7 healthiest teas and their health benefits

Tea is fabulous- and so are all of its benefits. Drink your way to good health by trying a variety of the healthiest teas. For those of you that have not embraced the tea drinking habit, maybe you’ll consider brewing a batch after reading this! Drink it hot, drink it cold…whichever way you like!

What are the healthiest teas?

1)     One of the healthiest teas is Green tea: It’s good for your eyes AND your heart! Just like any part of the body, your eyes and heart can suffer from oxidative stress. Green tea improves endothelial function which is related to cardiovascular health. Drink Green tea and not only will you see better but your heart will love it too!



2)     White Tea: This tea is anti-aging! Who doesn’t want to look younger? It has a high polyphenol count which makes you gorgeous! The extracts in white tea inhibit wrinkle production by strengthening elastin and collagen in your skin. Did you know the fountain of youth is inside one of your daily mug of healthiest teas?


3)     Black Tea: Black tea is good for you in so many ways! It is good for relieving stress as well as reducing blood pressure. As stress goes up, so does your blood pressure (which puts you at risk for heart attack and stroke). Hold the stress and grab a cup of black tea. You’ll also lower your blood pressure while you’re at it! In addition, black tea will also freshen your breath at the same time! Black tea is one of the healthiest teas around. It is full of polyphenols, which are powerful antioxidants that inhibit plaque and bacterial growth in the mouth. In addition to this, it has glucose-inhibiting properties, meaning that it may also help to prevent diabetes! Drink black tea to have low blood pressure, a slim waist line, fresh breath, and to be stress free!



4)     Peppermint Tea: Sip on this delicious, yet potent tea to relieve constipation or GI irregularity. Whenever you experience an uncomfortable bout of constipation, peppermint tea is sure to improve motility in the GI tract and get you going.


5)     Ginger Tea: This anti-inflammatory tea is another on our list of healthiest teas. It will relieve any migraine because it blocks prostaglandins- the chemical messengers that cause swelling in the brain. It works just as fast, or faster than aspirin would, so why not go nautral! It will also help to relive sore muscles and joints. If that’s not enough it will also help to improve any gastrointestinal inflammation you may have.



6)     Kombucha Tea: What’s that? It’s a fizzy, fermented tea drink that is actually full of beneficial bacteria and yeast. Consumption of Kombucha tea promotes the growth of healthy flora and gut health. It is essentially a liquid probiotic supplement. You’re giving your body what it needs to function efficiently, keeping digestion working properly and your immune system working at its potential.



7)     Passionflower Tea: Passionflower has the flavone chrysin, which has anti-anxiety benefits. It works best for people with anxiety or OCD. Restless at night because you cannot shut your brain off? Try a cup of passionflower tea before bed to calm your mind.



You can use tea bags or go loose, drink it hot or cold, but either way, tea is fabulous! So why not try some of the healthiest teas as a refreshing alternative to other drinks.

5 Reasons You Should Be Eating Fermented Foods

 
Before you turn up your nose at fermented food, just remember this: If you’ve ever had pickles with your sandwich, or sauerkraut on your hot dog, or kefir, or yogurt, or kimchi, or miso, or beer, or wine, then you too have indulged with pleasure. What’s more, while savouring their distinctive flavors, you probably weren’t focused on their actual health benefits. The fact is that these foods have been shown to boost our immune and digestive systems by increasing the number of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.
The word fermentation comes from the Latin term to boil, probably because early attempts at fermenting beverages resulted in bubbling and foaming that looked a lot like boiling. In the process of fermentation, organic substances are turned into simpler compounds by enzymes. Among the microorganisms that produce these enzymes are molds, yeasts, and bacteria.

Molds and yeasts belong to the fungus kingdom, and are distinct from both plants and animals.
Microorganisms, however, unlike molds and yeasts, need more than carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight to feed and grow on. The fermentation that occurs along the way is incidental to their growth. Whatever the agents of fermentation, the healthy bacteria they provide to the gut increases the body’s defenses against harmful contamination, viruses, worms, parasites, and yes, unhealthy fungi and bacteria.

Almost all indigenous cultures around the world include some form of fermented food in their diet, and have been doing so since Neolithic times. The earliest in the West were yeast-based beer, wine, and bread, and cheeses made by bacteria and molds.
In East Asia, these were followed not long after with yogurt and other fermented milk products, pickles, vinegar, butter, and other alcoholic beverages. Fermentation has been an essential feature of Asian cuisines ever since. Japanese natto (soybeans), Chinese douchi (black beans), Korean kimchi (cabbage, radish, and other root vegetables), Vietnamese nuoc mam (fish sauce), Burmese ngachauk (dried fish), are all staples of each country’s daily diets. In addition, many fermented foods in Eastern cultures are valued for their medicinal properties as well.

