In these hot summer days, sometimes we feel like plants. I mean, all we need for feeling good when the weather is hot is to learn how to use natural energy of sun. What can help us to stay refreshed and healthy? Certainly, our friends: natural superfoods, herbs, fruit and vegetables. Many nutritionists recommend drinking natural squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, which can assist us greatly in stress, fatigue and weight management. Today, I would like to share with you some interesting ideas for making herbal teas, fruit and vegetable juice mixes. Read the rest of this entry »

I suppose that tea is definitely a subject of the largest number of various researches and scientific studies. And there’s nothing surprising about it! Tea is a miraculous therapeutic beverage which has a special place in every single culture of the world. It can be considered the most popular drink which can help us relax and enjoy its beautiful aroma, quench our thirst, get warm, forget about our problems and stresses, get closer with someone and so on. Moreover, for many of us tea is much more than just a beverage. Tea is linked to the most precious and romantic moments in our life. Drinking a cup of tea can help us to get focused and settle our mind, or can be an invitation for a friendly talk. And, there’s no need to mention numerous health benefits of various types of tea. Read the rest of this entry »

It is difficult to imagine that such a therapeutic drink as our favorite tea, which is known for its anti-aging and anti-cancerous properties, can contribute to possible development of cancer. But, it is not really about tea itself, it is all about its temperature. According to the results of a recent study published in the British Medical Journal, regular drinking really very hot tea at the temperature above 70C drastically increases the risks of having esophageal cancer. At the same time, the researchers are convinced that drinking hot tea (65-70C) also increases the risk of having esophageal cancer twice. Annually, this type of cancer kills about a half million of people. Read the rest of this entry »

Many people enjoy drinking Chamomile tea, and so do I. Some years ago I discovered that drinking a cup of Chamomile tea every morning or before going to bed helped me to improve my problematic digestive system. Also, inhaling the vapors of Chamomile infusion before the bedtime helped me to fall asleep much faster. Chamomile teas are made from fresh organic flowers of Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and can be purchased in almost every grocery or health food store in our country. Specialists estimated that the world’s population consumes about 1 million cups of Chamomile tea every day – wow! This tea has a unique soothing soft taste and very beautiful fragrance, resembling the smell of fresh apples. Besides, I have to mention that Chamomile tea is one of the safest herbal remedies, which can be used to treat children and adults. The most important restriction is possible allergy to Chamomile flowers. Read the rest of this entry »

White teas are one of the most popular type of traditional teas made from the leaves of Camilla Sinensis plant. Silver Needle, Snowbud, White Peony, White Cloud, Fujan, Bai Mu Dan, White Darjeeling, as well as various fruit-flavored White teas are among the best blends in modern tea culture. In contrast to Black teas, this type of tea comes from the buds picked right after they have opened. White tea is the least processed type of tea among all teas. The buds are unfermented, slightly air dried and sometimes a little steamed, that allows receiving a very gentle and a little sweet type of tea taste. White teas have a specific light color, a very delicate  and silky flavor.

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Millions of people around the planet start their day with a cup of their favorite tea or coffee. This ritual is very common to us all and we all know that morning cup of tea or coffee can help us refresh our mind after the night’s sleep and get focused on the things we need to accomplish during the day. Certainly, such powerful refreshing effects of these morning beverages can be achieved at the expense of high caffeine content in both tea and coffee. Caffeine is an alkaloid which is known for its effects on our nerve system. It causes irritability, anxiety, headaches, increased heart rate and high blood pressure. However, such effects will manifest only in that situation, when the levels of caffeine intake are really high.

Many people wonder, what type of tea contains the greatest amounts of caffeine? For example, some of my friends are convinced that the stronger the tea, the more caffeine it has. At that, some of them think that green tea has less amounts of caffeine than the black tea, because black teas are darker and stronger. Those are quite weird ideas, aren’t they? Specialists argue that high-quality non-flavored green  teas have the highest content of caffeine among all teas: up to 80 mg of caffeine in one big cup (8 ounces). High-quality non-flavored back teas contain up to 60-70 mg of caffeine. Green flavored teas contain from 45 to 70 mg of caffeine, and black flavored teas can have caffeine content levels as low as 35-40 mg in a cup.

This is very important to keep in mind the results of this study, because as we can see, the strength and color of tea does not play any important role when talking about caffeine content. There are some moms, who give green tea to their infants thinking that green tea is not strong enough to harm their children. Remember that children below 2 are not recommended to have caffeinated drinks at all! And what about the adults? There are certain groups of people, who also have to stay away from caffeine. Those include, first of all, the people who suffer from atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and problems with vessels, as well as those who have gastritis or peptic ulcer. Finally, pregnant and nursing women have to limit their caffeine intake and drink no more than 1-2 cups of tea a day.

At the same time, for the majority of us, moderate doses of caffeine will not bring any harm and can be even useful. Consuming 600-700 mg of caffein every day is considered to be a normal dose of this substance, but maximum daily dose of it should not exceed 800 mg. Since maximum content of caffein in one cup of green tea is 85 mg, drinking 7-8 cups of tea a day should be considered safe.  Recently, British specialists discovered that it is optimal to drink 8 cups of fluid every day, so you can include 3-5 cups of strong tea in your daily fluid intake, ejoiy this wonderful drink and benefit from its numerous positive effects on your health.