Naked Science Forum
On the Lighter Side => Complementary Medicine => Topic started by: anilsomani on 19/07/2003 15:35:24
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Hello
I am doing a research project and would like some help in getting some information. What are the byproducts of Tea.
I have tea gardens in INDIA and would like to produce any other by-product which would give better returns.
I was wondering which other by-products for Tea can be produced. I use the natural fermintation and also the chemicalized fermintation in the production of the tea.
Is "Caffeine" from Tea used in the "Complementary Medicine". What other forms of uses does the Tea has in the field of medicine.
Also wanted to know wht are the good effects of tea and how can we get any byproduct from the tea plantation.
Please suggest for the following
Thanks again.
ANIL SOMANI[^]
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Hi Anil,
Welcome to the forum. I use tea in my laundry and spray it around my house when I want to kill dust mites. The problem is that it stains, so I have to wipe down the walls afterward. Any chance of getting a colorless tea that would be just as effective?
I did not know that tea was fermented. Can you tell us a little bit more about it? How do the natural and chemical fermentation processes differ?
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I have no clue about the tea used in laundry. This is new to me myself. Never heard of making tea colorless. I have not done much research and would be unable to comment on that.
The natural fermentation is done where tea leaves are kept for a period of some days and then it gets fermented due to the environment it is kept. But sometimes the environemtn rewuired is not present and therefore it is chemically ferminted. No clue what chemicals used for the same (yet).
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wow donnah, does that really work? thats amazing! I understand about the pain of wiping down though, i imagine otherwise your rooms will make you look like you smoke 60 a day! LOL
What other natural products do you use like this?
Resident Tour Operator - The Naked Scientists
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Exodus, I haven't looked for dust mites under a microscope before and after tea, but the irritation disappears so I'd have to say yeah, it works. Oh, and by the way, how do you know what a room looks like after 60 a day[;)]?
Other products....pretty much everything. I have a housecleaning business and make most of our cleaning products. They are non-toxic, easy on the environment and, ironically, they work better. I was appalled when I read what is in some of the commercial cleaners and how toxic they are (I'd had a nasty reaction to handling Lysol). I make my own bar soap for home use and have had a few people with skin problems (psoriasis, excema) say it's the only thing they can use that doesn't irritate their skin.
I'm looking for a natural moisturizer (not oil) so if anyone knows of something please let me know.
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What about aloe vera. It's a cactus like plant that is easy to grow and the gel inside the leaves can be absorbed directly into your skin. I hear the outside green part of the plant is good for digestive problems, but some processing is required.
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What about hydrous lanolin as a natural moisturizer? I went to the Ohio State Fair where they had a sheep shearing contest, and of course, some of the sheep were cut in their hurry to shear them. Me, being a city slicker, had to go and chastise the contestants afterwards for tormenting the sheep for their stupid contest. One of the guys tells me that the cuts were nothing, that they'd be healed by tomorrow because of the lanolin in the wool. Damned if they weren't right.
By the way, have made my own concoction for psoriasis for my aunt who has one of the worst cases I've ever seen. She's already been hospitalized for it on two occasions, and gets the psoriatic arthritis along with it. So far, my medicine beats the cortisone cream, and is running a very close second to the Methotrexate. I'm constantly readjusting the formula to get it more effective, but am happy to share it with any psoriasis victims. What an awful disease.
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Dear Bezoar
your remedy sounds very interesting - what is in it ? Tar ?
Chris
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx
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Roberth, you're right, aloe vera is fantastic and I add it to the commercial moisturizer that I use. My skin loves the aloe, and it has the added benefit of being a humectant. It's too watery by itself, so maybe I can blend it with lanolin.
Bezoar, lanolin is also fantastic. One summer I pulled wool at a cousin's farm to make quilts. I've never had such smooth hands. But it's too heavy for my face. If I could blend it with aloe it would likely make the best creme ever.
Does anyone know how I could blend these two ingredients?
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The mixture is fairly simple. I mix about 2 ounces of lanolin, 2 ounces of zinc oxide, and an 8 ounce tube of A&D ointment. Gently heat it and mix with enough olive oil to make a thick liquid, which will turn into a light cream when cooled. Here's the most important part, I think. You run it on right after the bath when the skin is moist. The reading I've done about psoriasis emphasizes that the skin should not be allowed to dry out. Rubbing that lanolin on right after the bath seems to lock the moisture and medicine in the skin until the next bath. Initially, I added a tube of Cortaid ointment to the mix (.5%, I think - over the counter brand), but I dropped that out of the mix after the psoriasis had calmed down (about 2 weeks). The hands and feet have been the slowest to respond, but have done so after about 4 weeks. My aunt has guttate psoriasis all over her body, and other than Methotrexate, nothing has cleared her this well, especially nothing topical. She also gets huge lumps of skin in her scalp, but they have cleared up by use of the ointment, which I am not putting on her scalp. Seems like calming the body lesions down has calmed the scalp down as well. No improvement on the finger and toenails though. I'm thinking of adding tea tree oil to the next batch I mix up.