Sad, then, that we seem to be seeing a decrease in traditional food fermentation in developing countries of the East – a decline partly due to the influence of Western supermarkets and fast-food culture. All the more reason for keeping alive this age-old culture of preservation, by introducing some fermented foods into our diet.
Here are five excellent reasons to do so:

Absorption of nutrients. The digestive enzyme in fermented foods increases absorption of nutrients by rendering them “partially digested,” thus helping the breakdown of food in our body before it's even ingested.

Lactose intolerance is a common allergic reaction to milk. Fermented cultures in yogurt may help alleviate this intolerance. For vegans, coconut kefirs are a great substitute.
Weight loss. Numerous studies demonstrate the effects that healthy bacteria  can have on weight loss.

A study on obesity published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that by simply drinking a probiotic-rich fermented drink for 12 weeks, subjects reduced their abdominal fat by nearly 5 percent.

Another study on infants aged 6 months and 12 months identified those with high counts of bifidobacteria as being far less prone to obesity than those with lower counts, perhaps explaining why breastfed babies are similarly less prone to obesity (since bifidobacteria are more prevalent in mother’s milk.)

Additionally, two separate studies detected 90% more of a healthy bacteria called bacteroidetes in lean people than in obese people.

Immune system boosts. Intestinal flora is often overlooked by conventional medicine in fighting disease. Perhaps knowing that 85% of our body's immune system lives in our intestines and carries approximately 100 trillion bacteria (both good and bad), should be sufficient reason to “go with our gut” in treating various ailments. It’s worth remembering too that fermented foods contain probiotics that colonize the gastrointestinal tract with beneficial microorganisms for a healthy immune system.

Studies published in Clinical Microbiology Reviews and The Journal of Nutrition show not only how probiotics may reduce diarrhea and other intestinal problems, but how they may even protect the body against colon cancer. In keeping with such findings, according to the United Nations University, kefir has been used in the treatment of tuberculosis, cancer, and pulmonary tuberculosis. Other maladies widely believed to benefit from probiotics therapy are diarrhea, gastroenteritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Vitamin content. The process of fermentation greatly increases the vitamin content in foods containing B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Choline, Thiamine, and Biotin.
According to The International Journal of Food Science & Technology, “Fermented dairy products show an increased level of folic acid which is critical to producing healthy babies as well as pyroxidine, B vitamins, riboflavin and biotin depending on the strains of bacteria present.”

Longer food shelf life. If you’re ready and willing to try out food fermentation at home – whether for health, culinary, or experimental purposes – the good news is that one of the easiest and most common methods of food preservation.

It is thought that in early societies, before the process was understood, fermentation was seen as a miracle of transformation. The Egyptians praised Osiris for the brewing of beer; the Greeks worshipped Bacchus as the god of wine; in Japan, few miso and shoyu breweries were without a small shrine to the Gods.

Maybe the time has come now to recapture the sense of wonder inherent in this ancient practice of preserving our food and satisfying our taste buds at the same time. And to think that all it takes is the nearest vegetable to hand—carrots, cucumbers, onions, garlic, radishes, cauliflower, you name it; a bit of salt, and a nice clean jar … and a miracle is born!

The Increasingly Transcendent Spirit of Rice Beer

 
Consider the following from the Beverage Tasting Institute:
Clear with a nickel cast. Bright honeyed Asian pear, ripe pineapple husk, and delicate lemongrass and anise aromas follow through on a soft, silky entry to a dry-yet-fruity medium with excellent depth and glassy smoothness. Finishes with a long, refreshing fade with a hint of coconut milk. Excellent vibrancy and acidity for the table.
No, it’s not Meursault or Alsatian Riesling. It’s a sake: the ultra-premium Tears of Dawn by Konseki. Yes, sake, but now, with much the same aplomb seen in the current craft-brewed beer explosion, Japanese sake brewers like Konseki are experimenting with exciting new styles, as well as revisiting some of the island country’s most revered rice-brew methods dating from as long ago as 2,000 years. (By the way, “rice wine” is one of alcohol’s most pervasive misnomers.) Unmistakably Japan’s national beverage, the oldest active sake brewer was founded in AD 1141.

