Police uncover bomb factory in Kogi State

The Kogi State Command of the Nigeria Police has uncovered a bomb factory in Okaito, a remote village in Okehi Local Government Area of the state.

Parading one of the suspects in Lokoja, the state Police Commissioner, Muhammed Katsina, said his men were able to locate the bomb factory following the confession of the man who was arrested in connection with the Sunday’s explosion in Okene.

The commissioner explained that the police discovered that a  4-bedroom bungalow where the suspect ran to for refuge which served as a church and mosque was actually the base where bombs of various sizes are manufactured

Vanguard gathered that the gang always started with Christian service, and minutes later changed to Islamic worship but unknown to the people of the area, while those “services” were going on, other members of the gang were busy assembling the bombs inside.

The police boss who declined to disclose the owner of the said building, said investigation was ongoing and warned property owners, particularly landlords, to examine properly those who they decide to rent their houses to as “anyone  found within this criminal conspiracy will be dealt with as a culprit.”

Items recovered from the bomb factory site include 46 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), 15 capacitors, 15 fuses, three bottles of potassium chloride, five litres of acid and one electrical detonator.

Others are rolls of firing cables, 250m detonating cord, three remote controlled siren, GSM sets, nails of various sizes, ammunition, a motorcycle, Bibles, Qurans, among other household items.

It would be recalled that between December 2011 till date, four different bomb factories have been uncovered in Kogi State; one in Kabba on the western axis of the state, while the remaining three were located in Okene, Okehi and Adavi areas, all in the central area of the state.

SENATE LIFTS SUSPENSION ON NEW NUMBER PLATES; SLASHES FEES BY 30%

The controversy surrounding  the new number plates and vehicle registration by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC)  was Thursday put to rest as the Senate lifted its earlier order suspending the scheme and also reduced the chargeable fees by 30 per cent.

Following the adoption of the recommendations of its Committee on Federal Character and Inter-governmental Affairs, the Senate stipulated that the standard motor vehicle plate numbers would now cost N8, 400 instead of N15,000 while the fee for the procurement of new Driver’s License has been reduced from N6,000 to N4,000.

In the same vein, articulated vehicle owners will now pay N11, 200, instead of the N20,000 stipulated by the FRSC; while fees for privileged numbers and fancy or personalised numbers were left as originally recommended by the FRSC.

However, dealer number plates which cost N30, 000 before now was slashed to N16, 800. Consequently it lifted the suspension on the issuance of the plates and new drivers’ licenses, just as it barred the police from conducting another vehicle registration and stipulated that the deadline for compliance with the new scheme be extended from August 2012 to February 2013.

Chairman of the committee, Dahiru Awaisu Kuta, while presenting the report  said: “The current suspension on the issuance of the new drivers’ licence and vehicle number plates now in its fourth month, resulting in a huge backlog of demands for these items by the motorists be lifted immediately, taking into account 30 per cent reduction.”

It therefore directed the police to “suspend the introduction of Bio-metric Central Motor Registry (BCMR) and the N3, 500 that goes with it as this is an additional burden and unnecessary duplication of the on-going scheme by the FRSC on the vehicle owner which is capable of translating into hike in transport fare for commuters.”

Hundreds Killed By Petrol Tanker Explosion in Rivers State

Another fire tragedy reminiscent of the Jesse pipeline fire disaster of yester-years befell the nation on October 18, 1998. In the similar fuel burst and scooping factor, no fewer than ninety-two persons avoidably died at Okogbe Community in Ahoada West Local Council of Rivers State.

It was gathered that the tragic incident occurred at about 7.30 a.m. yesterday when a tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) while trying to avoid an oncoming Toyota Corolla at a bad section of the East-West Road suddenly lost control, fell down and spewed its content which volume reached waist level and flowed like a stream.

The news of the accident spread quickly through the community and the people immediately thronged the scene with jerry cans and started scooping the spilled product. Amidst this, fire was suddenly ignited and engulfed those present.

However, on October 18, 1998, a pipeline explosion occurred in Jesse Community of Ethiope-West Local Council of Delta State.

The cause of the blast continued to be a source of controversy. While the Federal Government blamed the explosion on scavengers who intentionally ruptured the pipeline with their tools and ignited the blaze, other reports blamed the explosion on poorly maintained pipelines.

One of the pipes had burst and the local people gathered to collect spilled petrol from the oil pipeline.

