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Ask A Nutrition Professional: What Are The Health Benefits Of Herbal Tea?

Expert opinion from Ponna Geethanjali

Msc Dietetics in Food Service Management, Clinical Dietitian · 9 years of experience · India

Herbal tea helps in slowing down the ageing process. It prevents free radical damage and restores the age of your cells in the body. This makes your skin look flawless and younger. It is rich in spearmint that smoothens the digestive system and acts as an appetite suppressant, reducing the urge to over eat. Herbal teas like peppermint, ginger, turmeric and eucalyptus teas are great for inflammatory problems.

Expert opinion from Aparna Nemalikanti

M.Sc. Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics · 10 years of experience · India

Herbal tea containing a mixture of burdock root, dandelion root, ginger root, licorice root, sarsaparilla root, cardamom seeds, cardamom seeds, cinnamon bark and other herbs. Herbal tea has much lower oxalate content of 31 to 75 micro mol/liter and are an acceptable alternative. Tea often come packed with antioxidants and nutrients, it improves brain function, metabolism, boosts immune system, enhances dental health, reduces cancer risk.

Expert opinion from Shreya Thakur

B.Sc Nutrition · Less than a year of experience · India

Herbal tea is a cup full of anti-oxidants and nutrients that help in many ways. Regular limited consumption of herbal tea reduces inflammations, develops immune responses, improves brain functioning, enhances dental health, reduces risks of cancer and many other benefits. 

Story by Ponna Geethanjali, Aparna Nemalikanti, Shreya Thakur: Microsoft Health

Study reveals human gut plasmid with biomarker potential

Acomponent of the human intestinal flora that has been little studied to date is the focus of a new study. Plasmids are small extrachromosomal genetic elements that frequently occur in bacterial cells and can influence microbial lifestyles – yet their diversity in natural habitats is poorly understood. An international team led by Prof. Dr. A. Murat Eren from the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB) reports in the science journal Cell, a mysterious plasmid, is one of the most numerous genetic elements in the human gut that could potentially serve as a powerful biomarker for identifying health hazards such as fecal contamination of water or human disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease. According to the team's analyses, this plasmid is present in the intestines of more than 90 percent of individuals in industrialized countries.      

Plasmids are extrachromosomal DNA sequences which are common to cells from all domains of life. Eren describes them as "typically small genetic entities that carry additional genes". They can be exchanged between different bacterial cells and even between different types of bacteria. The replication of plasmids is dependent on their host cells: but they make up for it by providing their hosts with in some cases extremely important fitness determinants. For instance, some plasmids contain genes that encode antibiotic resistance, which help their bacterial hosts to survive antibiotics, contributing one of the most pressing public health concerns around the globe.

There are also other plasmids which, according to the research to date, do not contain genes encoding obvious beneficial functions for their host. "These so-called 'cryptic plasmids' are often referred to as genetic parasites. They remain a mystery in microbial ecology because from an evolutionary perspective they should not exist at all," explains Eren, a computer scientist and Professor of Ecosystem Data Science at the University of Oldenburg.

Identifying plasmids has been a difficult undertaking so far. For some time now, scientists have been able to extract genetic material directly from environmental samples and, for example, analyze the microbial community in the human gut in its entirety, without having to cultivate individual bacterial organisms. However, the ability to confidently distinguish what is a plasmid among this conglomeration of genetic material, referred to as the metagenome, poses a considerable challenge.

To solve this problem, Eren and his colleagues developed a new machine learning approach. As the team reported in an article recently published in the science journal Nature Microbiology, using this approach they identified over 68,000 plasmids in human intestinal flora, and also discovered that a certain cryptic plasmid called pBI143 was particularly abundant in their dataset.

In the study published in Cell, the team of researchers took a closer look at this plasmid, which consists of only two genes that rather surprisingly only serves for its own replication and mobilization across bacterial cells with no other clear benefit. To better understand the ecology of pBI143, the team analyzed 60,000 human and 40,000 environmental metagenomes generated from various habitats.

