Snoring Tied to Kids' Risk of Behavioral Problems

Regular dental visits can help identify problems at an early stage

By Reuters Health

March 7, 2012 -- Young children who snore a lot or have other breathing problems at night may have a heightened risk of behavioral and emotional problems later on, a new study suggests.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, is not the first to link behavioral issues to so-called sleep-disordered breathing.

"We didn't invent the association," noted lead researcher Dr. Karen Bonuck, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

But, she said, this is the largest study yet to look at the question, following more than 13,000 children from infancy to the age of seven.  Of those kids, 45% remained free of nighttime breathing problems, based on parents' reports. The rest had symptoms at some point during infancy or early childhood.

Eight percent of the children fell into what the researchers dubbed the "worst case" group; they had breathing symptoms that peaked between the ages of two and three and then persisted.

Overall, Dr. Bonuck's team found, children with sleep-disordered breathing at any time were more likely to develop symptoms of behavioral or emotional disorders -- like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or anxiety -- by age seven.

About 13.5% had such symptoms at age 7, versus just over 8% of kids who'd been free of sleep-disordered breathing.  And the biggest risk was seen in the worst-case group. By age 7, nearly 18% of those kids had possible behavioral or emotional disorders.

The researchers can't say for sure whether all of those children had outright disorders, such as ADHD. Their results are based on a screening questionnaire given to parents.  What's more, it's not certain that the breathing problems are directly to blame.  But, Dr. Bonuck said, the researchers did control for a range of variables that could help account for the link -- like parents' income and education, race, birth weight, and whether moms smoked during pregnancy.

"Even considering all those variables, overall, sleep-disordered breathing seemed to have the strongest effect," Dr. Bonuck said.

Among the "worst case" kids, for example, sleep-disordered breathing was linked to a 72% increase in the risk of behavioral and emotional symptoms at age seven -- even with other factors considered.

"This provides strong evidence that the (breathing) symptoms we looked at could promote these behavioral and emotional symptoms," Dr. Bonuck said.

Still, she stressed, no one is saying sleep-disordered breathing is the whole story. "Certainly, emotional and behavioral disorders are multi-factorial," Dr. Bonuck said.

"What [the study] found is intuitively what we'd expect to see," said Dr. Sanjeev V. Kothare, interim medical director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children's Hospital Boston.

Dr. Kothare noted that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) already recommends that pediatricians should screen all children for snoring and, if needed, refer them to a sleep center for further evaluation.

In many kids, especially 3- to 6-year-olds, sleep-disordered breathing is caused by enlarged tonsils or adenoids, and removing the tissue can improve nighttime breathing -- as well as daytime symptoms, Dr. Kothare noted.  For other children, excess pounds feed the nighttime breathing problems and most will improve if they shed the extra weight, according to the AAP.

Heart Disease - Are We to Blame?

World Renown Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease

PreventDisease.com

March 1, 2012

We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is. I freely admit to being wrong.. As a heart surgeon with 25 years experience, having performed over 5,000 open-heart surgeries,today is my day to right the wrong with medical and scientific fact.

I trained for many years with other prominent physicians labelled “opinion makers.” Bombarded with scientific literature, continually attending education seminars, we opinion makers insisted heart disease resulted from the simple fact of elevated blood cholesterol.

The only accepted therapy was prescribing medications to lower cholesterol and a diet that severely restricted fat intake. The latter of course we insisted would lower cholesterol and heart disease. Deviations from these recommendations were considered heresy and could quite possibly result in malpractice.

It Is Not Working!

These recommendations are no longer scientifically or morally defensible. The discovery a few years ago that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease is slowly leading to a paradigm shift in how heart disease and other chronic ailments will be treated.

The long-established dietary recommendations have created epidemics of obesity and diabetes, the consequences of which dwarf any historical plague in terms of mortality, human suffering and dire economic consequences.

Despite the fact that 25% of the population takes expensive statin medications and despite the fact we have reduced the fat content of our diets, more Americans will die this year of heart disease than ever before.

