Drinking Water And The Human Body

According to Water Science School, the bodies of babies are 78% water at birth. It drops down to 65% for 1-year-olds. In adult men, 60% of their bodies are water, and women (who average 5% more fat than men) have 55% of their bodies made of water.

As many of us know drinking water in all temperatures is essential to keeping the human body going. Doctors say we can count beverages such as coffee and tea as part of our water intake. Without knowing why, I find I don't get tired of drinking plain water in winter as I do in the summer months when I suppose I drink more glasses of water to cool off in more oppressive heat.

In the summer months, I like iced tea sweetened with Stevia. I'll buy different brands of black tea at the supermarket to make it.

Recently I started buying Target's house brand, Market Pantry Water Enhancers too. Oddly enough, I don't crave either iced tea or water flavor enhancers during the winter months, but they are very refreshing over ice on sizzling days in June, July, and August.

The 3 flavors I buy are Raspberry Lemonade, Peach Mango, and Strawberry Watermelon. There are other flavors also.

Iced tea made from tea bags and water flavored with enhancers are lower in acid compared to sodas and commercially made iced tea, making them easy on sensitive teeth. Nowadays I won't drink beverages that eat away at my enamel!

Although there's no set number of glasses (like 8 glasses, etc.) of how much water to drink in a day that applies to everybody, doctors do advise us to drink plenty of liquids, especially in hot weather, before we actually get thirsty to prevent dehydration and/or heat stroke. All good to know as we enter the often sweltering hot dog days of August! 

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Chago Mushooms

Would you know what this image is without the blog title? Imagine the first person to say, "Mmm, cut me a chunk of THAT black growth we found in the woods. I must ingest it! Let's see what happens ..."

The mysterious mass is a chago mushroom (a/k/a inonotus obliquus), a type of fungus that grows on the bark of Birch trees in cold climates in Russia, Northern Europe, Alaska and parts of Asia. ("Chago" comes from the Russian word, "чага.") In Russia people have used chago as a traditional medicine to boost immunity and good health for centuries. Packed with anti-oxidants, chago is sold as either a tea, or powdered food supplement.

Although scientistic studies are lacking on humans, animal and test tube studies found that chago extract may improve chronic inflammation; fight cancer; lower blood sugar; and reduce cholesterol. For these reasons people take it to support their heart, liver and immune systems.

But no studies have analyzed the proper dosage, or safety of taking chago. In spite of being a natural substance, it could interact with other drugs people need to take to treat various conditions. People with bleeding disorders; autoimmune disease; on blood thinners; or who are pregnant; or breastfeeding could experience side effects and should always talk to their doctor before consuming it for safety. 

If you're healthy and not taking other medicine, a cup of chago tea shouldn't hurt you ... and just might be delicious!

Reportedly, mushrooms are part of a healthy diet. They are also a main ingredient of Dr. Andrew Weil's anti-aging skin care line.

 Having stumbled upon chago mushrooms recently, I'm intrigued and ready to try a cup of the tea for the anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory properties alone ... always staying clear of self-medicating and at the very least, wasting money on an expensive food supplement whose results in treating disease, is for now unproven! Chago extract shows promise, yet no one has spent the money to run studies to prove that it's more than just a tasty cup of tea. 

How about you? Are you up for a cup?


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Soothing Chamomile

Photo: Bigstockphoto.com

Since I wrote about the benefits of peppermint last week, I will now feature chamomile (a/k/a camomile), another tea in my mother's arsenal of heath remedies. Not only was I given a cup to cure the flu, Mom sometimes used a chamomile tea wash to soothe skin conditions like a winter's rash.

Chamomile is an aromatic European herb of the daisy family. The white and yellow daisy-like flowers are dried and often infused into a tea. Two types of chamomile are used to promote health: German chamomile (Matricaria retutica) and Roman (or English) chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). German chamomile is the more popular and studied of the two.

Chamomile tea is used to calm maladies, such as an upset stomach, hay fever, migraines, inflammation, menstrual cramps, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, muscle spasms and insomnia.

Medical studies suggest, chamomile boosts immunities. It has properties to ward off colds, as well as, breast and thyroid cancers. Rubbed topically on minor scrapes and burns seems to speed up healing. 

Chamomile is also added to skin serum and moisturizers. Reportedly, its anti-inflammatory properties slow down the aging process and brightens the skin.

Like essential oils, the chamomile flower has antioxides and anti-fungal properties. As an essential oil, chamomile can be diluted with water to kill germs on household surfaces.

