Immune enhancing tea possibly suppresses cancer

Dr. Viraj Peramune

Recently I came across an article published in one of our professional publications relating to a study on the immune enhancing qualities of tea, where it said that American scientists had found a way to tune up the immune system of the body by drinking a small cup of tea five times a day, which had the strength to suppress even cancer emerging cells.

Dr. Viraj Peramunesays it is based on a BBC presentation made in 2003.

Tea enhances immune system

American scientists have found a way to tune up the immune system and perhaps see off emerging cancer cells. The recipe: a small cup of tea, five times a day.

Jack Bukowksi, an immunologist at the Brigham and Women's hospital, which is linked to the Harvard medical school, discovered the English breakfast route to health when he asked volunteers to take either five cups of black or fermented tea each day, or five cups of coffee.

Tea contains, among many other things, alkylamine antigens which are also present in some bacteria, parasites, tumour cells and fungi. He tested the effects of these antigens on a human's first line of defence against infection, the gamma-delta T-cells of the immune system.

Cells which had been exposed to the antigens mounted a rousing defence against bacterial infection; cells not previously exposed showed no response.

Dr. Bukowski then taught 11 volunteers to steep a teabag in freshly boiled water for five minutes.

They were allowed to add lemon, sugar or milk, according to taste. Ten others were told to drink Nescafe, 'a hot beverage that contains caffeine', he reports in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

He then took blood samples. After two weeks, the tea drinkers' immune systems showed 'an enhanced ability to produce disease-fighting chemicals. The same could not be said for coffee drinkers.

Although tea - especially green or unfermented tea - has been linked with cancer prevention before, Dr. Bukowski was surprised by his findings.

He first identified the ingredient that kicked the immune system into action and then combed the literature to find where it occurred in nature.

It occurred in fruit, vegetables and tea.

The research does not necessarily mean the tea-drinking British are healthier than coffee-drinking Americans. Nor would he prescribe tea as a health supplement.

"If someone were sick, I would not tell them to drink tea and expect them to be cured," he said. "I would say there doesn't seem to be any downside to drinking tea.

"Our nutritional state in the US is awful and I think tea can be viewed as a vegetable and we need more vegetables.

"This is a graphic illustration of what the nutrients within vegetables can do for your health."

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In heart disease, we can do only patch work

- Dr. Kumar R.W. Gunawardene

Heart attacks: A reputed Sri Lankan heart specialist in Australia. Dr. Kumar R.W. Gunawardene FRACP, FRCP (Edin) FACC, FCSANZ Director of Cardiology at the Council Hospital and Clinical Associate Professor James Cook University, North Queensland in a stop over in Colombo on his way to the States to accept the fellowship award of the American College of Cardiology, said in heart disease, we can do only patch work.

He was emphasising the need to educate the public that the best way to deal with the disease is only prevention, which is almost entirely in the hands of the public as it involves changing their present life style.

Dr. Gunawardene made this observation in an interview with the HealthWatch early this week.

Cardio metabolic syndrome widely spreading in the West

He said, that Cardiac Metabolic Syndrome (CMS) (comprising obesity, high blood pressure, high triglyceride, low HDL, High Blood Glucose) which is fast spreading in the western world, and which leads to serious heart conditions like heart attacks strokes and vascular diseases, if unchecked could easily develop into an epidemic, taking many lives, affecting even the economies of the countries concerned.

He said it is time that people were told that there is no cure for heart disease. All that the doctors can do with bypass operations, angioplasty and the like is just a patchup work, but no cure. The best possible remedy is prevention by a lifestyle modification by the people.

This is the thing that has to be driven into the public mind all over the world because people are adopting easy lifestyles, consuming health risky fast foods, going beyond the limits.

People have forgotten that the moderation policy is the best. He said that surveys have revealed that 25 per cent of people in the West are cm-syndromed. In the Asian region also the percentage must be not much less.

The best prevention is dietary control, limiting alcohol, giving up cigarettes and taking to walking, low fat diets Asian and Mediterranean the best.