Statistics from the American Heart Association show that 75 million Americans currently suffer from heart disease, 20 million have diabetes and 57 million have pre-diabetes. These disorders are affecting younger and younger people in greater numbers every year.

Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.

Inflammation is not complicated -- it is quite simply your body's natural defence to a foreign invader such as a bacteria, toxin or virus. The cycle of inflammation is perfect in how it protects your body from these bacterial and viral invaders. However, if we chronically expose the body to injury by toxins or foods the human body was never designed to process,a condition occurs called chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is just as harmful as acute inflammation is beneficial.

What thoughtful person would willfully expose himself repeatedly to foods or other substances that are known to cause injury to the body? Well,smokers perhaps, but at least they made that choice willfully.

The rest of us have simply followed the recommended mainstream dietthat is low in fat and high in polyunsaturated fats and carbohydrates, not knowing we were causing repeated injury to our blood vessels. This repeated injury creates chronic inflammation leading to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity.

Let me repeat that: The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet recommended for years by mainstream medicine.

What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.

Take a moment to visualize rubbing a stiff brush repeatedly over soft skin until it becomes quite red and nearly bleeding. you kept this up several times a day, every day for five years. If you could tolerate this painful brushing, you would have a bleeding, swollen infected area that became worse with each repeated injury. This is a good way to visualize the inflammatory process that could be going on in your body right now.

Regardless of where the inflammatory process occurs, externally or internally, it is the same. I have peered inside thousands upon thousands of arteries. A diseased artery looks as if someone took a brush and scrubbed repeatedly against its wall. Several times a day, every day, the foods we eat create small injuries compounding into more injuries, causing the body to respond continuously and appropriately with inflammation.

While we savor the tantalizing taste of a sweet roll, our bodies respond alarmingly as if a foreign invader arrived declaring war. Foods loaded with sugars and simple carbohydrates, or processed withomega-6 oils for long shelf life have been the mainstay of the American diet for six decades. These foods have been slowly poisoning everyone.

How does eating a simple sweet roll create a cascade of inflammation to make you sick?

Imagine spilling syrup on your keyboard and you have a visual of what occurs inside the cell. When we consume simple carbohydrates such as sugar, blood sugar rises rapidly. In response, your pancreas secretes insulin whose primary purpose is to drive sugar into each cell where it is stored for energy. If the cell is full and does not need glucose, it is rejected to avoid extra sugar gumming up the works.

When your full cells reject the extra glucose, blood sugar rises producing more insulin and the glucose converts to stored fat.

What does all this have to do with inflammation? Blood sugar is controlled in a very narrow range. Extra sugar molecules attach to a variety of proteins that in turn injure the blood vessel wall. This repeated injury to the blood vessel wall sets off inflammation. When you spike your blood sugar level several times a day, every day, it is exactly like taking sandpaper to the inside of your delicate blood vessels.

While you may not be able to see it, rest assured it is there. I saw it in over 5,000 surgical patients spanning 25 years who all shared one common denominator -- inflammation in their arteries.

Let’s get back to the sweet roll. That innocent looking goody not only contains sugars, it is baked in one of many omega-6 oils such as soybean. Chips and fries are soaked in soybean oil; processed foods are manufactured with omega-6 oils for longer shelf life. While omega-6’s are essential -they are part of every cell membrane controlling what goes in and out of the cell -- they must be in the correct balance with omega-3’s.

If the balance shifts by consuming excessive omega-6, the cell membrane produces chemicals called cytokines that directly cause inflammation.

Today’s mainstream American diet has produced an extreme imbalance of these two fats. The ratio of imbalance ranges from 15:1 to as high as 30:1 in favor of omega-6. That’s a tremendous amount of cytokines causing inflammation. In today’s food environment, a 3:1 ratio would be optimal and healthy.

To make matters worse, the excess weight you are carrying from eating these foods creates overloaded fat cells that pour out large quantities of pro-inflammatory chemicals that add to the injury caused by having high blood sugar. The process that began with a sweet roll turns into a vicious cycle over time that creates heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and finally, Alzheimer’s disease, as the inflammatory process continues unabated.