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Thank you. I'll pick up the ingredients today.
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Interesting. Am I right in assuming that CORTAID is hydrocortisone ? If so the common over-the-counter strength is 1%, but that's probably small-print. I suspect that your remedy works well because it helps to deliver the steroid efficiently through the skin. Why it should continue to work so well after you stop the steroid is a mystery...
Sounds good though..
Chris
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx
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I think it's the combination of the moisturizing directly after the bath with lanolin, which sort of locks the moisture in, and the zinc oxide, which gets locked in by the lanolin. I did read some articles showing results in psoriasis treatment with vitamin D creams and vitamin A creams, thus the A&D ointment, which I threw in for good measure. The Cortaid is a hydrocortisone cream, and you're right, it is 1%, and I only used a 4 ounce tube. But the cream works equally as well without the Cortaid. I took it out because at 76, the aunt has pretty significant osteoporosis. Even though it's a low strength cream, I am covering her body in it, and I'm sure it's absorbed systemically and can't be helping the osteoporosis. I was just looking at her hands tonight. There are just a few pinpoint lesions left on them. The feet still have a way to go. I though about mixing a little nitropaste in there to increase absorbtion, but then I'm reluctant to do so because it might drop her blood pressure. I'm just going to wait and see. If the hands cleared, seems the feet will in time too. Could put a little Cortaid on the foot area only. Even her doctor was impressed. Thought she was still on the Methotrexate.
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As a child, I had something similar to psoriasis behind my ears. Strange stuff. The doctors weren't sure what to do about it. It cleared up with a summer at the lake and must have been the sun and moisture. It came back shortly after. Nothing worked, even prescribed ointments. Cortaid worked a little, but Boric Acid Ointment was the best. I think this is used for styes(sp) on the eye lids. My sister had the ointment and I tried it and it worked. I've since grown out of it and can't even remember what it was like, it was so long ago. But, I do remember that ointment worked.
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Any of you've seen a BBC2 programme called 'Rough Science'. Once they were told to make some natural insect repelent and moisturiser and they used lanolin.
Tom
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Sunlight is beneficial to psoriasis. My aunt Jennie used to get PUVA treatments (ultraviolet A), and before the treatment, she had to take a medication that I think made her skin more receptive to the ultraviolet light. But then, we had to take her to the ophthalmologist every 6 months, and the medicine gave her diarrhea. If the PUVA doesn't help, there's also an ultraviolet B treatment. But all that ultraviolet light plays havoc with your skin. Sure wrinkled her up a lot. My next accomplishment will be to get her out to the pool. Now that her skin looks better she might give it a try.
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What kind of light do they use at tanning salons?
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Ultraviolet A. Supposed to be less damaging to your skin, but it is all damaging to some degree. Curiously enough, a friend of mine who is a dermatologist, and very fair complexioned, tanned with UVA before a trip to the beaches in Mexico. Said he still got a terrible sunburn, so it didn't give him the protection he was looking for because I guess the UVB got him.
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Interesting. I always thought that a base tan from the fake-bake would protect you. Never thought A and B would differ so much.
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It is said that tea is used to remove obesity.Well dont know the spelling ha ha ha.
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Hmmm. Tea contains the amino acid L-Theanine, which is responsible for tea's reputation of "calming the nerves." In Japan, they add L-Theanine to all kinds of products such as chewing gum and it is considered very safe for all but small children. I have a bottle of L-Theanine capsules from the local alternative health supplements store (in U.S.A.); each contains 100 mg Suntheanine brand L-Theanine and 100 mg decaffeinated green tea leaf.
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How does it work then ?
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I found this link, which includes the chemical structure, if you're interested in a bit more info on L-theanine
http://www.gettingwell.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/lth_0296.shtml
Chris
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx
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Hmmmm. Can it be used as a sedative like the velarian? Or would it be more like a calming drug to put you on even keel?
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"Recently, L-theanine, previously shown to penetrate the blood-brain barrier through the leucine-preferring transport system, has been demonstrated to produce significant increases in serotonin and/or dopamine concentrations in the brain, principally in the striatum, hypothalamus and hippocampus."
Based on this quote from the excellent source Chris cited above, I would say that it puts you on an even keel, which should also contribute to getting a good night's sleep.
Chris, looks like you've revealed a gassless anti-depressant alternative to St. John's Wort.
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When my grandmother made tea she used the leavings on a fern that was growing in an urn in the living room. It grew huge and had to be transplanted into larger, taller pot. It grew so huge and reached about 3 to 4 feet to the floor. We kids used to play hide and seek under the fern! So today, I, too, use tea leaves on my indoor plants and on outside plants as well. Other than that tea makes a wonderful dye for fabric. And a cup of tea is a fine place for lemon and honey - soothing to the throat with winter's onset.