What are your plans this Labor Day? Perhaps attending a traditional end of the summer barbecue? Taking one last dip in the ocean before heading home? Traveling to New York City where the first Labor Day Parade was held? Maybe you’ll catch some of the 43rd annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon hosted by Jerry Lewis? We recently spoke about this event, and Muscular Dystrophy in relation to green tea, in our blog, Raise a Cup or Seven to Green Tea Health and Hope.

Whatever your plans, before you begin putting most of your white clothes away, be sure to relax with a tall, cool glass of your favorite iced tea! For great iced tea recipe ideas, go here.

The optimism and the research never stop. A recent study suggests that a high intake of green tea might protect against muscle cell death in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Researchers have found that an intake equivalent to seven cups of green tea per day decreased muscle wasting in one type of leg muscle in dystrophic laboratory mice.

There is an increase in oxidative damage when dystrophin is abnormal, and it has been suggested that the tea acts as an antioxidant and helps to combat oxidative stress. This result has not been tested in humans but green tea is generally safe for individuals with neuromuscular conditions to drink.

So, even though more research is required to back up these initial findings, you can raise a cup of green tea to hope and health.