There is no escaping the fact that the more we consume prepared and processed foods, the more we trip the inflammation switch little by little each day. The human body cannot process, nor was it designed to consume, foods packed with sugars and soaked in omega-6 oils.

There is but one answer to quieting inflammation, and that is returning to foods closer to their natural state. To build muscle, eat more protein. Choose carbohydrates that are very complex such as colorful fruits and vegetables. Cut down on or eliminate inflammation- causing omega-6 fats like corn and soybean oil and the processed foods that are made from them.

One tablespoon of corn oil contains 7,280 mg of omega-6; soybean contains 6,940 mg. Instead, use olive oil or butter from grass-fed beef.

Animal fats contain less than 20% omega-6 and are much less likely to cause inflammation than the supposedly healthy oils labelled polyunsaturated. Forget the “science” that has been drummed into your head for decades. The science that saturated fat alone causes heart disease is non-existent. The science that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol is also very weak. Since we now know that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, the concern about saturated fat is even more absurd today.

The cholesterol theory led to the no-fat, low-fat recommendations that in turn created the very foods now causing an epidemic of inflammation. Mainstream medicine made a terrible mistake when it advised people to avoid saturated fat in favor of foods high in omega-6 fats. We now have an epidemic of arterial inflammation leading to heart disease and other silent killers.

What you can do is choose whole foods your grandmother served and not those your mom turned to as grocery store aisles filled with manufactured foods. By eliminating inflammatory foods and adding essential nutrients from fresh unprocessed food, you will reverse years of damage in your arteries and throughout your body from consuming the typical American diet.

Dr. Dwight Lundell is the past Chief of Staff and Chief of Surgery at Banner Heart Hospital , Mesa , AZ. His private practice, Cardiac Care Center was in Mesa, AZ. Recently Dr. Lundell left surgery to focus on the nutritional treatment of heart disease. He is the founder of Healthy Humans Foundation that promotes human health with a focus on helping large corporations promote wellness. He is also the author of The Cure for Heart Disease and The Great Cholesterol Lie.

Thirsty?

Steering You Kids

to Better Drinks

In an ideal world, kids would drink only water and milk in the quantities recommended by dietary guidelines: 16 ounces of nonfat or low-fat dairy for children ages 2 or 3; 20 ounces for children ages 4 to 8; and 24 ounces for anyone 9 and older.

But the lure of sodas, fruit drinks, sports drinks, flavored milks and flavored waters that have made sugar-sweetened beverages the leading source of added sugar in children's diets — and, consequently, a prime culprit in tooth cavities and childhood obesity — is as unavoidable as Justin Bieber's singing toothbrush.

How can you steer your kids toward more healthful choices? Here are some tips.

Practice what you preach

Pour yourself a glass of milk when you give one to your child, and don't keep sugary drinks in the house, Dr. Mary Lou Gavin, a pediatrician specializing in weight management at Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., and a medical editor at kidshealth.org. The younger your child is when you instill healthy habits, the easier it will be.

Limit fruit juice

Though it provides some nutrients, 100 percent fruit juice has loads of sugar and, being liquid, doesn't offer the same fiber and fullness you get when you eat an actual piece of fruit, Gavin said. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 4 to 6 ounces of 100 percent fruit juice per day for children age 1 to 6, and no more than 8 to 12 ounces for kids older than 6.

Treat sugary drinks as dessert

Rather than ban them outright, which might make them all the more appealing, allow them as occasional treats, said Marlene Schwartz, deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and Yale University.

Visualize the sugar content

A can of full-calorie soda has 39 to 44 grams of sugar — the equivalent of 10 to 11 teaspoons of sugar, an image that just might give a kid pause, Schwartz said. Convert grams of sugar to teaspoons by dividing by 4.

Avoid diet drinks

Although they can be useful tools when weaning overweight or soda-addicted kids off of sugary beverages, it's generally best not to feed kids artificial sweeteners when we don't know their potential long-term effects, Schwartz said.

