In this issue, we address some feedback we received from a Twitter follower and we also answer a common question from those just starting intermittent fasting: What should I eat to break my fast?
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Response To Feedback
We always welcome feedback on what we write for the IF Insider, and recently received a message from someone on Twitter who wrote this:
“FWIW (for what it’s worth), all types of true tea (C. sinensis) have antioxidants, In fact, the dark reddish-brown color of black tea is made by molecules with antioxidant properties. The idea that Wolong (oolong) is somehow special in that regard is just marketing, not science.” ~ M.C.
I am all for feedback and am certainly not above making a mistake. But not addressing that mistake would be a disservice for you, our readers. So I went back to IF Insider No. 36 (published on September 15, 2021) to refresh my memory on exactly what I had said about oolong tea.
We never made any claims at all that oolong was superior to either black or green tea in terms of its flavonoid and antioxidant content. In fact, oolong tea contains many of the same compounds found in both black and green teas. Here’s what I wrote:
“Similar to both black and green teas, oolong contains plenty of antioxidants in the form of polyphenols. The caffeine content of oolong is between that of green on the low end and black on the higher end of the spectrum, although a cup of any one of these teas contains less caffeine than a cup of coffee. In addition, just like green tea, oolong tea contains L-theanine, an amino acid shown to have positive effects on both relaxation as well as cognitive performance, so it tends to make a beverage that doesn’t produce the same type of “jittery” feeling that a cup of coffee can have on many people.”
The reason we singled out oolong in particular, was not because of its antioxidant content, but because it’s what is known as a methylation adaptogen. This was brought to our attention by the results of a clinical trial, the Methylation Diet and Lifestyle (MDL) Study, that (measured by various biological markers) a decrease in the participants' biological age (increased lifespan!) by more than three years using safe, natural, and simple dietary and lifestyle changes over the course of an eight-week guided program. One of the dietary recommendations used in the research study was the advice to consume three cups of oolong tea daily brewed for ten minutes.
The link to the clinical trial is here: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ProvidedDocs/20/NCT03472820/Prot_000.pdf
For your review, here’s what I wrote about the importance of these methylation adaptogens on health and longevity:
In terms of oolong’s effect on longevity, oolong tea is what is known as a “methylation adaptogen.” Methylation refers to a process in which a methyl group (a chemical group containing one carbon and three hydrogen atoms) gets added to one of the four bases that make up your DNA. When the methyl group gets added, this is known as methylation. If the methyl group is lost, then this is referred to as demethylation. Methylation is seen as a good thing, as it often will inhibit the expression of certain genes, including ones that get turned on and go on to produce cancer and other diseases.
Research suggests that DNA methylation slows down as you age, which might explain part of the reason older individuals tend to get such diseases as cancer and heart disease. Diet is thought to play a role in methylation and the potential is there to reduce one’s tendency to develop a genetically inherited predisposition to diseases such as breast cancer or heart disease by using methylation to prevent the switching on of these dangerous genes.
The term “adaptogen” is used in Western herbal medicine to refer to a substance that has the ability to help the body adapt to various stressors and to exert a normalizing effect on bodily functions. This is in contrast to a “medicine” that exerts a corrective effect by forcefully and actively treating a disease. In traditional Chinese medicine, oolong tea is seen as warming in an energetic sense, as it helps to generate internal heat. Good to know as we move into the cooler months here in the U.S. So a methylation adaptogen is a substance that promotes methylation of DNA and works to help your body adapt to stressors as it also works to smooth out and normalize various vital body functions.
Now make no mistake, there are a lot of foods in addition to oolong tea that contains these methyl groups, including cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, and the like), turmeric, shiitake mushrooms, rosemary, and yes, even green tea. But most of these foods are not classified as adaptogens.
Oolong tea is both and is known as a methylation adaptogen. One foot, so to speak, is in Western science (the methylation part) and the other foot is firmly planted in traditional Chinese medicine. Even though I was trained in Western medicine, I have great respect for the Chinese system of traditional medicine, and the adaptogens are an extremely important part of that tradition.