"We found that pBI143 has a list of very interesting features," Eren explains. The team discovered that more than 90 percent of people in industrialized countries carry the plasmid and that on average it is one of the most numerous genetic entities in the human gut. "On average it was more than ten times as numerous as a viral genome which was previously thought to be the most abundant genetic extrachromosomal element in the human gut," says the researcher.

Further analyses revealed that the plasmid occurred almost exclusively in the human gut but was virtually absent in datasets from other environments such as the oceans, soils, plants and the digestive organs of animals and their feces. The only other samples in which the researchers were able to detect the characteristic gene sequence for these plasmids was in samples from environments that are influenced by humans, such as waste water, hospital surfaces and laboratory rats.

Due to its sheer numbers, prevalence across humans, and its conservancy across human populations, the team of researchers hypothesized that pBI143 could, for instance, be used as a biomarker in testing for fecal contamination.

In fact, we were able to show that this plasmid is a more sensitive marker for detecting fecal contamination in drinking water compared to state-of-the-art biomarkers based on specific gene sequences of human intestinal bacteria."

Dr. A. Murat Eren, Professor of Ecosystem Data Science at the University of Oldenburg

Non-invasive method to quantify progress of IBD

The team also identified another potential application of this prevalent genetic entity in the context of human disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a medical condition that affects 3 million people in Europe alone. They were able to demonstrate that the relative copy number of this cryptic plasmid increased almost four times in the intestines of people suffering from IBD compared as in the intestines of healthy individuals, suggesting that the changes of the copy number of the plasmid can serve as a non-invasive method to quantify the disease progress or severity.

At the HIFMB, Eren's team is developing new tools at the intersection of computer science and microbiology to identify and characterize naturally occurring plasmids and other mobile genetic elements in bacteria that live in the ocean. They strive to gain a better understanding of the ecology and evolution of microbes, and strategies that enable to them to respond to their everchanging environments for new biotechnological applications that can ameliorate crises we face.

What Makes Spinach So Healthy? 

Adding more spinach to your diet is a good way to eat healthier. Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is one of the most nutrient-rich leafy vegetables.1 

Raw or cooked, it contains vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It's also low in sugar and calories. You can use spinach as a simple salad or side dish, but its potential in meal prep is limitless. 

This article discusses the benefits of eating spinach and how to incorporate it into your healthy diet.

All Hail Spinach: Top 3 Benefits 

Spinach has many health benefits, whether fresh, frozen, canned, raw, or cooked. 

Rich in Vitamins and Minerals

Eating spinach daily can help get you closer to a healthy intake of vitamins and minerals. For example: 

• One cup of raw spinach contains 145 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin K, 121% of the recommended daily value (DV).2
• One-half cup cooked frozen spinach that's boiled contains 573 mcg of vitamin A, 64% of the DV.3
• One-half cup boiled fresh spinach has about 3 milligrams (mg) of iron, 17% of the DV.4
• One-half cup cooked spinach contains 9 mg of vitamin C, 10% of the DV.5
• One-half cup boiled spinach has about 123 mg of calcium, 9% of the DV.6

High in Fiber

Most of the carbohydrates in spinach come from fiber, making them healthy carbs. Fiber influences how you digest food and absorb nutrients. 

One cup of boiled spinach has about 4.4 grams of fiber.8 Women need about 25 grams, and men need about 38 grams of fiber daily.

Getting adequate fiber can improve digestive function and may help with healthy weight management.

High fiber intake may help lower the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, and other conditions. 

Loaded With Antioxidants

Phytochemicals and bioactives in spinach prompt your body to release hormones that help you feel full, making you less likely to overeat. They also act as antioxidants and help regulate metabolism and inflammation, which may lower the risk of developing cancer, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol. 

Some research suggests that eating more raw spinach is associated with a lower chance of developing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD, formerly known as NAFLD).12 Spinach also contains lutein, which helps protect against eye diseases such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 

Does Preparing Spinach a Certain Way Make It Healthier?

There's some variation in the nutritional value of raw vs. cooked spinach. Some research suggests that baby spinach has less lutein after frying, boiling, or steaming vs. raw, and chopping raw spinach in a blender or cutting it into strips helps release more lutein from the leaves. 