The spilled petrol flowed in the farm and in Ethiope River. People going to their farms discovered that they were wading in petrol and not in water. There was a rush to fetch the petrol from the farm and the floating petrol in the river. No one is certain how the fire was ignited.

But in spite of the arguments, over 1,000 people died in the blast, which is considered the worst pipeline explosion in Nigeria. It took the intervention of a fire-fighting company from the United States, with a nitrogen-rich foam, to extinguish the blaze on October 23.

Located in the Niger Delta, the pipeline owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), served as a link between Warri Refinery and Kaduna Refinery.

The death toll continued to rise weeks after the explosion, as many died of injuries in the hospitals. Many were burnt beyond recognition and were buried in a mass grave.

Speaking with journalists at the Ahoada General Hospital in Ahoada, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson Parker, said he counted 200 corpses.

His words: “I will describe this as the single worst incident that has happened to Rivers State since the Civil War. It is even worse than the Sosoliso crash we experienced before now. It’s quite a pity.

“The situation would have been saved if they didn’t go there because when the accident happened, there was no fire. The fire, as I heard, started when they started scooping fuel. So, the situation would have been saved if people didn’t go there to scoop fuel.

“As far as I am concerned, this is a national disaster. I don’t think anything like this has happened even in the areas where we are hearing of bomb blasts, Boko Haram or plane crashes. I think this is the worst single disaster that has happened to Nigeria, I don’t know which other one because the corpses I counted alone, those ones that are there alone are over 200 littered about and they have not finished counting. Cremation is what we see at the site, some people are burnt to ashes, so, how many can you count? Look at the number that have been taken to several hospitals.”

But the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Rivers State, Dr. Kayode Olagunju, said 93 persons died.

He said: “There is a major fatal crash at Okogbe about 11 kilometres from Ahoada-Mbiama on the East-West Road, Rivers State. The accident occurred around 06.30 hrs. A tanker laden with petrol crashed with three other vehicles: A Toyota Corolla, Hummer bus and a Mitsubishi bus. Thirty-four motorcycles also got burnt.  People were scooping fuel from the fell tanker when the tanker exploded. The FRSC, police, fire service, JTF are at the scene.

“Final casualty figures on the Okogbe tanker crash incident: 93 died on the spot (burnt), two died in hospital. 18 persons were injured.”

Eyewitnesses said over ninety-two persons were consumed by the inferno. About twenty persons were said to have been rescued and rushed to a hospital.

A brother of a victim, Mr. Mike Uchechi, lamented that it was the deplorable state of the road that caused the tanker accident, which led to the death of about 100 persons.

He said it was disheartening that the Federal Government has not completed the East-West Road since its inception.

Hundreds of sympathisers were sighted at the scene, including the Civil Defence, Joint Military Task Force, public health officers, state emergency officials, local council agencies and the police.

A sympathiser at the scene, Mrs. Joan Osoh, said she was going to a ceremony but could no longer proceed due to the incidence.

She asked: “How much fuel were they taking that could be compared to their lives? People should learn to resist temptation of quick money and be contented with what they have.”

Osoh, however, contended that the abject poverty in the country may have forced some people into such incidents and advised government at all levels to provide employment opportunities to avert similar incidents.

The South-South Zonal Co-ordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Umesi Emenike, while speaking at the scene, noted that the tragedy could have been avoided if the people had controlled their urge for quick money.

He disclosed that the spilled fuel was flowing like a stream, adding that it got to the hip level of the victims, which according to him, was a clear sign of danger.

“This is becoming a re-occurring event in Nigeria. People by now should be able to identify fire, danger around them and resist the temptation of being victims.

The spilled fuel was like a stream. It got to the hips of the victims who were scooping the fuel, and lack of self-control contributed majorly to this.”

He, however, urged the state government to decentralise the fire service to enable it attend promptly to similar incidents and reduce the level of casualties.

“Government should ensure the implementation of the decentralisation policy of fire service to reduce the number of casualties in similar incidences because the fire serviceman coming from the state capital before he gets here, the damages were done, though there is fire service in Ahoada but there are no trucks; there is need to decentralise fire service.”

Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ben Ugwulegbu, said the force was still working to get the exact figure of the casualties.

“Early this morning, a tanker loaded with petrol fell in Okogbe and people trooped to the scene obviously to scoop the spilled fuel and suddenly there was fire resulting in casualties,” Rivers State police spokesman, Ben Ugwuegbulam, told Reuters.

Ugwuegbulam said it was too early to give a casualty figure but a Reuters witness at the scene counted 92 dead bodies of men, women and children.

