Drinking tea delays the onset of Parkinson's disease

A small Israeli study of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) has found that those who drink more than 3 cups of tea per day delay the age of developing PD by more than 7 years.
This retrospective study recruited patients with a clinical diagnosis of PD from the Movement Disorders Unit in Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre. Consecutive patients were identified through the researchers' computerised database. Of the 300 originally recruited, 283 agreed to participate. After exclusions a total of 278 patients completed the study. To minimise bias the patients were not told about the purpose of the study.

PD motor symptoms onset were defined as the year in which any motor disturbances that could later be attributed to PD were first noticed by the patient, a family relative or a caregiver as recorded in the medical file. Information about tea consumption was gathered, including the number of cups per day (caffeine-free and herbal teas were not counted towards tea consumption), the duration of tea drinking prior to PD symptom onset and the age of starting tea drinking and stopping (if appropriate). Data was obtained from a first degree relative for subjects with dementia.

Tea drinking was categorised into 3 groups: none, <2, 2-3 and > 3 cups per day - details about volume, tea type, brewing method and whether milk was added were not sought.
The average age of the study population was 68.4 years and the mean age at motor symptom onset was 58.1 years. As a result the average duration of the disease was 10.3 years.
Around 64% of the participants were, or had been, tea drinkers, although the vast majority continued to drink tea before and after the development of PD. There was a significant delay in the age of onset of motor symptoms by 7.7 years in patients who drank more than 3 cups of tea per day.

The possible mechanism for this association was not investigated but the authors anticipated caffeine might have an effect. However coffee consumption was also investigated in this study and no protective effect was found. The higher caffeine levels in coffee compared to tea would suggest that factors other than caffeine are having a beneficial effect. One suggestion is that it may be the free-radical scavenging phenolic compounds in tea exerting a neuroprotective effect.

This is the first study to investigate the effect of tea drinking on the age of onset of PD motor symptoms. Although a small study, these results are highly encouraging and warrant further research to confirm whether there is a causative relationship as well as determining whether different tea types have similar effects.

Kandinov, B., Giladi, N. and Korczyn, A. (2008) Smoking and tea consumption delay onset of Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. Apr 21 (Epub Ahead of print) 1-6.

Steep yourself in the culture of tea at:   http://www.ThePerfectPause.com/

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July!  My fiance and I were in Minneapolis for "Red, White and Boom" and an idea came to me while we were walking.  You see, at each birthday I seem to do an inventory of the past year and try to evaluate the goals that I had accomplished and loosely plot my course for the next year of my life.  I've been working on my first novel, "Alarm Clock Dawn" for almost seven years but with having to carry a full time job and all of life's other responsibilities I've never been able to finish it.  

One of my major life's goals is to complete this book.  Since life has a funny way of gaining momentum with each year that goes by, I figured that the ONLY way that I would ever have a chance to complete it would be in small doses, micro-doses actually.   So all of this brought me to the idea, an experiment of sorts, of posting my novel in small installments on this blog. 

When I get to the point that what I've already written of my story runs out, it will be a good motivator for me to continue writing.  This project has been nagging me for almost a decade but as with all things in life everything happens for a reason and in its own time.  The time must not have been right before.  I would like if you, fellow Gaia members, play an active role in it's creation so feedback will be very welcomed.  I've met so many enlightened people in this online community that I can think of no better group of editors for this particular project.   So bare with me and I do hope you enjoy the journey.

ALARM CLOCK DAWN

A Novel

by

Eric Vance Walton     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Tread lightly, love deeply."

Focus is hazed as

wing-tip dreams come calling

softly, persistently

those starched seams

of material obsession

trite expressions that seem

to echo so endlessly

I've left it all behind this time

left it all behind in my mind

The alarm clock dawn

methodical in its wringing,

starving, stealing time

so stealthily that you hardly notice

until one day you wake up faded,

to a jaded, gaunt and hungry hue.

I've left it all behind this time

left it all behind in my mind

So this is how it feels to be free?

To be set adrift like some Coltrane riff

When need's an endless song

Can't tell you where I'll be tomorrow

I may be drawn back into the

Yawn of the alarm clock dawn

Balance is our only hope to end up

Somewhere in the middle......

 

Author Note - Whether or not we are prepared to acknowledge it, as human beings we all have the innate ability to know within our hearts when something isn't as it should be. This simple act of "knowing" can manifest itself in any number of ways, its effervescence usually bubbling ever so gently to the surface of our minds.  Once realized and acknowledged, we are free to change our course of action, averting the impending doom of the outcome or as is more often the case, we can choose to dismiss this voice or even worse to try to silence it.  In this act of silencing we are turning a deaf ear to the very nature of our being.  If ignored often enough, we gradually lose the ability to hear this "small voice" and by doing so there is nothing left but to face the inevitable consequences.

to be continued..........