Interpret ingredient lists

Added sugars and artificial sweeteners can be hard to spot because they come under many names. Some common aliases for added sugar, according to the Rudd Center: high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, corn syrup, fructose, sucrose, glucose, crystalline fructose, cane sugar. Artificial sweeteners might go by acesulfame potassium, aspartame, sucralose, stevia/rebiana.

Fun alternatives


Instead of: Store-bought flavored milk

            Try: Nonfat or low-fat milk with a dollop of chocolate or strawberry syrup

Instead of: Vitamin water or flavored water

            Try: Regular water with a twist of lemon or lime, or a slice of cucumber or watermelon

Instead of: Soft drinks

            Try: Seltzer water with a splash of 100 percent fruit juice

Instead of: Fruit drinks, sports drinks and sweetened teas

            Try: Homemade, unsweetened tea with a splash of juice

Instead of: 100 percent fruit juice

            Try: A fruit smoothie with real fruit, low-fat yogurt and no added sugar

Electronic conversion from Chicago Tribune - 3 March 2012

It's Not Just About Teeth!

What your dental hygienist knows could save your life

The eyes may be the windows to the soul but the mouth is a gateway to the rest of the body. We once believed that the worst outcome of poor dental hygiene was tooth loss, but research clearly links oral health to overall health, so far more is at stake. The earliest signs of a number of serious health issues are reflected in the teeth, gums and tongue, often long before a diagnosis is made.

There are millions of bacteria in the mouth and ignoring oral health routines can lead to inflammation causing these bacteria to grow and spread at alarming rates and to find their way into the bloodstream. Unchecked plaque on your teeth can result in gingivitis, periodontal disease and tooth decay. Research suggests that periodontal disease is a risk factor contributing to serious life-threatening illnesses such as lung and heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Dental hygienists have the skills, knowledge and judgement to facilitate early detection of these issues. At a dental visit your hygienist will assess your health history, examine your head and neck and check your mouth. Together you will develop an oral hygiene care plan that includes prevention and treatment therapies to ensure the best overall health possible. If necessary, your dental hygienist may refer you to other healthcare professionals. You can't afford to wait. Periodontal disease can be prevented and controlled, thereby decreasing your chances of other serious illnesses.

Conditioning the Body to Prevent TMJ Pain

7 Steps to De-stress After a Tough Day

Decompressing and releasing tension after a difficult day is essential for your overall health. You can easily create a soothing ritual that will help you to unwind.  Carrying stress and anxiety in your body will deplete your energy and could turn into a more serious health issue. It can also cause chronic muscle fatigue that can eventually develop into a Temperomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ).  It’s important to disconnect from the stressful situation so you can bring positive energy into your evening.

Immersing your senses in multiple relaxation techniques will help you recover from fatigue more quickly, improve sleep habits and improve the body's immune response to further stress or illness. Below are seven steps to a new, energized you!

1. Express your stress but don’t repeat it over and over  – It’s healthy to talk about a stressful day to a friend or significant other but don’t repeat it again and again to multiple people. Every time you share your upset, you bring it back into your energy field and get upset all over again. Your friends begin associating you with your problems and that’s not helpful. You want them to send you positive energy. After you share, ask your friend or companion to help you by envisioning you free from this stress and feeling happy.

2. Cut the cord – After you leave the demanding situation, it’s important to “cut the cord” from the person or event that stressed you out. Your solar plexus (soft area between your ribs) is a place that gets zapped with negative energy. Simply put, you are connected to people through invisible energy cords that gather in that area. To disconnect, swing your hand in front of your solar plexus with your palm facing your body like you are cutting the cord to that person. Visualize your hand as a sword and say “I’m cutting the cord from this person or this situation.” Making the hand gesture and stating your intention helps to disconnect you from the negative energy.

3. Take off your shoes before entering your home - Leave your stress outside of your home. Once you step inside, you will be entering a sanctuary. Your home is your temple. Don’t bring the dirt (negative energy and stress) with you. Click here for a video on De-Stressing in the Home. 