Hundreds of people crowded around as soldiers and emergency workers lifted bodies into ambulances and police trucks. The fuel tanker was a pile of smouldering ash, twisted metal and melting tyres.

Crashes are common on Nigeria’s pot-holed and poorly maintained roads, and in a region where most people live on less than $2 a day, the chance to collect spilling petrol is too much of a temptation, despite the high risk of fires.

The East-West Road, which runs across the oil-producing region, has been scheduled for development for almost a decade and money is allocated for it in the budget each year.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, is plagued by corruption and inefficiency. Most years, only about half budgeted programmes are implemented.

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday expressed deep sadness over the loss of many lives caused by the explosion resulting from the leakage of fuel from a fallen tanker at Okogbe, Rivers State.

He, therefore, directed federal relief and health agencies to do everything possible to ensure that all those who survived the explosion with burns and injuries receive prompt and effective medical attention.

In a statement by his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President expressed particular distraught by the fact that once again, so many Nigerian lives have been lost in an avoidable fuel fire disaster.

It added: “The President conveys his sincerest condolences to the families of the victims, and the government and people of Rivers State.”

Governor Chibuike Amaechi is utterly devastated by incident and the unfortunate loss of lives, according to his spokesman, David Iyofor.

“Governor Amaechi has to cancel his official engagements in Abuja to rush down to the scene. As we speak, the governor is waiting to board a flight to Port Harcourt so that he can visit the scene of this very tragic accident and console the families of the victims.” Iyofor said.

Some sources maintain the belief that the explosion was caused by a phone call from one of the victims inviting a friend to come and join in the spree.

7 Reasons to drink Green Tea

 

Have you ever taken time to consider Green Tea?

Green tea is an oriental evergreen tree that can reach a height of 30 feet in the wild, the tea plant is kept as a shrub on tea plantations, where it is pruned to a height of about 3 feet to encourage new growth. Being a relative of the camellia with the botanical name of Camellia sinesis, the tea plant produces abundant foliage, a camellia-like flower and berries containing one to two seeds. Only the smallest, youngest parts of the plant—the two leaves and bud at the tip of each new shoot—are picked for tea.

A bag of green tea contains zero calories, approximately 0.06 mg of caffeine, and 80-100 mg of polyphenols, 25-30 mg of which are epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG).

Tea History

The tea plant, source of the most popular beverage in the world, is believed to have originated in the landmass encompassing Tibet, western China, and northern India. According to ancient Chinese legend, tea was discovered by the Chinese emperor Shen-Nung in 2737 B.C., when leaves from a wild tea bush accidentally fell into a pot of water he was boiling. The first recorded mention of tea appears in a contract for slaves known as "Tan Yuch," written by Wang Pao, poet laureate to Emperor Husan, in 59 B.C. By 780 A.D., when Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea was published in China, the cultivation and consumption of tea, whose name derives from the Chinese Amoy dialect word "t'e," pronounced "tay," had developed into a fine art. Today, "cha" means tea in Chinese. As this word moved westward into Middle Eastern languages, it sometimes became altered to "chai."

India attributes the discovery of tea to the Buddhist monk Siddhartha in the 6th century. Legend has it that the prince-turned-monk traveled north from India to China to preach Buddhism, vowing he would meditate without sleeping for nine years. Reaching Canton in 519 A.D., he stationed himself before a wall of meditation where, after a mere five years, he was overcome by drowsiness. Inspired by divine intervention, he picked and chewed the leaves of a nearby tree, discovering, to his delight, a great sense of alertness and well-being. The tree whose health-giving properties enabled him to keep his vow was, of course, Camellia sinesis, whose leaves and seeds he carried with him as he continued his journey into Japan. In Japan, Buddhist monks quickly embraced tea, using it to remain alert during their own meditations and creating a simple drinking ritual that several hundred years later, tea master Sen-no Rikyu (1521-1591) developed into the high art of chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony.

From Japan, where tea was widely cultivated and consumed by the 9th century A.D., tea culture spread to Java, the Dutch East Indies, and other tropical and subtropical areas. In the 16th century, traders from Europe sailing to and from the Far East introduced Europeans to the delicious Asian drink, and by the 18th century, tea had become the national beverage of England.

  

Thousands of Chinese bushes stealthily acquired by botanist Robert Fortune, a "spy" for Great Britain's East India Trading Company, were introduced into India in the 1840s, where they quickly became a popular and profitable crop for the Empire.