Just incase you didn't read my last blog entry I have decided to begin posting my first novel, "Alarm Clock Dawn" in small installments with the hope that this will give me sufficient motivation to finally complete it.  If you happen to have missed a certain entry I will number each for reference. 

Installment 2:

 

Prologue - It had taken countless millennia for us to climb from the depths of barbarism and bloodlust.  As the centuries passed our climb was painfully slow but steady.  Eventually, we found our way. The remnants of our ancestors are a beautiful testament to this. Picturesque temples, art, dusty books of lofty thoughts, but of this there was little left. 

But even now something about the world is still strangely beautiful. For those who knew in which direction to listen,  echoes of the past could still be heard.  These faint murmurs spoke out from ancient text and seemingly obscure symbols scattered across the globe.  They spoke of a people that had lived an exquisitely balanced existence, a balance that took countless generations of planning and sacrifice to achieve. Spirituality and things of beauty were held in high esteem, creating an incredible richness of culture.  These people had learned to live in harmony with nature. In them many believe that we had reached our pinnacle (zenith).

  Now most of the painstaking craftsmanship of previous generations had been weathered away or bulldozed but a handful of specimens remained.  These older buildings cowered in the shadows of newer structures and reflected a time that most now have only read about.  These few architectural gems that survived were scattered throughout the city served as a testament to the lives we once lived. Nobody had the time to pay them much attention anymore or maybe it was because it was too painful a thing to remember.  Deep down inside there was an emptiness that nothing could fill.  On some certain level most ached in for what we'd lost and would try every way imaginable to fill the void.

In today's world form subserviently followed function and quantity was far more important than quality.  Like a rebellious teen we tested our boundaries again and again, trying to subdue and separate ourselves from nature.  Substance was slowly sifted from our world and scattered in the wind. It was all so ironic. Lives that were lived in an endless pursuit of "more" were stripped of time, the one thing that mattered most, and no amount of money could ever buy that back. 

The cities were now cold and colorless, consisting mainly of mammoth concrete structures, which were buried partially beneath the ground.  Powerful storms could emerge with just a minute's warning so it was only these types of buildings that were capable of withstanding the ever increasing harshness of the weather.  Most city buildings were connected by an elaborate system of tunnels and skyways that sheltered the city dwellers from the unpredictable elements.

To be continued......

 

There were a small but growing number who chose a harsh life outside the cities rather than waste one more precious day of their lives as a cog in a broken machine.  These people had a special intelligence about them that couldn't be taken, a kind of undeniable honesty in their eyes.  They were the ones you would see living their lives in quiet protest, just aimlessly wandering or sitting on the subway with solemn stares. This group lived in various stages of self-imposed exile, for most of them, was triggered one morning when they woke up and decided that they just couldn't do it anymore. Not even one more day. Within each and every one of us there is a trigger that lies dormant and given the right circumstances a certain alchemy takes place. One lone moment in time that has the potential of sparking this, your very own alarm clock dawn. 

 

Chapter 1 -

The frustrating thing about being a student of history is the feeling of being trapped in between the grooves of a broken record. The grooves are eventually ground so deeply that it seems impossible to escape. Given enough time, people seem to make the same old mistakes again and again.  It's never a matter of if but just a matter of how long.  The peaks and inevitable valleys of societal evolution seem to be the only constant.

The more advanced a people become, the narrower is their path of righteousness.  Walking this path is the magical balancing act that makes it all work.  When you're on top it's awfully easy to start believing that you're infallible.  This first mistake is when you begin to feel that the glory days will never end, herein lies the first stumble. 

In the last century we had made some great strides as well as some mighty stumbles.  Our evolution was blindingly fast by any standard, in a few short years we had gone from our first flight to escaping our atmosphere and seeing the whole of our beautiful planet. The powerful nations of the world carried on in great material prosperity for a number of decades.  However, it soon became apparent that our economic system had one inherent flaw.  Our world economy relied on perpetual growth for its success and the only problem with this model was the resources on our planet weren't unlimited.  Governments slowly began to realize this and there became a great power grab for the dwindling natural resources.  Horrendous wars were fought and many people died over these finite resources both out in the open and covertly.  The inhabitants of the poorer nations of our world were exploited, and in a sense, enslaved as they were used as cheap labor for the wealthy and powerful nations.

To be continued...... 