Chamomile has a subtle pleasent scent and a mild, slightly sweet taste when brewed as a tea. Worth its space in the pantry!

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Higher Tea For Your Health

Photos: Higher Tea

Over the course of the blog, I've written about the many health benefits of drinking tea. As my readers know, I had to give up sodas and supermarket bottled teas because they were eating my enamel, causing my teeth to become too sensitive. A cup of tea prepared from dried tea leaves at home is far less acidic and most likely retains more of its healthy, antioxidant polyphenols.

Serious tea drinkers will want to know where they can buy quality tea leaves. Higher Tea is one such tea merchant, founded by New Zealand Naturopath, Sophie Howard. The company's aim is to provide consumers "with healthy and pure tea," so that tea drinkers can brew a perfect cup of tea. To achieve its mission, the family-run company explores the world to find tea from every corner of the planet. Whether you drink popular English Breakfast Tea, Earl Grey, or want to try an exotic blend like Dragon Well Tea, or Coconut Pu-erh Tea, Higher Tea offers world class dried tea. 

I'm sampling three teas that Higher Tea selected for me:

1) Green Gunpowder Tea - A classic style of green tea from the Zhejian province of China. Caffeine free

2) Detox Tea - A senna and caffeine free blend to boost metabolism and balance the digestive system. This tea is a nice surprise. Tasty and gentle, it doesn't mess with your digestive tract in any unpleasant way like some other brands do, thankfully.

3) Weight Loss Tea - A blend to improve digestion and ease bloating and detoxifying. Also caffeine free. Although I don't tend to worry about the caffeine in tea -- it's less than coffee; without a doubt, I don't have to avoid drinking these three naturally caffeine free teas late at night.

Photo: wintergoddessfoods.com

All of the tea is 100% certified organic and blended in small batches. Refreshing and delicious, I especially like how each blend of tea lists its ingredients, as well as, how to measure and brew a perfect cup of tea. So often you don't know exactly how many minutes to seep a cup of tea for the best taste. The packaging gives you the correct brewing time for each tea. 

Higher Tea's website, too, has a wealth of tea information. The blog section tells you more about specific tea blends, plus gives wellness tips, such as how to sleep better, or reduce life stress.

The one bit of information that I believe customers will want to see added online is the weight of tea they are ordering. The packages I received were 3 ounces each. Online, customers can order quantity: 1, 2, 3, etc. of tea, but I don't see the weight listed. Noneless, the quality of Higher Tea is top-notch and healthy. It makes a great hostess gift!

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Learn To Love Green Tea

Photo: perfect-diet.net

Sometimes a person wants something to drink besides water. In an effort to stop drinking soda, I began drinking jugs of Arizona Black Tea, purchased from the supermarket. Arizona Black Tea (with healthy anti-oxidants) is good for the body, but apparently not for the teeth. After drinking gallons of the tea, suddenly my teeth are sensitive. Ouch! At first I didn't know what was wrong. So I did some research, and sure enough, it is caused by the acid in ready-made tea.

Holy Mother of God! Is there nothing delicious humans can enjoy without an undesirable consequence? No sister, there is not! Sooo now I must re-evaluate.

As the zeitgeist would have it, I just started making Kombucha. The fermented tea, which is packed with beneficial probiotics, has the carbonation I miss in soda. But, it takes about 10 days to ferment, and I can't keep up with production. So I have to supplement Kombucha with something else ... but what?

As it turns out, home brewed iced tea is less acidic than commercial iced tea; therefore, I bought boxes of black, oolong, green and white teas. I must learn to like brewed green tea; or I'll mix green tea with one of the other three teas. Because ... 

According to Prevention magazine, there's good reason to drink green tea:

"Not only is green tea gloriously calorie free, it can also help spur fat burn and weight loss. In one study, participants who drank four cups of green tea daily for 2 months lost an average of about 6 more pounds, compared with those who drank just plain water, according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Another 2013 analysis from the European Journal of Nutrition found that regular green teadrinkers weigh less, have smaller waists, and reap these green tea health benefits. (Scientists speculate green tea's combo of catechin antioxidants and caffeine are behind the effect.) Choose fresh, hot brewed tea with nothing added—store-bought bottled brews tend to have fewer antioxidants and can be loaded with excess sugar. Stay away from unregulated green tea supplements, too: They're a frequent cause of liver damage and may contain unsafe doses of compounds isolated from tea.''

Sooo, it's settled. Brewed green tea is my new daily beverage. And yes, I will learn to like it. Perhaps lemon, or mint, or a spice will jazz it up. What food or drink have you learned to like?

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