Tea crossed the Atlantic with the American colonists, among whom its popularity led to the British imposition in 1767 of a tea tax that so infuriated the colonists that they revolted, tossing tons of tea into the harbor in 1733 in what became known as the Boston Tea Party. Freedom from unfair British taxation, symbolized by the tax on tea, became a central contributing factor to the Revolutionary War. The type of tea tossed into Boston harbor? Probably green since it was likely "gunpowder tea," green tea rolled tightly into pellets that looked like gunpowder shot to preserve its freshness during long voyages.

Several new innovations in tea consumption originated in the United States. In 1904, when a New York City merchant, Thomas Sullivan, sent his customers samples of tea in small silk bags, they found the bags could be used to conveniently brew a single cup of tea, and the tea bag was born. Another American innovation in tea drinking, instant tea, was first marketed in 1948.

Today, not China but India ranks as the number one producer of tea, although Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is the major tea supplier to the U.S. Worldwide, more than 2.5 million metric tons of tea are produced each year with India, China, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Indonesia, Turkey, U.S.S.R, Japan, Iran and Bangladesh being the leading tea growing countries.

Health Benefits

1.      It Protects the Liver from Alcohol and Other Harmful Chemicals

Alcohol metabolism results in the production of damaging free radicals that can overwhelm the liver's supply of antioxidants, resulting in liver injury. In a study published in the January 2004 issue of Alcohol in which rats were chronically intoxicated with alcohol for 4 weeks, green tea prevented damage to their livers.

Other animal research shows that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) protects the liver against the free radicals generated when mice are exposed to carbon tetrachloride, a toxic chemical solvent. Without the protection afforded by EGCG, carbon tetrachloride exposure resulted in the production of numerous free radicals that destroyed a significant amount of the animals' liver cells. With EGCG, free radical production and liver injury was so greatly reduced that researchers suggested green tea should be used in the treatment of liver disease.

Unlike some herbs, green tea's protective effects do not appear to affect two of the liver enzymes most often responsible for detoxifying and eliminating drugs, cytochrome P-450 2D6 and 3A4. This suggests that green tea might be safely consumed when taking medications primarily dependent upon the CYP2D6 or CYP3A4 pathways of metabolism. Hopefully, future research studies will bear out this potential benefit.

On the other hand, one study found that Japanese green tea did increase the activity of the CYP1A1 enzyme. Researchers hypothesized that the increase in activity of this liver enzyme may be one of the ways in which green tea helps protect against cancers caused by various dietary carcinogens.

2.      Promotes Fat Loss

Green tea not only promotes fat loss, but specifically, the loss of visceral fat—fat that accumulates in the tissues lining the abdominal cavity and surrounding the intestines (viscera) and internal organs. Unlike fat deposits on the hips and thighs (which result in the so-called "pear" body shape), visceral fat (which produces the "apple" body shape) is highly associated with increased risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

Green tea contains three major components that promote fat loss: catechins, caffeine and theanine. Studies suggest that green tea compounds promote fat loss by inhibiting both gastric and pancreatic lipase, the enzymes that digest triglycerides, and fatty acid synthetase, the enzyme responsible for synthesizing fatty acids into the form in which they can be stored in the body's adipose (fat) cells.

In a study published in the January 2004 issue of In Vivo in which mice were fed diets containing 2% green tea powder for 16 weeks, visceral fat decreased by 76.8% in those receiving green tea compared to the control group. Green tea also decreased blood levels of triglycerides (the chemical form in which most fats exist in the body).

A human study, published in the January 2005 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, confirms green tea's ability to not only reduce body fat, but damage to LDL cholesterol as well. After 12 weeks of drinking just one bottle of green tea each day, 38 normal-to-overweight men in Tokyo had a significantly lower body weight, BMI, waist circumference, body fat mass and amount of subcutaneous fat compared to men given a bottle of oolong tea each day.

After a 2 week diet run-in period, the men were divided into two groups, one of which drank a bottle of green tea containing 690 mg of catechins, while the other group drank a bottle of oolong tea containing 22 mg catechins. Not only did the men drinking green tea lose weight and fat, but the amount of their LDL cholesterol damaged by free radicals also dropped significantly. Since atherosclerotic plaques develop when cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream is damaged or oxidized, green tea's ability to prevent these oxidation reactions may explain some of its protective effects against cardiovascular diseases.