4. Drink a cup of herbal tea - Calming herbs and relaxing teas can take the edge off stress and offer you a bit of herbal anxiety relief. There are many tea companies offering relaxing blends of herbal tea that are caffeine free. Some relaxing herbs include Chamomile, Verbena and Valerian.

5. Light an aromatherapy candle - There are a variety of aromatherapy scents that can be useful for calming and relieving stress. Try Lavender, Jasmine, Rose, Neroli, Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang, Vanilla or a combination. Bring the candle into your bathroom or bedroom and gently focus on the flame to quiet your mind.

6. Take a salt bath with lavender essential oil - Sea salt (not Epsom Salt) is an effective way to clean your body and energy from a stressful day. Pour two cups of sea salt into a bath and add eight drops of Lavender essential oil.  Relax your body in the warm bath for at least 20 minutes. Make sure the water covers your solar plexus. You’ll be amazed at the lightness you feel when you emerge.

7. Do a visualization in the bathtub - As you are soaking in your salt bath, visualize the water as a warm violet lake. Violet is the color for clearing emotions. Close your eyes and envision the stress leaving your body, mind and spirit and immediately dissolving into this violet lake.

8. Sooth your soul with music - You can play a guided visualization on a CD that will leave you relaxed. In addition, you may also choose to watch a funny movie, play relaxing music and eat healthy food. Be purposeful in bringing positive energy back into your body!

Formulas Could Drive Sugar Tendencies for Growing Kids

Dentist Warns Some Formulas Condition Children to Crave Sugar

Grandmother Nancy Brecj said she could not believe her eyes when she couldn't find a sugar amount listed on her granddaughter's infant formula.  "We looked at all the formulas in the grocery store, even the store brand ones, and none of them listed the sugar grams per serving. None of them," Brecj said.

Baby Kimberly's weight had recently shot up four pounds in one month, Brecj said, after her mother switched her from breast milk to formula.  As she was preparing Kimberly's bottle of Enfamil one day, Brecj said she began to wonder exactly how much sugar was in it.

A call to the formula maker did not satisfy her concern.

"I called the company and I said, 'You know, how many grams of sugar per serving are in your baby formula?' And (they said), 'Well, ma'am, we don't add sugar to our baby formulas.'"

With 'corn syrup' solids listed first on the ingredients part of the label, Brecj said she wasn't buying that answer. She knew sugar was in there, but how much?

Her question took NBC to independent lab Deibel Laboratories with seven popular brands of formula we bought for testing.

Scientists conducted a sugar profile on each sample, testing for five types of sugars.

Among the notable sugar findings:

Enfamil Premium and Parent's Choice premium infant formulas had the highest sugar content, at 13.5 and 12.4 grams per serving. The amounts are high but experts say the type of sugar revealed is the best: lactose, the same type found in breast milk.

Three brands tested low for any sugar: Gerber Good Start, Similac Advance Complete and Enfamil Pro-Sobee.

Conversely, in two types of formula made by Similac, the test revealed other added sugars.

Similac Advance Organic Complete Nutrition contained one of the sweetest kind: sucrose -- measuring in at 3.5 grams of sugar per serving. Similac Soy Infant Formula with Iron contained four kinds of added sugar, including sucrose, for a total of 3.8 grams per serving, roughly the equivalent of one teaspoon of sugar every 5 ounces

In Europe, concern over childhood obesity led to a ban on sucrose in baby formula.  Dozens of countries do not allow the kind of sugar we found in the two Similac brands.

We shared our results with Chicago pediatric dentist Kevin Boyd, who also has a Masters in nutrition and dietetics.  Boyd said he has long been concerned about the sweetness of formula and the effect it has on babies.  "We're conditioning them to crave sweetness," Boyd said. "I would say any formula that has sucrose, it's super sweet, it makes the kid crave sugar. It triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, and it's a comfort-level thing. It makes the kid want to eat more, so they become hypersensitive to sweetness."

While the amounts of sugar grams may be low, Boyd said the impact on babies is huge.

