Stress. Stress is the single biggest threat facing the middle and the increasingly lower middle management segments. (Here, I am deliberately not delving into the stress related ailments of the top management as much has already been written about the matter.) Young men and women are today taking an incredible, and in cases unbearable, amount of stress in the workplace which added to the stress of fragile relationships is taking epic proportions.
The fallout is also on predictable lines. They start their days groggy, desperately trying to shake off the tiredness induced by a lack of sleep and overdose of alcohol. Cups of caffeine flow through the system with accompanying puff’s of nicotine to clear the mind off the cobwebs of excesses. And by the time the mind-body co-ordination reaches a semblance of normalcy, it’s already late evening – time to bring out the fire water. All this, while delivering at peak levels. Day in and day out.
What is the way out? Well, I have no magic wand, neither am I some messiah who can lead the young from out of the morass. But I have one suggestion that can arrest much of the ill effects of this nicotine-caffeine-alcohol led lifestyle. Switch to green tea.
Green Tea? Yes, green tea. The Chinese have been using it as a medicinal herb for over 4,000 years now and have been known to use it to treat everything from headaches to depression. The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.
Researchers have found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo – which, in our case, is like a manna from heaven. Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay! Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that causes dental plaque. Meanwhile, skin preparations containing green tea – from deodorants to creams – are starting to appear on the market.
There is no upper cap on how much green tea one can imbibe and as a replacement of the cappuccino’s that we pour from the vending machine, it can do wonders considering the fact that with each up, we will be taking in that much less sugar.
To date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six – eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee.
Green Tea contains catechins into whose efficacies I will not enter. Suffice it say, by adding green tea to the normal routine, the proletariats will have nothing to lose and a whole new healthy lifestyle to win.