3.      Increases Exercise Endurance

Green tea extract given to lab rats over a 10-week span increased the amount of time the animals could swim before becoming exhausted by as much as 24%.

Green tea's catechins appear to stimulate the use of fatty acids by liver and muscle cells. In muscle cells, the ability to burn more fat translates into a reduction in the rate at which glycogen, the form in which carbohydrates are stored for ready access in muscle, is used up, thus allowing for longer exercise times. Green tea's effect on muscle cells' ability to take in and burn fatty acids, speeding up fat breakdown, is also thought to be the reason why it helps weight loss.

The idea for the experiment came from the fact that skeletal muscles utilize carbohydrates, lipids (fats) and amino acids (protein) as energy sources, but the ratio in which they are used varies with the intensity and type of the exercise, and the level of the individual's fitness. During endurance exercise, the use of too much carbohydrate is undesirable because it triggers insulin secretion, which, in turn, both inhibits the burning of fatty acids and stimulates lactic acid production. (Lactic acid buildup is what causes that sore achy feeling in your muscles when you exercise.) Conversely, enhanced availability and utilization of free fatty acids reduces carbohydrate utilization, which in turn spares glycogen (the form in which carbohydrates are stored in muscle for quick use) and suppresses lactic acid production, resulting in an increase in endurance."

Drinking a single cup of green tea before exercise, however, will not be effective. One single, higher "dose" of green tea did nothing to improve lab rats' performance. The animals had to receive green tea daily, and endurance increased gradually over the 10 weeks of the study.

To match the beneficial effect on test animals' endurance capacity seen in the experiments, the researchers estimate a 165-pound athlete would need to drink about 4 cups of green tea daily.

4.      Protects against Cognitive Decline, Alzheimer's Disease and     Parkinson's Disease

Damage to brain cells in Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases seems to result from the combination of a number of damaging factors including excessive inflammation and increased levels of iron, both of which lead to increased free radical production, exhaust the brain's supply of protective antioxidants and trigger the production of certain proteins, such as amyloid-beta, which promote apoptosis (cell suicide).

Green tea catechins, until recently thought to work simply as antioxidants, are now known to invoke a wide spectrum of neuroprotective cellular mechanisms. These include iron chelation, scavenging of free radicals, activation of survival genes and cell signaling pathways, and regulation of mitochondrial function. (The mitochondria are the energy production factories inside our cells. When they are not working properly, they generate many free radicals and little energy.) The end result is a significant lessening of damage to brain cells.

Iron accumulation in specific brain areas and free radical damage to brain cells are considered the major damaging factors responsible for a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders including both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

In the brain, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has been shown to act as an iron chelator, binding to and removing iron, thus preventing it from contributing to the production of free radicals. In addition to removing iron, EGCG also increases the activity of two major antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, further helping to decrease free radical damage.

Another active compound in green tea, epicatechin (EC), reduces the formation of a protein called amyloid-beta. Plaque-like deposits of amyloid-beta in the brain are a defining characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.

Animal studies conducted at the Douglas Hospital Research Centre, McGill University, Quebec, Canada, suggest that a daily cup or two of either black or green tea may reduce the risk of age-related degenerative brain disorders such as Alzheimer disease.

The researchers looked at the protective effects of two tea extracts and their main constituents, epigallocatechin gallate and epicatechin gallate, which are highly concentrated in green tea, on dying nerve cells. Both black and green tea extracts and catechins strongly blocked death of neurons (brain nerve cells)

When researchers exposed cultured neurons to amyloid alone, its effects were so toxic that the brain cells died, but when the cell cultures received amyloid immediately followed by tea extracts and catechins, the neurons were rescued and survived.

Green tea polyphenols have also demonstrated the ability to affect cell signaling pathways, in particular the MAPK pathways, which are triggered by oxidative stress (free radicals), and themselves set in motion a series of chemical reactions so damaging that they can result in brain cell death. MAPK signaling pathways inside brain cells are thought to play a critical role in neurodegenerative diseases.

Another important cell signaling pathway beneficially affected by EGCG, the PKC pathway, is also thought to play an essential role in the regulation of cell survival and programmed cell death.

Although no human studies on Alzheimer's disease have yet reported benefit from tea consumption, recent population studies have shown that simply consuming 2 or more cups of green tea daily reduces risk of cognitive decline and Parkinson's disease.

