3 ms·

Green Tea Is Inversely Associated with the Incidence of Influenza Infection

63 points by batirch 7y ago

forkexec 7y ago
Would matcha work or no?
- jansan 7y ago
  And would Matcha ice cream work?
  - suedpfalz 7y ago
    Not sure, but Matcha cheese cake will.
    - awakeasleep 7y ago
      Only if you have the money to pay for the study, and the wherewithal to ensure the scientists know who is buttering their bread
      - hinkley 7y ago
        I think we need to test for ice cream, cheesecake, mochi, and all combinations and sequences of consumption.
    - kyriakos 7y ago
      Slowly turning into reddit
      - throwlaplace 7y ago
        what exactly is the problem with a little levity once in a while?
        dang 7y ago
        The problem is that people overestimate how funny their jokes are, and that sort of internet humor grows like kudzu. Particularly non-obvious witticisms do well on HN. They're just rare. https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%227609289%22&dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%227609289%22&dateRange=all&pa...
        throwlaplace 7y ago
        the serious subs on Reddit seem to have no issues with this at all (r/math, r/programming, r/physics, r/compsci). I don't know why you think it would inevitably devolve into just noise. and on the contrary the atmosphere of "nothing but business" around here is very often stifling.
- pcurve 7y ago
  The study doesn't mention matcha but it does mention catechins as primary ingredients responsible for health benefits. Matacha contains several times more of the substance. Somewhat related article. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/matcha-green-tea https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/matcha-green-tea
- numpad0 7y ago
  Matcha is just milled green tea brewed in a mug and beaten up, like coffee and espresso difference
elif 7y ago
Great, now all the stores are going to sell out of green tea, too :(
- kesor 7y ago
  Don't worry, proper Shizuoka Green tea can cost $20-$30 per 100g, so only the rich can afford to get anti-influenza tea for their children.
  - sokoloff 7y ago
    That seems wildly cheaper per-serving than going to Starbucks. Plenty of people go to Starbucks.
pcj-github 7y ago
I'm not sure I'd bank much confidence on a study that used two different surveys of kids and their parents on self-reported tea consumption and possible influenza symptoms. Also, while drinking 1-5 cups per/day was associated in their statistical significance, >5 cups did not.
nostromo 7y ago
I'm surprised 6-13 year olds are drinking several cups of tea a day in Japan. Isn't that a fair amount of caffeine for a kid?
- Mikeb85 7y ago
  Nah. Tea has a small amount of the caffeine as coffee and coffee is very safe (takes like 20 cups to OD).
- hinkley 7y ago
  Green tea is about on a par with Mountain Dew for caffeine per ounce, but closer to Coke for caffeine per serving. The fermentation process for black tea is longer than green tea, and more of the caffeine becomes solluble, but it's still less that coffee.
  - hinkley 7y ago
    correction: it's not fermentation, it's an enzymatic process referred to as "oxydation", as I was reminded while fact-checking for another reply. There is fermented tea, but the tea you drink is probably not.
Leary 7y ago
"among Schoolchildren in a Tea Plantation Area" Perhaps in a tea plantation area, consumption of tea is correlated with occupations of the parents, which in turn is correlated with flu risks?
- blaser-waffle 7y ago
  If it's a tea planting area its probably more rural. Just having fewer people around is going to lower infection risks -- density is one of the reasons it's spreading fast in China.
qsun 7y ago
It may be also correlated with the habit of drinking "hot" water.
- hanniabu 7y ago
  Yeah this is what I'd bank on.
- eitland 7y ago
  Someone I used to work with and who was usually worth listening to said this: when he was out traveling, felt something brewing and yet had to soldier on then he'd drink as much hot water as possible. Not coffee, not tea, but just hot water. According to him this could keep it at bay (IIRC) for a couple of days. Based on your post this seems to be common knowledge, but it would be the first time I heard about except for that. Edit, had to ask the Internet. Got an answer worthy of a modern day oracle: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=does+hot+water+help+against+influenza&t=h_&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=does+hot+water+help+against+influe...
huiyifyj 7y ago
So, green tea is good for health...
LargoLasskhyfv 7y ago
Hm. Should have tried https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideritis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideritis https://en.sideritis.info/ https://en.sideritis.info/ Get it while you can!1!! https://kliotea.com/greek-mountain-tea/ https://kliotea.com/greek-mountain-tea/

