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University of Illinois scientist Elvira de Mejia conducted a study that showed that  mate tea drinkers increased the activity of enzymes that improve HDL (good) cholesterol and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. “Yerba mate” is a traditional infusion drunk in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and regions of Chile and Brazil. “Ilex paraguayensis, the mate plant has been grown and consumed for centuries. Dr Mejia has signed a five-year agreement with La Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNaM, national University of Misiones) to carry out a collaborative study to assess 84 genotypes of mate tea for their ability to provide benefits on cholesterol and other health factors. Both cultivated and wild varieties will be included in the study.

In the September issue of the specialized journal Planta Medica, Dr mejia said that their studies show that some of the most important antioxidant enzymes in the body experience induction by this mate herbal tea, and since Argentina has so many different mate varieties, they’ll perform more comparisons between the various genotypes. They’ll be also able to explore the benefits of cultivating under different conditions.

The aim is not only identifying the most beneficial genotypes of the herbal tea in terms of nutrition value, but also help Argentine producers to improve drying and processing of mate tea to achieve better extraction of the tea’s bioactive compounds.

“Food companies are very interested in adding tea extracts to juices, soda, and even beer to increase the nutritional value of their products,” she said.

Adapted from http://www.eurekalert.org/

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If you made up your mind about improving your self-image by undergoing plastic surgery such as botox or breast augmentation, you have to take the following things into consideration immediately before the surgery.

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A recent report informs that a great proportion of infants with bronchiolitis have an inherent predisposition.

Bronchiolitis is the most common acute wheezing disease in infants and is a frequent reason of admission to hospital during the first year of life in developed countries. Moreover, about 10% of these patients need respiratory support.

Bronchiolitis usually develops in babies undergoing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Although in most cases infection with RSV produce mild symptoms like cough and wheeze, some can develop potentially life-threatening bronchiolitis. Although premature babies are more susceptible to this condition, the majority of hospitalized infants were otherwise healthy. The study made by University of Liverpool researchers found that these babies that got the severe manifestation but were previously healthy have a different immune response to the ones with mild symptoms. The study, with about 200 babies recorded during 5 years found that those having severe bronchiolitis had lower levels of interferon-gamma and P-substance in their airway secretions. Gamma interferon is made in the body in response to viral infections. P substance is less known but is believed to be involved in the inflammatory process.

Study members said that the work helps to understand the relationship between chest problems in childhood with the occurrence of bronchiolitis in infancy. This study shows that the predisposition to bronchiolitis is related to the capacity to fight viruses. Since the RSV is the most common respiratory virus around, it is the most lilely to be caught by babies with reduced ability to fight infections. The investigators conclude that the relation between bronchiolitis in babies and chest propensity in childhood is due to a common immune predisposition and is likely to have genetic basis.

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