5.      Keeps Elders Mentally Sharp

Green tea helps slow the age-related decline in brain function seen as declining memory, cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer's, shows a human study published in the February 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers at Japan's Tohoku University studied 1003 subjects over age 70, comparing their green tea intake and mental sharpness, using a Mini-Mental State Examination, a well-accepted standardized test for measuring cognitive function.

Drinking more than 2 cups a day of green tea slashed odds of cognitive impairment in elderly Japanese men and women by 64%! And a Japanese cup of green tea is much smaller than its American counterpart—only about 3.2 fluid ounces.

And at every level of cognitive impairment—from minimal to severe—those drinking the most green tea experienced significantly less mental decline than those drinking the least:

Compared with elderly Japanese who drank less than 3 cups a week, those drinking more than 2 cups a day had a 54% lower risk of age-related declines in memory, orientation; ability to follow commands and attention.

Those drinking 4 to 6 cups of green tea a week (1 cup a day) had a 38 lower risk of declines in brain function.

Green tea's primary protective agent is thought to be its catechin phytonutrient epigallocatechingallate (EGCG).

6.      Fights Flu

A cup of green tea may help prevent or lessen the duration of the flu. In a lab study, published in the November 2005 issue of Antiviral Research, EGCG dramatically inhibited influenza virus replication in cell culture in all the subtypes of influenza virus tested. EGCG appears to suppress viral RNA synthesis by altering the properties of the viral membrane.

7.      Taking Green Tea with Black Pepper increases EGCG availability

An animal study suggests that consuming the spice, black pepper, when drinking green tea can significantly increase the amount of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) absorbed. In this study, rats and mice given green tea along with piperine (a bioactive component in black pepper) absorbed 130% more EGCG than control animals receiving EGCG alone.

Also, piperine was found to inhibit the glucuronidation of EGCG in the intestines. Glucuronidation is a chemical pathway that serves as one of the major ways our bodies convert drugs, steroids, and many other substances into metabolites that can then be excreted into the urine or bile. By inhibiting EGCG's glucuronidation, piperine allowed more of this catechin to be absorbed and utilized. So, next time you have a cup of green tea along with a meal, be sure to spice up your soup, salad and/or entrée with a little freshly ground black pepper.

Health Concerns

1.      Caffeine Content

Green tea contains caffeine, although half that found in coffee. The amount of caffeine that ends up in your cup of green tea will vary according to the amount of tea used, the length of time the leaves are infused, and if you drink the first or second infusion. Most of the caffeine in green tea is extracted into the water the first time the tea is infused.

2.      Interaction with Drugs

The tannins in green tea may decrease the absorption and thus the activity of the following drugs: atropine, Cardec DM®, codeine, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, Lomotil®, Lonox®, theoplylline, aminophylline, and warfarin.

The caffeine in green tea may interact with the following drugs heightening their effects to dangerous levels: ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, theophylline, aminophylline.

3.      Interference with Iron Absorption

Due to their high tannin-content, teas, including green tea, have been shown to prevent iron absorption. While this effect is helpful in persons with too much iron, consuming several cups of green tea daily may not be a good idea for persons deficient in iron or susceptible to iron deficiency.

4.      First Trimester of Pregnancy: Limit Green Tea Consumption

According to a study published in the March 2005 issue of Cancer Research, ECGC, a catechin present in green tea in amounts about 5 times higher than in black tea, inhibits the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), which cancer cells need to be able to grow, and which is a well recognized target of anti-cancer drugs.

Scientists decided to look at ECGC after they realized the green tea catechin looks a lot like the cancer drug methotrexate, which prevents cancer cells from making DNA by inhibiting the DHFR enzyme. They discovered that ECGC kills cancer cells in the same way as the drug.

Although ECGC binds strongly to DHFR, which is essential in both healthy and cancerous cells, it does not bind as tightly as methotrexate, so its side effects on healthy cells are less severe than those of the drug.

ECGC's binding to DHFR may also explain why women who drink large amounts of green tea around the time they conceive and early in their pregnancy may have an increased risk of having a child with spina bifida or other neural tube disorders.

Women are advised to take supplements of folic acid when trying to conceive and during the first trimester (the first 3 months) of pregnancy because it is during this time period that the baby's neural tube is developing. Folic acid helps ensure normal development and protects against spina bifida by enabling the production of the enzyme DHFR. While a cup or two of green tea is unlikely to pose a problem, drinking large amounts of green tea could decrease the activity of DHFR, increasing risk of neural tube defects.

So, what have you decided? Do green tea or not?

The Benefits out-weigh the Concerns, definitely!