 

There was a sweeping technological revolution that seemed to be sparked overnight. Almost every few months there was some new gadget unveiled that made our lives easier. It started with improvements in products we already knew.  Radios were miniaturized, the miracle of television was brought to the market, quickly followed by computers, nuclear power and beyond. This era was nothing short of a technological renaissance.  In hindsight, as enamored as we were with this technology, it became a tremendous distraction and only helped to blind us to what was actually unfolding around us.  

The corporations that drove this exponential growth claimed that in ten years' time through the miracle of technology our lives would be radically transformed. They sold us on "the middle class dream" and these corporate executives held us transfixed in a spell of their utopian vision. It all seemed so wonderful, in a mere decade the average workday was cut in half!  Our newfound abundance of leisure time allowed us to have the best quality of life of any generation in history, all the while doubling production!  It was the ultimate win-win proposition. Or should I say it could have been.

What happened next blindsided even the brightest of minds.  As more products were unveiled an insatiable hunger began to gain momentum until it eventually resembled a runaway train.  Technology became so embedded into our society that if you weren't aboard, you were left behind.  This consuming hunger was the never-ending need for more.  Traditions were forgotten about no matter what it was, newer was considered better.  In the midst of all this morals were neatly packed away like Sunday clothes, for another day.  A childlike fascination drove an unquenchable thirst to obtain the biggest, the best, or the fastest by any means necessary. 

Then very quietly and drastically things on many different levels began to change and unbeknownst by most there was a distinct paradigm-shift. The power of the corporations began to infiltrate the major governments of the world.  These companies merged and amassed great power.  Eventually their wealth helped them to manifest what they desired most, tomorrow's profit, no matter what the expense.  Government officials were slowly bought-off or completely stripped of their power. An oligarchy of corrupt judges began to wield most of the real control. Although they still held offices, elected officials became nothing more than puppets for the powerful corporations. 

To be continued....

 

Anything that could be construed as a hindrance to the economy's growth or "progress of the people" as they often phrased it was viewed as a great threat.  Society became so disinterested in anything but their entertainment and playthings that those in power could operate more or less unchecked.  And a small but immensely powerful group did exactly that. 

It only took a few years before all of these "conveniences" were sufficiently absorbed into every aspect of our lives.  Our once diverse society was neatly and dangerously compartmentalized into two easily controlled groups; greedy producers and insatiable consumers.  We were quickly transformed into this well-oiled machine that did nothing more than very effectively spew out and consume all of the things that made people "happy". 

For a great many years we carried on as though we were the center of our own universes and our wants were all that mattered.  As you can imagine, this was a predicament where greed and denial continually blinded us from realizing much of what was going on around us. 

Still, by whatever means we tried to silence it, something deep down in our psyche spoke out to us. Its voice, like a nagging whisper, told those of us who were willing to listen that somewhere along the way we had strayed and not only by a few steps!  The most lucid of us instinctively realized that if we didn't make our way back soon trouble would be more than willing to take us on a little nightmarish adventure beyond our wildest imaginations.

To Be Continued.....

 

Chapter 2

Josh was puzzled by the small metallic box on the table placed before him.  He picked it up and ran his fingers across its iridescent edges.  Even the metal itself had strange qualities, it seemed strong but was almost weightless and its colors danced beautifully when held up to the light.  His boss hovered over him like a mother hen, hoisting herself onto her toes and impatiently leaning over his shoulder and blocking his light. 

Josh shook it again, "Hmm. T-t-t-this thing has absolutely no seams!  If I were to venture a guess I would say it's made to contain something, s-s-something very volatile but I'm n-not sure what." 

"And they tell me you're a genius?" Stephanie Collier sarcastically laughed as she paced back and forth in the lab with her short, sausage-like fingers locked securely behind her back.

He could feel the resentment she radiated almost as distinctly as her hot breath on the back of his neck as she leaned just inches from him and whispered, "All I see is a stuttering fool."

"Josh, I sometimes wonder what management saw in you when they brought you on board.  This institution is about progress.  Xenex Technologies took you under its wing and has given you a damn good life.  Have you ever taken the time to ask yourself what you've given XenTech in return?".

  Stephanie rested her elbows on the table and looked Josh right in the eyes, "If the answer is no, I suggest that you start to ponder it. The world can be a harsh place outside these walls.  Especially for those who have no tangible work experience."

to be continued....

My friend Juan and I took our annual Chicago trip a week ago and had a great time.  We've been making this pilgrimage for the past seven years now and it's interesting to look back and see how the trip has changed throughout the years.  The first few years we were like typical tourists, spending our money in places that have a glossy veneer but lack true substance.  The last few years we've ventured a little deeper into the heart of the city and have truly enjoyed it.  Chicago is constantly evolving, you could literally go back every year and have a different experience.

