Why Runners and Athletes Should Drink Tea

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When I talk about tea, you probably think about the desi milk-chai, with generous amount of milk and sugar. You don’t necessarily think about, say, runners and athletes. But that’s a misconception. You’ve definitely heard someone tell you that tea is good for you. But beyond that general statement, you perhaps don’t know that tea has number of performance enhancing benefits that make it especially ‘a must drink’ for all runners and athletes.

Science and real-time global case studies prove that drinking tea supports physical activity through its preventive functions. It aids in providing more energy for training, quicker recovery, and is an unmatched nutritional tool for better performance. Tea helps athletes with improved alertness, more strength and an extra surge of energy during long workouts. The very high dose of antioxidants help the body metabolise fats for fuel late in the workouts, for needed strength endurance.

A 2004 study found that tea improved endurance capacity. ”Tea markedly improved endurance capacity and stimulated lipid use.” And a 2006 study concluded that “the endurance-improving effects of tea were mediated, at least partly, by increased metabolic capacity and utilisation of fatty acid as a source of energy.” In simple language it basically means that tea was found to improve strength and endurance during aerobic activity, and that increased endurance was in part due to an increase in fat being burnt for energy.

Tea is fantastic and also a smarter choice than coffee, soda or energy drinks. It’s true that caffeine is a proven performance enhancer that increases endurance, improves alertness and makes running feel easier. Although tea provides only half as much caffeine as coffee or energy drinks, it makes you feel good at the right places without any side effects, such as acidity and bloating. The acid in coffee and energy drinks can be hard, leading to heartburn and upset stomach. So, if you look at it, tea is your all natural ‘power drink’ that offers a boost and can even make you healthier.

I believe tea is very personal. In my opinion, I would recommend that fitness enthusiasts should collect an assortment of teas – black, oolong, green, white and herbal blends, and see what they enjoy the most. Maybe it’s delicate green tea in the morning, oolong after a run, or a herbal blend without any caffeine to wind down after an evening run. And remember, quality counts in tea. So, make sure that you choose whole leaf, high quality, all natural, fresh and premium tea. For added flavour and health boost, try infusing your tea with fresh fruits, herbs and spices.

Get to know your tea, experiment and explore, develop your relationship and enjoy your fitness journey with tea. It is your all round performance drink. So, drink up and see how tea can step up your game!

10 Reasons Why Green Tea Is Good For You

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Love for tea shares ten reasons why green tea is good for your mind, body and soul. Put your kettle on as the facts are in and tea is officially awesome for your health.

1. Your brain –  A cup of green tea doesn’t just make you more productive in office, with improved accuracy and attention but it also prevents the progression of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease as we age.

2. Your bones – Regular tea drinkers have higher bone mineral density and strength than non-tea drinkers. The benefit is attributed to phytochemicals in tea, such as flavonoids, that protect against bone loss.

3. Your heart – Green tea contains tannins that are known to lower cholesterol naturally. Evidence based research concludes that people who drink 3-5 cups of green tea regularly have lower risk of heart diseases.

4. Your immune system – Tea contains catechins and flavanoids (antioxidants) & Vitamin H (also called biotin), that prevent cellular damage and assist in healthy and strong immune system.

5. Your fitness – Green tea works as a brilliant pre and post workout drink.  A cup of green tea boosts your energy and enhances your performance by improving endurance and alertness.

6. Your dental health – Green tea kills bacteria which improves dental health and lowers your risk of infection.

7. Your skin – Green tea helps to keep your skin healthy. EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate), the main polyphenol in green tea, has anticancer properties that may prevent the development of skin tumours.

8. Your hair – The anti-inflammatory properties of green tea boosts hair growth. It inhibits the growth of DHT (Dihydrotestosterone), which hinders hair growth and causes hair fall.

9. Your mental health – Green tea is like yoga in a cup, it can calm your nerves while boosting your mood. Theanine present in green tea works as an excellent anti-depressant and helps in relieving stress and anxiety.

10. Your body – Regular consumption of green tea lowers risk of type-2 diabetes, various kinds of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, resulting in a healthy body – helping you live longer.

Now, before you load up on this elixir of life make sure that you drink the right tea. It’s very important to know that all the benefits that you read about green tea are based on research on fresh, high quality loose leaf tea and not flavoured tea/tea bags. So, be smart and drink right.

Adding Milk To TEA Destroys It’s Antioxidants

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“The spirit of the tea beverage is one of peace, comfort and refinement.” – Arthur Gray, Little Tea Book

The trend is slowly changing and if I had to pick one beverage among so many, I would probably take a nice cup of tea. In today’s life, where everyone is so stressed and always on the run, a cup of tea always acts like a stress buster.

