoping to experience, what results they had, what kind of tea they were choosing to drink.  Granted that a clinical trial of just one provider is hardly that.  It is limited and undoubtedly biased.  However, I have noticed a few events that are statistically significant.

I have narrowed down 103 patients over the last year (give or take 2 months) that have actually attempted to incorporate the daily practice of tea into their lives.  There were 165 patients that I mentioned Matcha to as a possible beneficial addition to their routine for their health.  Only 103 reported an attempt to adhere to a specific regime of tea drinking.

People over 150 pounds –     6-8 cups (bowls at 2-3 scoops of matcha) per day. 

People under 150 pounds-  4-6 cups (bowls at 2-3 scoops of matcha) per day.

Children under 100 pounds- 2-3 cups (bowls at 2-3 scoops of matcha) per day.

Out of 103 patients 33 patients reported including matcha into their daily routine.  19 of those patients attempted to drink matcha for 2-3 months.  7 of those patients made tea a daily part of their lives for over a year.

The benefits that I hoped my patients would experience are as follows:

1. 20 patients-Weight loss.  All 20 reported weight loss.  The most weight loss was 20 pounds.  the least was 4 ponds.  (I myself experienced 10 pounds after 4 months.)
2. 18 patients-ADD/ADHD I advised all of these individuals to try Matcha as a possible alternative to their current medications.  I had two individuals report positive reactions
3. 4 patients- Hypertension.  Unfortunately I only have information on 4 individuals. one of which is myself and one is my mother which may or not be reliable.  As for myself, my BP completely normalized in 2 months. My mother reported having to ask her primary to lower her blood pressure medication within 2 weeks of adherence to 3 cups of matcha per day.  The other two individuals reported significant lowering of blood pressure with only acupuncture and the addition of green tea into their diet.
4. 42 patients- stress, anxiety.   42 patients were advised to drink matcha, 10 continued to drink matcha on a daily basis, 8 report that they feel green tea continues to help them manage stress and anxiety.  4 of these patients have eliminated their anti-anxiety medications all together.
5. 165 patients –General health-165 patients that I mentioned green tea to, 103 had an interest to pursue daily consumption of green tea.  33 patients adhered to daily consumption of green tea.  7 report a significant improvement after one year.
6. 9 patients -Anti cancer.   At least 9 patients with cancer that I have treated have included matcha in their program to recover from their affliction   3 of the 9 have since passed away.  The other 6 are in remission.
7. 2 patients-hyperlipidemia.  (high cholesterol)  Both patients had lowered cholesterol after 1 month of consistent green tea consumption.
8. 12 patients-Reduced need for alcohol.  5 patients report a lessened need for alcohol after three months of consistent tea drinking.
9. 4 patients- Better quality of sleep.
10. 1 patient- Reduction in acid reflux.  This patient also stopped drinking coffee.
11. 33 patients- Found Matcha to be one of the best tea’s they ever had.
12. Most of the people that chose to drink green tea decided to get their tea from either Ippodo or Yuuki-cha.  A few either chose to get their tea from holy mountain or locally.

What you are looking at is the clock I use at work (mine however is in English, not Dutch.) You may notice that it has 24 hours listed around the clock instead of just 12.  You may also notice that there are 12 organs depicted as the one hands slowly goes around every 24 hours.  Anyone who practices Chinese medicine will recognize this as a Horary clock or Chrono-acupuncture clock. Continue reading What is the best time to drink tea? →

Just a quick post today…  One of my patients said he was taking this and how good it was making him feel.  I said to myself, “I bet this is in tea…”  I did a quick search, and guess what? Continue reading Glutathione in green tea →

A study done October 31st 2011 at the University of Shizuoka, Japan, showed that “Theanine intake may be of benefit to the postnatal development of hippocampal function.”

Continue reading L-Theanine →

Continue reading A year of tea: →

One of the more interesting components in green tea is GABA. Gamma-Amino Butyric acid (GABA) is an amino acid which acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. It inhibits nerve transmission in the brain, calming nervous activity.   GABA is one of  the most abundant neurotransmitters in the central nervous system, especially in the cerebral cortex, which is where cognition is thought to take place and sensations are interpreted.  GABA  functions as an inhibitory neurotransmitter. This means that it blocks nerve impulses.   Without GABA, nerve cells will fire too often and too easily.

Continue reading GABA (GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID) →