Green Options

Yet another reason for protecting the seas and the biodiversity that exists (including nuisance species): scientists at Ben Gurion University in Israel have developed a biogel that helps fight heart disease. The source of this gel? Seaweed.

Energy drinks such as Red Bull, Rockstar, and Monster — laced with high doses of caffeine (up to seven times the amount in a cup of strong coffee, or 14 cans of cola) and other stimulants — have been shown to increase blood pressure, cause heart racing, and increase anxiety, in a study published last fall by Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Another study by Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, published this March, found similar concerns:

The researchers found that healthy adults who drank two cans a day of a popular energy drink experienced a 10-point increase in their blood pressure and a five- to seven-beat increase in heart rate. The study is published in March in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

These are “healthy adults” being affected this way.  But our children are also downing energy drinks in record numbers, looking for a quick after-school pick-me-up, or as a sports booster, without understanding the real risks. With their smaller bodies, the 50 to 500mg of caffeine typically found in one can will have much greater effects on children. There is also a concern that children are becoming addicted to caffeine because of energy drinks.

In the study, Griffiths highlights the cases of nine patients treated by a US poisons unit after having an energy drink called Redline, which contains 250mg caffeine. Eight of the nine were boys, with the youngest aged 13. Their symptoms ranged from nausea and vomiting to tremors, chest pain and a racing pulse. (guardian.co.uk)

Editor’s note: The following post was originally published on Green and Clean Mom. “Green & Clean Mom can inspire you to try a little harder, be a catalyst for change and to offer you some new tips and news on how to be the green, sexy and sassy mom…I know you are!”

The longer that mothers breastfeed, the less risk they have for heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the May issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

University of Pittsburgh researchers noted that the benefits from breastfeeding were long-term, and that women who breastfed for more than a month were 10% less likely to have a stroke, heart attack, or to develop heart disease than women who had never breastfed.

Black, green, white, and oolong teas all come from the same plant known as Camellia Sinensis.

The more processing the leaves of the plant undergo, the darker they will turn.  (Green and white being steamed quickly, black and oolong being dried and fermented.)

Regardless of the processing method, brewed tea not only tastes good, but can have many health benefits as well;

1. Tea contains antioxidants. Antioxidants can help slow down the aging process, and help cells regenerate and repair.  Many studies suggest antioxidants also assist our bodies in preventing cancer.