The easiest way to derive the health benefits of tea is to drink it, but drink it right. Research suggests that adding milk to tea destroys it’s antioxidants and many healthful properties. The culprits in milk is a group of proteins called caseins that interact with tea, decreasing the concentration of catechin – a type of disease-fighting flavonoid and antioxidant, which is key to tea’s health benefits.

So, drink smart and add lemon to your tea and let this healthiest drink on the planet heal you from your brain to your belly.

RECIPE – Tea Sangria, Summer Party Special!

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tea Sangria, tea recipe

“Drinking tea with a pinch of imagination!” – 50 Ways to Drink Tea

This is one of my favorite tea recipes for summer- it’s my refreshing Spice Tea Sangria. It has beautiful notes of many flavors of herbs, fruits and cinnamon, with refreshing and citrousy aftertaste.

KEY INGREDIENTS
3 Tbsp Black Tea (Black tea is preferred in infusions, as it goes well with strong flavors of fruits and spices)
2 Cinnamon sticks
3 Sliced Oranges
1 cup Sliced Peaches
1 cup Sliced Strawberries
3 Sliced Lemons
Mint leaves
Organic Sugar
Red Wine (Optional)

PREPARATION
In a teapot or jar, add tea leaves to pre-boiled water and steep for 4 minutes. Strain out leaves and let tea cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher. Top it with lots of mint leaves. Pour into ice-filled glasses. Makes 5 to 6 servings. Also, you can use oolong tea instead of black tea, if desired. Choose a lightly oxidized/fermented oolong to complement the sangria’s fruity, spicy flavors.

BEST ENJOYED
Summer parties along with summer dresses, with good music and company. It’s simple and perfect for moments when you want to surprise someone, give them some tea inspiration or just party away the summer!

We Love Messi And Tea

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Tea for athletes

Intense training normally results in oxidative damage to muscles, inflammation, release of the stress hormone cortisol and possibly delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS. A concentrated extract from black tea lowered the incidence and intensity of these side effects in a group of college-age male athletes, according to a study published in “Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.” The reduction of these factors led to faster recovery and the ability to train more intensely.

What Do Footballers Drink?

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“What we believe to be one of the most fascinating benefits of drinking tea for athletes is the role of L-Theanine, an Amino-Acid in Tea that results in the state of  ‘Relaxed or Mindful Alertness’.  Meditators have been cultivating ‘Relaxed Alertness’ through meditation for years, a state which is experienced in peak states of play, and which can be experienced through the act of drinking Tea.”- mindandsport.org

Are Flavored Teas Good For Health?

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“As much as you can eat healthy, it’s also important to remember to drink healthy too. Tea is very healing.” – Kristin Chenoweth

Yes, definitely. Sometimes, life gets better when you jazz it up a bit, so does tea. But what kind of flavor tea you are having, defines if it’s healthy or not.

Flavored teas are becoming popular on account of varied tastes to suit an individual’s taste buds. Generally, black, green and oolong teas are used for flavoring and they are infused with fruits, flowers, herbs, organic essential oils and spices, to bring out the perfect blend. Teas like vanilla, mango, peach, strawberry and cardamom are flavoured with organic essential oils. But as flavored teas, with their strong added flavors, dominate the taste of tea, many manufacturers tend to use lower quality tea leaves for perfect flavoring. Sometimes, the flavours are also compromised using cheap and artificial essential oils. So, make sure to buy tea that uses high quality full leaf tea leaves as base, and organic essential oils and herbs for perfect flavoring. The idea should be to always mix health benefits with good taste because that’s what teaconomics is all about.

Thank You ‘Lock Cha’ For Yellow Tea

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hong kong cafe

“Tea is like a library, where every book has a purpose”- Love for Tea

Yellow tea and me, it was love at first sight. I was in Hong Kong for work and I wanted to check out some local tea cafes during my stay. It was a bright chilly afternoon and I walked by Lock Cha Tea Shop, right in Hong Kong park, which seemed like a nice quiet pleasure in the busy city. When I walked in, I felt pure tea-nirvana.

The place is a tea museum and the entry is free. It’s very vibrant and has lot of stuff going around, from display of ancient tea pots, tea making equipment, lessons on how tea should be served, tea-wares consulting, to tea etiquette and whole lot of tea inspiration. Lock Cha Tea shop is a very traditional place where one can truly experience Chinese culture and where people are always thrilled to serve you some tea. The tea shop is equally spirited with a wonderful menu of more than 100 kinds of tea, with clear explanation about their flavors.

There was a tea-tasting ceremony happening at the tea shop and I just flew for it. It was a beautiful and a spiritual experience, that felt like a cross-country road trip along with tea, with so many varieties of tea and flavors, known and unknown, on the way. Here, I tasted yellow tea and it was sunshine in my cup.