So it’s no surprise that many of the research studies on the benefits of oolong tea have come from academic institutions based in China. Oolong tea has many science-backed benefits including:
One - help in losing weight
Two - decreasing blood pressure
Three - Reducing the risk of stroke
Four - lowering blood sugar
Five - improving sleep
Six - balancing the gut microbiome
Seven - reducing vascular inflammation
Eight - reducing blood cholesterol
Nine - promoting brain health
Ten - increasing bone mineral density
Eleven - reducing dental plaque
Twelve - reducing stress and improving mood
Thirteen - Increasing alertness
Fourteen - Improving eczema
Fifteen - Fighting cancer
Below are just a fraction of the scientific studies done on oolong tea, as well as black and green:
William Rumpler, James Seale, Beverly Clevidence, Joseph Judd, Eugene Wiley, Shigeru Yamamoto, Tatsushi Komatsu, Tetsuya Sawaki, Yoshiyuki Ishikura, Kazuaki Hosoda, Oolong Tea Increases Metabolic Rate and Fat Oxidation in Men, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 131, Issue 11, November 2001, Pages 2848–2852, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/131.11.2848
He, Rr., Chen, L., Lin, Bh. et al. Beneficial effects of oolong tea consumption on diet-induced overweight and obese subjects. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 15, 34–41 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-009-0034-8
Wu, T., Xu, J., Chen, Y., Liu, R., & Zhang, M. (2018). Oolong tea polysaccharide and polyphenols prevent obesity development in Sprague–Dawley rats. Food & Nutrition Research, 62. https://doi.org/10.29219/fnr.v62.1599
Hinton, T., Jelinek, H. F., Viengkhou, V., Johnston, G. A., & Matthews, S. (2019). Effect of GABA-Fortified Oolong Tea on Reducing Stress in a University Student Cohort. Frontiers in nutrition, 6, 27. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2019.00027
Fei, Q., Gao, Y., Sun, Y., Hu, B., Zhou, L., Jabbar, S., & Zeng, X. (2014). Effects of oolong tea polyphenols, EGCG, and EGCG3″Me on pancreatic α-amylase activity in vitro. J. Agric. Food Chem. 62(39), 9507–9514. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf5032907
Bond, T., & Derbyshire, E. (2019). Tea compounds and the gut microbiome: findings from trials and mechanistic studies. Nutrients 11(10), 2364; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102364
Khan, N., & Mukhtar, H. (2013). Tea and health: studies in humans. Current pharmaceutical design, 19(34), 6141–6147. https://doi.org/10.2174/1381612811319340008
Shen, C. L., Chyu, M. C., & Wang, J. S. (2013). Tea and bone health: steps forward in translational nutrition. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 98(6 Suppl), 1694S–1699S. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.113.058255
The takeaway?
All teas derived from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, have beneficial effects on human health and longevity. Personally, here is how I drink them daily:
I start my day with a cup of cold brew coffee over ice, then switch to oolong (cold brew as I prefer it that way), then change to cold brew green tea and then usually finish my day with a bottle of Pelligrino mineral water. This way, I can take advantage of all the different compounds in each beverage and gradually lower my caffeine content throughout the day so as not to affect my sleep.
What Should I Eat To Break My Fast?
This is a question that is common to those just getting started with their IF practices.
The short answer is: Whatever you like!
I’m not trying to be flippant here but there is a lot of truth to this. You are an individual, with a unique genetic makeup, an individualized gut microbiome, and many other factors that make you the one-of-a-kind human being you are. You always want to listen to your own body and its needs and determine what sits right with you. Of course, as you progress in your IF practice, those needs may change.
Having said that, many people find it beneficial to break their fast with something that is relatively high in fat, such as some nuts, olives, a piece of avocado, or cheese if you consume dairy products. The rationale behind this is that the fat content will help to blunt the effect of any incoming carbohydrates and help to mitigate a spike in blood sugar with subsequent insulin release.
The important thing is to experiment and find out what works best for you and adjust along the way!
Why It Matters
We all need feedback, as it helps us to improve. Taken seriously, good feedback gives us the opportunity to reflect on our performance and to make changes that will improve it.
“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”
~ Ken Blanchard - (b. 1939) - American author, business consultant, and motivational speaker, whose career includes more than 60 published books, many co-authored. His most successful book, The One Minute Manager, has sold over 15 million copies.
What We Are Reading 📚
With each issue, we bring you a short blurb on what we are currently reading or watching, including books, articles, podcasts, videos, movies, and research papers of value.
Denise - If you or anyone you know is suffering from Type 2 Diabetes, I recommend you pick up a copy of Connie Ragen Green’s latest book, In Pursuit of Healthy-Ness: How I Reinvented My Life with Intermittent Fasting. Connie documents her journey with IF and how she lost 130 lbs in about 20 months and completely reversed her diagnosis of pre-diabetes.
If you have your doubts about what IF can do for you, read Connie’s inspiring story. Her commitment to her health and well-being is a model for you to follow as well.
Ellen - This book, Younger You: Reduce Your Bio Age and Live Longer, Better by Kara N. Fitzgerald, N.D., is based on the clinical trial, the Methylation Diet and Lifestyle (MDL) Study, that we discussed above. The MDL was the basis for our 8-week Longevity Experiment, in which we took participants through a guided process to implement the recommendations in the clinical trial.
Dr. Fitzerald’s book will be released on January 18, 2022, and you can pre-order it here. Here’s what Dale Bredesen, MD, professor, author of the New York Times bestseller, The End of Alzheimer’s and the formulator of the Bredesen Protocol has to say about her book:
"It is a new era—aging 'backward' is no longer a fantasy, it is now a fact proven by clinical trial. Dr. Kara Fitzgerald, lead author of this paradigm-shifting trial, now describes her approach in her new book, Younger You. This is the first book in the new era of 'aging reversal' medicine and health, and for all of us who are aging, this is a must-read."
Dr. Fitzgerald promises an easy-to-follow plan based on her research recommendations. Can’t wait to see this!
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