63 points by batirch 7y ago

forkexec 7y ago

Would matcha work or no?

jansan 7y ago
And would Matcha ice cream work?
- suedpfalz 7y ago
  Not sure, but Matcha cheese cake will.
  - awakeasleep 7y ago
    Only if you have the money to pay for the study, and the wherewithal to ensure the scientists know who is buttering their bread
    - hinkley 7y ago
      I think we need to test for ice cream, cheesecake, mochi, and all combinations and sequences of consumption.
  - kyriakos 7y ago
    Slowly turning into reddit
    - throwlaplace 7y ago
      what exactly is the problem with a little levity once in a while?
      - dang 7y ago
        The problem is that people overestimate how funny their jokes are, and that sort of internet humor grows like kudzu. Particularly non-obvious witticisms do well on HN. They're just rare. https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%227609289%22&dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%227609289%22&dateRange=all&pa...
        throwlaplace 7y ago
        the serious subs on Reddit seem to have no issues with this at all (r/math, r/programming, r/physics, r/compsci). I don't know why you think it would inevitably devolve into just noise. and on the contrary the atmosphere of "nothing but business" around here is very often stifling.
pcurve 7y ago
The study doesn't mention matcha but it does mention catechins as primary ingredients responsible for health benefits. Matacha contains several times more of the substance. Somewhat related article. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/matcha-green-tea https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/matcha-green-tea
numpad0 7y ago
Matcha is just milled green tea brewed in a mug and beaten up, like coffee and espresso difference

elif 7y ago

Great, now all the stores are going to sell out of green tea, too :(

kesor 7y ago
Don't worry, proper Shizuoka Green tea can cost $20-$30 per 100g, so only the rich can afford to get anti-influenza tea for their children.
- sokoloff 7y ago
  That seems wildly cheaper per-serving than going to Starbucks. Plenty of people go to Starbucks.

pcj-github 7y ago

I'm not sure I'd bank much confidence on a study that used two different surveys of kids and their parents on self-reported tea consumption and possible influenza symptoms. Also, while drinking 1-5 cups per/day was associated in their statistical significance, >5 cups did not.

nostromo 7y ago

I'm surprised 6-13 year olds are drinking several cups of tea a day in Japan. Isn't that a fair amount of caffeine for a kid?

Mikeb85 7y ago
Nah. Tea has a small amount of the caffeine as coffee and coffee is very safe (takes like 20 cups to OD).
hinkley 7y ago
Green tea is about on a par with Mountain Dew for caffeine per ounce, but closer to Coke for caffeine per serving. The fermentation process for black tea is longer than green tea, and more of the caffeine becomes solluble, but it's still less that coffee.
- hinkley 7y ago
  correction: it's not fermentation, it's an enzymatic process referred to as "oxydation", as I was reminded while fact-checking for another reply. There is fermented tea, but the tea you drink is probably not.

Leary 7y ago

"among Schoolchildren in a Tea Plantation Area" Perhaps in a tea plantation area, consumption of tea is correlated with occupations of the parents, which in turn is correlated with flu risks?

blaser-waffle 7y ago
If it's a tea planting area its probably more rural. Just having fewer people around is going to lower infection risks -- density is one of the reasons it's spreading fast in China.

qsun 7y ago

It may be also correlated with the habit of drinking "hot" water.

hanniabu 7y ago
Yeah this is what I'd bank on.
eitland 7y ago
Someone I used to work with and who was usually worth listening to said this: when he was out traveling, felt something brewing and yet had to soldier on then he'd drink as much hot water as possible. Not coffee, not tea, but just hot water. According to him this could keep it at bay (IIRC) for a couple of days. Based on your post this seems to be common knowledge, but it would be the first time I heard about except for that. Edit, had to ask the Internet. Got an answer worthy of a modern day oracle: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=does+hot+water+help+against+influenza&t=h_&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=does+hot+water+help+against+influe...

huiyifyj 7y ago

So, green tea is good for health...

LargoLasskhyfv 7y ago

Hm. Should have tried https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideritis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideritis https://en.sideritis.info/ https://en.sideritis.info/ Get it while you can!1!! https://kliotea.com/greek-mountain-tea/ https://kliotea.com/greek-mountain-tea/