Rice “Beer” History
Humanity’s first brewmaster likely chewed on mouthfuls of grain, allowing enzymes in saliva to break down the starches so wild yeast could turn the gob into a form of beer. Likewise, the earliest winemakers crushed grapes into simple hollowed-out depressions in boulders and left them for wind-borne yeasts to find and feast on the sugars; in effect, emitting alcohol (wine) as waste. As inebriants, these crude beverages were coveted as divine gifts. Time passed, techniques improved, and the craft of making alcohol from grains and grapes developed most promisingly in the religious orders. From the abbeys and monasteries of Flanders and Burgundy and Kyoto, early ascetics found that their brewing and winemaking skills earned them special protections and favors from local rulers. Thus, wine and beer and devotion came of age together.

Sake’s four ingredients are rice, koji (a natural mold added to moistened rice to break down the starches), yeast, and water. Nearly 60 varieties of sake rice — much starchier than eating-rice — are cultivated around Japan, each with its own nuance and compatibility with the available water. Quality sake is dependent on the painstaking process of milling or polishing off the outer layers of each grain of rice to reach the high-starch interior (sake is graded by what percentage of the exterior has been removed in a process that can take more than 70 hours).

From the mills, the rice emerges hot and dry. It is allowed at least two weeks for cooling, helped along by a dose of humidity; then it is washed to remove impurities and soaked in fresh water to help with the starch-to-sugar conversion. Water quality is crucial: rice reacts very favorably to trace amounts of potassium, magnesium, and phosphoric acid, while a high-iron content doesn’t work at all. Next, it is steamed and then cooled again until the expanded rice is perfectly ripe for the koji mold to further break down the starches. Koji’s influence also enhances the body and character of the final product and works compatibly with yeast, the next step in sake’s exacting preparation. In a four-day process, massive vats are filled sequentially with a conglomeration of steamed rice, koji rice, and the yeast starter. Fermentation takes 15 to 18 days. By adjusting the dosages of the three elements, brewers manipulate the final style of their sake in terms of sweet or dry, lighter bodied or rich, etc. The fully fermented liquid is then pressed off and filtered through charcoal (or sometimes not). As is the case with unfiltered wine, certain brewers believe filtering robs the sake of unique flavors and authenticity. Finally, the sake is heated to about 150 degrees Fahrenheit for pasteurization (or sometimes not). Brewers can also add a bit of water at this time to reduce the alcohol to around 15 percent. Certain styles of sake call for distilled alcohol to be added during fermentation. On average, sake’s alcohol content is around 15 to 16 percent. Indeed, sake is anything but simple and straightforward.

Types and Serving Tips
Premium sake is made in three categories: Junmai — 30 percent or more of the rice is milled away. (The Junmai category also includes Honjozo sake, wherein a small amount of distilled alcohol is added during fermentation.) Junmai Ginjo — 40 percent or more of the rice is milled away. Junmai Daiginjo — 50 percent or more is milled away. (Less than 10 percent of all the sake on the market is made to the standards of Ginjo and Daiginjo.)
If alcohol was added during fermentation, producers will not use the term “Junmai.” Nigori refers to unfiltered sake; the bottles retain lees (dead yeast cells and rice polishings) and appear cloudy in the bottle. Otherwise, look for Genshu if you’d like undiluted sake, and Nama if you like your sake unpasteurized.

Contemporary sake drinkers are experimenting wildly with sake cocktails, Western food and sake pairings, wine glasses and other unconventional drinking vessels, and so on. The most significant and freeing new practice is to drink sake at room temperature or chilled. Nevertheless, the extraordinary nuance found in premium sake is best experienced at temperatures well above human body temperature.

Historically, the Japanese drink sake with food — either choose a sake to pair with a dish that has complementary flavors, or play up the contrast in flavors between the two. Sake is especially well suited to raw fish, fermented and pickled foods, dishes featuring miso and soy sauce, and even cheese, due to the koji flavors inherent in sake. Professionals point to the high amino acid content of sake as the reason it pairs so well with so many foods, but you may be more comforted by an ancient Japanese proverb, which simply translates to “doesn’t get into fights with food,” in the words of Philip Harper in his The Book of Sake.