There is no evidence that baby spinach is more or less nutritious than mature leaf spinach. Some people find baby spinach a little more tender and sweet. Most people can eat more cooked spinach than raw since it cooks down quite a bit and increases its nutritional value. 

How to Incorporate Spinach Into Your Diet

There are many ways to prepare spinach and incorporate it into your diet. Some ideas include: 

• In salads: Mix raw spinach with various lettuces of different textures and add tomatoes, carrots, or sweet peppers.
• In soups and stews: Full leaves or chopped spinach leaves give any soup an earthy flavor; add mustard greens and kale for added nutrition.
• In a stir-fry: Spinach is a great complement to garlic, onion, and ginger.
• In pasta: Add spinach to pasta with garlic and olive oil.
• With eggs: Fold some chopped spinach into an omelet, add it to a quiche, or use it as a garnish to any egg dish.
• Steamed: Mix spinach with kale, collard greens, or mustard greens.
• Sautéed: Sauté spinach in olive oil and garlic for a classic side dish. 

You can get a little more spinach in your diet by adding a few leaves to the following: 

• Smoothies and shakes
• Sandwiches, burritos, burgers, and wraps
• Pizza toppings
• Stuffing chicken breasts, pork chops, or salmon 

Reasons to Minimize Spinach Intake 

Spinach has a lot of vitamin K, which can interact with medications, including anticoagulants such as Jantoven (warfarin). However, you need vitamin K. If you take warfarin, it's important to balance your diet to get the same amount of vitamin K daily. 

Too much spinach also makes it harder for your body to absorb calcium and magnesium. If you're prone to kidney stones, you may want to avoid eating excessive amounts of spinach. 

Also, too much fiber can lead to intestinal bloating and gas, a natural side effect of fiber.

Summary 

Spinach is a nutrient-rich green leafy veggie with a multitude of health benefits. Eating spinach regularly can help you meet your daily nutritional requirements. As part of a healthy diet, it may also help prevent chronic conditions such as heart disease. Although dietary values vary slightly, it's healthy raw or cooked and fresh, frozen, or canned, and can be incorporated into many dishes.

'Why don't we recognise the importance of men in care professions?'

Why are there so few men entering the caring professions in the UK?

One reader says that the UK lags behind where Sweden was 50 years ago. In the 1960s, he recalls seeing male nannies in parks as they trained to be nannies and nursery nurses, but it seems different in the UK today. Is it stigma, low pay, lack of interest, or a societal perception that men aren’t seen as caregivers?

Meanwhile, readers are diving into the debate on AI’s dark side – it can be taught to save lives or take them, and a simple code error can turn a good robot bad.

And would you consider rough sleeping a lifestyle choice? If it were me, I’d definitely pick a warm bed over a cold tent and Home secretary Suella Braverman doesn’t even want them to have that.

'Males, generally, are still not being valued as carers.'

It was good to read about Ike Robin’s experience in training to become a ‘manny’ at the prestigious Norland College for nannies (Metro, Wed).

This had me reflecting on how slow Britain is in recognising the importance of males in the caring professions and, for that matter, the importance of fathers in bringing up their children.

In the late 1960s, I lived in Sweden. There, we would regularly see young men in the parks with small children as part of their training to be nursery workers.

Yet, when my own two older boys were at a nursery in the early 1990s, having a male nursery worker was so rare that when one appeared for a month from an agency, the boys in the nursery were still talking about him six months later.

Ike Robin trained as a ‘manny’ at the prestigious Norland College for nannies and loves it!© Provided by Metro

The importance of males in the caring professions is undervalued. I have spent 40 years as a social worker and 30 years as a psychologist and, in both, I was always in a significant minority.

As a father of four boys, I chose to share care with my wife and while seeing fathers at the school gates is better than when my children were small, fathers still often find themselves isolated. 

At one time I even had to take an employer to court who was trying to force me to work full-time when I said no because I wanted to look after my children.

Britain still has a long way to go to recognise the importance of fathers – they often still have to fight hard within the family courts to gain even 50 per cent custody. Males, generally, as carers are still not being as valued as they were in, for example, Scandinavia more than 50 years ago.

Kevin, Streatham: Story by Letters Editor: Metro