This trip we ventured out to Oak Park Heights.  It's twleve miles West of downtown Chicago (45min by the green line train).  26 houses that Frank Lloyd Wright designed are still standing in this town, not to mention his own home & studio, built around the turn of the 20th century.  The picture above is of the studio wing of the house.  This was the "first Frank".

The "second Frank" we found at Andy's Jazz Club.  Here we listened to some of the best jazz I've ever seen live. Frank Catalano's band (http://www.catalanomusic.com/) absolutely ripped it up.  At 28, he's already played with quite a few jazz legends and is crafting a nice career of his own.   We had an opportunity to meet most of the band between sets and they were also very down to Earth.  The band just released a new cd this past week, I'm going to make it a point to download it from iTunes soon. 

(Continued from installment 6) 

Stephanie rested her elbows on the table and looked Josh right in the eyes, "If the answer is no I suggest you start to ponder it. The world can be a harsh place outside these walls.  Especially for those who have no tangible work experience."

That was about the truest thing Josh had heard all day and the thought of it sent waves of shivers down his spine.  He knew that the big corporations wielded almost absolute power in this faltering economy.  Even someone like Josh, who graduated Magna Cum Laude from a prestigious university, couldn't be foolish enough to jeopardize his job.

When Stephanie got started she had the tendency to drone on and on until her victim looked satisfactorily dejected. Josh caught on to this after a few months and became quite good at the fine art of hanging his head in shame. While going through the familiar routine his eyes glazed over and his mind wandered.  "If she gets on a roll this could take hours. I can't be late, not tonight." 

Mrs. Collier was perhaps Josh's greatest enigma.  She was a short, fat middle-aged woman that didn't play well with others.  She had the volatile combination of abrupt mood swings and a particular brand of vindictiveness that few could match.  Stephanie seemed to take absolute pleasure in belittling him at every opportunity. To his dismay, the more Josh tried to please her the more she seemed to despise him.

Stephanie Collier was part of the angry average.  Not that there's a thing wrong being average. The fact is that most of us are members of this not-so-exclusive club.  But Stephanie was of the worst variety, the only thing she resented more than her own mediocrity was anyone who reminded her of it.  Unfortunately for Josh he did just that. Again and again.

Although he knew he'd hate himself for it, he decided to give her what she so thirsted for.  Like a seasoned actor, his eyes reddened and a tear ever so subtly spilled from the bottom of Josh's eyelid.  The very minute Stephanie spotted it the corners of her mouth turned upward ever so slightly and her eyes took on a softness that you might say bordered on ecstasy.

She equally enjoyed dealing out punishment and benevolence and sometimes did so in almost the same breath. Stephanie was good cop and bad cop all rolled into one.

"Tomorrow, I promise you I'll figure it out tomorrow." Josh said.  You sadistic bitch, Josh thought to himself wishing he had the courage to say it.

"I'll hold you to that. Now get out of my sight." she said with a sense of accomplishment and her hands perched on her wide-set hips.  

People always say that children are cruel but in fact they have it all wrong. The art of cruelty just begins to be honed as the playground fades into a distant memory. In the adult world, after years of practice, it becomes a sleek and strategic weapon with lethal aim. As sad as it seems, at some time or another, we all have our finger on the trigger.

To be continued....

Reducing the risk of stroke in male smokers - tea may help

Following an extensive study, Finnish researchers have concluded that drinking more than 2 cups of tea a day (340ml) may reduce the risk of stroke in male smokers.
Information from the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study was used to examine the associations between tea (and coffee) drinking and risk of stroke in male smokers. This randomised, double-blind, placebo-control trial was originally designed to determine whether supplements of _-tocopherol and/or _-carotene could reduce the incidence of cancer in men who smoked 5 or more cigarettes per day. At baseline a sub-set of 26,556 men (93% of the original cohort), mean age 57.6 years, were asked about their tea (and coffee) drinking habits - including the average number of cups consumed per day/week during the previous year and the usual cup size. These cup sizes were then converted to 'average' cup sizes of tea of 170ml. About 64% of the men never drunk tea and researchers did not determine the type of tea consumed as they pointed out that Finnish men rarely drink any tea other than black tea - there was no information on whether tea was taken with or without milk. The men were followed up after an average of 13.6 years and the study collected 360,187 person-years of follow-up data. During that time 3365 men suffered a stroke.