Walking reduces heart attacks and strokes

Dr. Gunawardene emphasised that everyone should walk at least half-an-hour a day four times a week. That alone could reduce considerably the risks of heart attacks and strokes.

Symptoms

Some of the symptoms of heart failure are, constantly feeling tired, shortness of breadth, difficulties experienced in lying flat, swelling up of feetand body among others.

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Happier moms have happier children: Study

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2006 (AFP) - .Treating mothers for depression can mean long-term happiness for their children, according to a study published recently.

Depression is known to be passed on genetically, but it can also be affected by the environment in which a child is raised, according to authors of an article published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

A child can develop anxiety and psychological problems if a mother with depression goes without treatment, the authors said. "Depressed parents should be treated vigorously," said the study's lead author, Myrna Weissman, of Columbia University and New York Psychiatric Institute.

"The impact is not only on them but it's also on their children." Treating the mother could avoid the need to treat the child with anti-depressant drugs, the authors said.

The study shows that children of mothers suffering from depression and whose symptoms disappeared during the course of a four-month treatment had much lower chances of suffering from depression or other behaviour problems.

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Garlic for infections

K. M. C. Perera from Kegalle wants to know whether garlic could be used for infections. Dr. D.P. Atukorale to whom this query was referred has sent the following reply.

Anti-microbial effects

Small studies have shown that garlic exerts antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Dietary garlic has been used in the treatment of infections particularly digestive, respiratory or dermatological infections from vaginitis to colds and warts.

Adverse effects of Garlic

Ingestion of one to two cloves of raw garlic per day is considered safe in adults. The most common side-effects of ingested garlic are unpleasant breath and body odour.

Consumption of excessive amounts of garlic especially on an empty stomach can cause gastro-intestinal upset, flatulence and changes in intestinal flora. There has been reports of allergy, dermatitis burns and blusters from topical applications of raw garlic.

Garlic appears to show no effects on drug metabolism. It has been suggested that patients taking anticoagulants use caution when taking garlic and it is prudent to stop taking high dosage of garlic 7 to 10 days before surgery because garlic can prolong bleeding time.

Dosage

Dosages generally recommended in the literature for adults are 4 g (1-2 cloves) of raw garlic per day or one 300mg dried garlic powder 2 to 3 times per day or 7.2g of aged garlic extracts per day.

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Anti-clotting drugs beat heparin for heart attack

ATLANTA, March 14 (Reuters) - Heart attack patients treated with anti-thrombosis drugs instead of the blood-thinner heparin are less likely to die or have another heart attack, researchers told a meeting of cardiologists recently.

"This is a better blood-thinning strategy for patients who have a heart attack," said Harvard Medical School Professor Dr. Elliott Antman, lead investigator of the trial comparing the drug Lovenox to heparin.

Lovenox, sold by France's Sanofi Aventis, is designed to block thrombin, a blood protein that plays a key role in the formation of new blood clots. It is given by injection.

Heparin, a widely used anticoagulant, is administered by intravenous infusion.

The Lovenox study, along with a study comparing GlaxoSmithKline Plc's anti-thrombosis drug Arixtra to heparin in heart attack patients, was presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology.

The Lovenox study involved 20,000 patients who had a type of severe heart attack.

They were first treated with a clot-busting drug and were then randomly assigned to either Lovenox or heparin.

After 30 days, Lovenox was shown to reduce the combined risk of a repeat heart attack and death by 17 per cent compared to heparin.

Patients treated with Lovenox were much more likely to experience major bleeding, including fatal hemorrhages, but researchers said the risk was offset by better clinical outcomes.

For every 1,000 patients treated with Lovenox instead of heparin, there would be 15 fewer heart attacks, seven fewer urgent revascularizations, six fewer deaths and four more nonfatal serious bleeding episodes, Antman said.

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Dr. Godakumbura to address WHO Conference in South Africa

The University of Cape Town has invited Dr. Wijaya Godakumbura, Surgeon and President of the Safe Bottle Lamp Foundation to make a keynote presentation at the WHO 15th Safe Communities Conference to be held next month in Cape Town.

He is to speak on 'The prevention of Kerosene burns in developing countries'.