"They're conditioned to just really like super sweet.... And their fat cells are saying more, more, more please."  He said some of the formulas are so sweet -- he calls them 'baby milkshakes' -- and believes they may play a role in our country's battle with childhood obesity.  "If a child makes too many fat cells, they never go away. And they always want to be fed," he said.

While the Food and Drug administration does regulate many aspects of formula, it does not require makers to list sugar amounts.  The agency is also silent when it comes to how much sugar is allowed.

The maker of Enfamil said it does not include any added sugars, including sucrose, because they are not found in breast milk.  The maker of Parents Choice echoed that philosophy.  The maker of Similac did not respond directly to our questions, but industry group The International Formula Council did step in to point out sucrose has been found safe in both clinical trials and years of consumer use.

The IFC's full statement:

"Similar to breast milk, most milk-based infant formulas contain a carbohydrate called lactose, which is the sugar found in milk. In some formulas, corn syrup solids, maltodextrin, or sucrose are used to replace some or all of the lactose to maintain a carbohydrate level, similar to human milk. Corn syrup solids are NOT the same as high-fructose corn syrup.

Lactose, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, maltodextrin, and sucrose are safe ingredients and some of the carbohydrates that may be used to provide calories for energy needed by term infants. All of these carbohydrates have been shown in clinical studies and many years of consumer use to be safe, and support normal growth and development in infants. International Formula Council* (IFC) members select infant formula ingredients for their ability to meet nutritional targets and assure product quality.

Infant formulas are highly regulated and must meet rigorous safety and quality standards set by national and international regulatory authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada, the European Union and other regulatory agencies.

According to 21 CFR 107.10, the labels on infant formula packaging must declare total carbohydrates. Individual carbohydrates are not required to be listed on the nutrient panel for infant formulas, but are provided on the product label's ingredient list.

Parents and health professionals can be assured infant formula is safe and nutritious."

Green Tea May Strengthen Your Teeth

Researchers Suspect Antimicrobial Molecules Contained Within Green Tea Helps Preserve Teeth (as long as you don't add sugar).

A cup of green tea a day may keep the dentist away.

That's the finding of new research published in Preventive Medicine. The findings show that drinking at least one cup of green tea a day increases the odds of keeping your teeth as you age.

The researchers suspect that antimicrobial molecules called catechins present in green tea and in lesser amounts in oolong tea provide the benefit. But be careful if you like your tea with sugar: sweetener may negate the effect, the team found.

"Green tea may have bacteriocidal effects, which would affect teeth, but only if you drink it without sugar," said Alfredo Morabia, of Columbia University in New York and editor of Preventive Medicine, who wrote an editorial accompanying the new research.

"They also reported that drinking sweet coffee was actually deleterious," he added. "Coffee alone had no problem, but sweet coffee would actually make you lose your teeth." 

THE GIST:

• People aged 40-64 who drank one cup of green tea a day were less likely to lose teeth.
• Drinking unsweetened coffee had no effect on keeping teeth.
• Antimicrobial molecules called catechins may account for green tea's benefits.

Yasushi Koyama of the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine and colleagues looked at more than 25,000 Japanese men and women between age 40 and 64 in making the determination.  They found that men who drank at least one cup of tea a day were 19 percent less likely to have fewer than 20 teeth (a full set including wisdom teeth is 32) than those who did not drink green tea. Tea-drinking women had 13 percent lower odds.

One possible explanation for the benefits of tea drinking is that warm drinks wash out your mouth. But coffee, which also provides a mouth rinse, had no benefit, suggesting something else is going on.

Catechins have been shown to kill mouth bacteria associated with tooth decay and gum disease, so the researchers suspect this is what gives green tea its dental benefits.

"Previous research has indicated that regular consumption of green tea may lead to a lower instance of periodontal disease, a leading cause of tooth loss in adults," said Samuel Low of the University of Florida College of Dentistry and President of the American Academy of Periodontology in a statement to Discovery News.

Maintaining healthy teeth and gums is part of maintaining a healthy body, Low said. "That is why it is so important to find simple ways to boost periodontal health, such as regularly drinking green tea -- something already known to possess certain health-related benefits."