Drinking two or more cups of tea per day, compared to drinking no tea, decreased the risk of one particular sub-type of stroke, cerebral infarction, by 21%. This association was independent of age, supplementation group and cardiovascular risk factors (number of cigarettes smoked, Body Mass Index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, serum total cholesterol, history of diabetes and coronary heart disease, physical activity and alcohol intake). There was no association between tea drinking and the risk of intracerebral or subarachnoid haemorrhage.

These findings are consistent with studies carried out in Dutch men and Japanese men and women, although the latter investigated the effects of green tea rather than black tea.
The researchers believe the antioxidant properties of the phenolic compounds in tea may be responsible for the beneficial effects. For example, in vitro and in vivo studies have found that these compounds prevent the oxidation of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Oxidation of LDL particles promotes the formation of atherosclerotic lesions leading to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore another study found that black tea reduced platelet activation and C-reactive protein in healthy men; high levels of C reactive protein have been associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke. However further studies are required to determine the exact protective mechanisms.

This study has particular strengths due to its prospective design; the statistical power as a result of the large number of stroke cases; and the extensive amount of information on cardiovascular risk factors allowing for adjustment of potential confounders. One limitation is that tea consumption was only measured once, at baseline, and this may not accurately reflect the actual level of tea consumption throughout the study period.
Nevertheless this large study among a smoking population provides good evidence that drinking more than 2 cups of tea per day may reduce the risk of cerebral infarction in male smokers. It remains to be seen whether these results are reproducible in women and in non-smoking populations and indeed whether the increased level of tea drinking by UK populations would provide additional protection from other types of stroke.

Larsson, S., Mannisto, S., Virtanen, M. J., Kontto, J., Albanes, D. and Virtamo, J. (2008) Coffee and tea consumption and risk of stroke subtypes in male smokers. Stroke 39: 1681-1687.

Once hired, Josh was sent to work in a think tank alongside a pool of scientists whose sole purpose was to solve all sorts of technological riddles.  Every so often management brought in a "puzzle" and they were told to figure out what it was and how it worked.  Sometimes he had to pinch himself as it seemed unreal to Josh that they would pay an entire group of people with distinguished degrees to do this. 

The frustrating thing about the "puzzles" was often times it was just a small part of the whole, which made the riddle especially difficult to figure out.  But before every new project was unveiled the scientists were given the same speech by a handful of soulless upper management types. These few words delivered with an icy glare, never once failed to scare the hell of Josh Harkin.

"You are about to enter the land of make-believe.",  They would say. "This is a reminder that not a word of any of this must travel outside these walls.  Understand?  Those of you who breech our trust and hinder the progress of the people will be dealt with swiftly and severely."

This tactic seemed to work because in recent memory no one could recall anyone desiring to find out XenTech's definition of "swiftly and severely".  

Josh was nervous but determined not to let anything ruin tonight. He lived for the first night of a new class.  He definitely didn't need any more education.  He had gone as far as he could go and then some.  But a few months after graduation Josh felt as though a part of him had withered and died.  Whether it just served as a distraction or not, he lived for the classroom, it's the only place where he truly felt at peace.  It was the only place where he felt that people could see the real Josh Harkin. Each new semester was a clean slate, another chance to reinvent himself for the better. 

On the outside he was thin, uncoordinated and plagued by a violent stutter that could make his speech almost unrecognizable whenever he became extremely nervous or agitated.  Those who were wise or patient enough to get past the sometimes awkward first impression were rewarded with much more than his appearance would ever lead you to believe.  He was an extremely generous and kind soul. Not only that, there was a striking intelligence behind those insecure blue eyes and the beauty of it was he didn't have an inkling of how special he was.  The truly great ones never do.

In many ways Josh felt marked by his genius. He figured out long ago that those who were kind to him usually weren't without a motive. Most times his desire for companionship was so great that he didn't care.  The same intelligence that would allow him to effortlessly pluck concepts from the highest branches of the tree of knowledge sometimes wouldn't allow him to find the words to carry on the simplest conversation with a stranger. 

For as long as he could remember Josh realized that he was different from most people.  More than anything Josh dreamed of the companionship of an equal, someone who could keep pace with the virility of his mind.  When he was a young boy he would sometimes cry himself to sleep at night praying to God that He might bestow this curse on someone else and allow him to experience the rest of his days as a "normal person".

Josh hurriedly gathered his things and swiped his identification card taking care not to make eye contact with anyone and made a mad dash through the skyway and down stairs to the nearest subway station. He rarely passed anyone on the stairs as most took advantage of the elevators.

This particular afternoon the wind and driving rain were merciless. The grey clouds clung to the city like a damp shroud. A top-note of acrid (smog) petrochemical pollution hung in the air as the faint, calming scent of burning wood wafted into the city on the wind. 

To be continued....