Holy teacups, Bat people!
Guarding against strokes may be as easy as firing up the ole teapot! That’s right. If you’ve got green tea brewing, it’s one celestial seasoning that can extend your earthly stay. New studies claim that if you drink enough, you just might lower your risk of dying from a stroke by up to 42 percent.
How much is enough? The study results showed that one group of people – who drank at least five cups of green tea a day – had a 42 percent lower risk of death due to stroke compared with those who drank less than one cup a day. Since I was drinking none, I figure I was a walking time bomb since I’m a huge procrastinator which throws me into a perpetual state of stress.
To be honest, I’m not crazy about green tea, but I’m working on developing a taste for it since I read it also rejuvenates our skin cells, promotes healthy joints, and trims the waistline. I boil up three-four tea bags every morning and mix it with plain filtered water in a huge plastic container.
Instead of plain water, I sip the mixture throughout the day. It is almost like drinking water but I’m getting all those friendly polyphenols.
I’ve also experimented with mixing cold green tea with a bit of pomegranate juice (about half an inch in the glass) and voila! A super healthy drink.
.
Okay. I’ve tried that stuff again. I love Lipton’s Diet Green Tea with Citrus, but I thought the regular, hot green tea might be better for me. BUT IT HAS NO TASTE!! I even tried using two tea bags rather than one; it still tastes like water with a little dirt in it. Guess I’ll stick with the cold stuff. Ironic that you mention this, though, just as I tried it again. Great minds……
I totally agree. Green tastes a lot like grass to me…the kind that grows sparsely in my yard. Mixed with plenty if water, you never even know it’s there.
I haven’t tried the Lipton’s with citrus. I must try it. Thanks.
Emily
Does it have to be hot green tea? I drink the Arizona diet green tea [WalMart gro.] that comes in a gallon jug. I drink it over ice or just chilled. It’s very tasty, so it probably isn’t doing me any good!
I can’t imagine why it would matter if it’s hot or cold. I drink it at room temperature. But I’ll check it out and get back to you…
Emily
You really need only one or two cups of tea daily to start doing your heart some good—just make sure it’s a fresh brew. Ready-to-drink teas (the kind you find in the supermarket beverage section) don’t offer the same health benefits. “Once water is added to tea leaves, their catechins degrade within a few days,” says Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University. Also, some studies show that adding milk may eliminate tea’s protective effects on the cardiovascular system, so stick to just lemon or honey.
Emily, I just read the above paragraph on my MSN homepage about your odds of living longer [Thurs., Oct.15] and saw that it needs to be fresh brewed, apparently, so there goes any good effects from my bottled Walmart tea!!
Along with my green tea water idea…Thanks Elsie – I also read that tea leaves are better than bags. But what’s in those bags if not tea leaves? Hmmm… very confusing. I hate losing all those catechins, don’t you? Catechin when you can, I always say!
For sure I’ll quit adding water and leaving it on the counter all day while I sip. Plus I just noticed I have stubborn green tea stains on my white kitchen counter which my wonderful baking soda won’t budge. I’ll just boil up the leaves and chugalug like a drunken sailor. Get it over with once and for all.