3 Recipes for Sexual Vitality

Eager to rev up your libido? Click here to learn more about the best foods to feed your body's sexual vitality, then try these recipes from raw vegan chef Elyse Clark.
Super Kale Salad
1 head of kale

1 ripe avocado

1/3 cup unrefined flax oil 

2 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos/Nama Shoyu/Tamari

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoons chili powder

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup hemp seeds



1. Wash kale and remove leaves from stem; place stems aside for juicing or composting. Break leaves into bite size pieces using hands or kitchen scissor

2. Massage kale with avocado, flax, and aminos followed by remaining ingredients until well incorporated. Serve.
Pumpkin Seed Pesto Sauce

 2 cups raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup olive oil

1/2 cup parsley

1/2 cup basil

1 tsp himalayan pink salt

1 garlic clove


1.  Blend in food processor or high speed blender until desired consistency is reached
Maca Brazil Truffles
(pictured above)
1 cup raw brazil nuts

1 1/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1 1/2 tablespoons maca

3/4 cup date paste or soaked and pitted Medjool dates

1 tablespoons maple

1 teaspoons vanilla powder


1.  Combine all in food processor (if the dough is too dry add teaspoon of water, too wet add extra coconut)
.
2. Form into balls and let set in fridge for 20 minutes or longer.

Hungry for More: What to Eat for Sexual Vitality

 

Rev up your sexual vitality with cinnamon and other surprising foods.

Envision a ripe, juicy apricot. It beckons from the kitchen counter—full, sweet, and ready to be enjoyed. Now think about a bag of dried apricots. They’re in the pantry, for use . . . whenever. Our sexuality should be like the fresh apricot: a nourishing and urgent part of our lives. Yet many of us struggle to feel desire, or we lack the energy to act on it.

“My mom confided in me that she only had sex when she went on vacation,” says Brigitte Mars, a herbalist and nutritional consultant based in Boulder, Colorado. “And I said, ‘But, Mom, you only go on vacation once a year!’” Luckily for Mom (and Dad!), Mars is the author of The Sexual Herbal and offered to make meals that contained a lot of cinnamon. The results? “After a week, she winked at me.”

“Cinnamon, consistently eaten, keeps you ‘user ready,’” explains Brian Clement. He and his wife, Anna Maria, both naturopaths and nutritionists, are the authors of 7 Keys to Lifelong Sexual Vitality. “It’s the biggest question we hear: How can I get my libido back?” says Anna Maria Clement. That’s a question worth pursuing, she says. “Sexual satisfaction is a major contributor to the quality of life.”

The right foods can support desire, but if you’re envisioning oysters, think again: Foods for sexual vitality are different from aphrodisiacs, says Mars. “You want to tone the whole body. It’s not, What can I do for tonight? but, rather, having extra energy for sex.” Here are the powerhouse foods that will fan your desire: 

Nuts and seeds, especially sesame, chia, sunflower, hemp, and pumpkin. “Raw nuts and seeds have a lot of life force,” says Mars, who suggests soaking chia seeds overnight and having them for breakfast with blueberries, nuts, and honey.

Grains, beans, and squash. “The best way to eat squash is raw,” says Brian Clement. “Grate it up and add it to salads or dips.”

Turmeric, lemon, and cayenne, which support healthy circulation. “Some of the smallest capillaries in the body go down to the penis and vaginal areas,” Clement says. “Blood flow is necessary for full arousal,” agrees Laurie Steelsmith, a Honolulu-based naturopathic physician and the author of Great Sex, Naturally.

Cruciferous vegetables, acai, mangosteen, and berries. These support liver health, which is also vital to good circulation, says Steelsmith.

Cardamom, garlic, and ginger. “You want to warm your body up, not cool your jets,” says Mars. “Make your food healthy and exciting.”

Maca. This root is associated with stabilizing hormones, says Elyse Clark, a raw vegan chef and educator from Deer Park, New York. She uses maca powder, beets, and Brazil nuts to make raw-food truffles.

Dark chocolate. It contains L-arginine (a vasodilator) and phenylethylamine, which makes you feel happy, Steelsmith says. Skip the chocolate bar, with its added sugar and fat. Instead, buy cocoa powder and add it to your smoothies.

Root vegetables. “Roots are said to energize your lower chakras,” says Mars. Try burdock root, carrots, and beets.

Avoid fatty foods and alcohol, which will make you sluggish, and coffee, which Steelsmith says lowers testosterone in both men and women.

Overall, focus on fresh, unprocessed foods. “When you eat cleaner, you function more optimally,” says Clark. “Even your response to human touch will change—you can get aroused by simpler things. Your body is getting the message more clearly.”