This week is National Healthy Weight Week, a week dedicated to celebrating healthy, diet-free ways of living to achieve a healthy weight that lasts, a lifetime. From eating a healthy diet, to exercise and learning ways to deal with stress, this week is all about simple things you can do to live your best. Tea can be a powerful part of healthy living and can help you achieve a healthy weight. Different varieties of tea are chocked full of vitamins, antioxidants, and other compounds that help improve metabolism, and maintain healthy bodily functions that contribute to weight loss. Tea serves an important social function as it is often shared amongst friends. Finally, drinking tea is often a contemplative or reflective moment, which can help produce calm and relieve stress after a long day. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and features of individual teas:
Dating back thousands of years to the remote mountains of China, Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea known for its bold full bodied flavor. Oolong, or “Black Dragon Tea”, is partially oxidized, laying somewhere between black tea (highly oxidized) and green tea (minimally oxidized). The aroma is lightly floral and the tea has a wonderful “melony” aftertaste.
Oolong is known for its high concentration of polyphenols, a family of compounds that have been proven to be effective in raising fat metabolism, removing free radicals in the body, and aiding digestion.
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| From the left, Organic Formosa Fancy Oolong, Organic Plum Oolong and Organic Wuyi Oolong |
“Detoxitea” is a natural blend of ingredients loaded with health benefits, from Goji berry to ginger, lemon myrtle, honeybush and fennel seed. The Superfood Goji berry is an adaptogen, an agent that allows the body to adapt to daily stresses by strengthening the immune system, increasing the body’s resistance to stress and normalizing bodily functions. Ginger is proven to protect the liver against toxins. Detoxitea is also a great source of Vitamin C and antioxidants.
Green tea originates from China and has recently become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East. Green tea is made solely from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Many varieties of green tea have been created in countries where it is grown. These varieties can differ substantially due to variable growing conditions, processing and harvesting time. Green tea generally produces a very light green liquor with a mild taste and is often enhanced with fruits or spices.
The health benefits associate with the consumption of Green Tea are almost too numerous to mention! Like Oolong, Green Tea is loaded with polyphenols and has a high concentration of flavenoids which possess anti-oxidative and anti-carcinogenic functions. Several scientific studies have proven Green Tea can aid in metabolism, reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and body fat and improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance.
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| From the left Organic Ancient Emerald Lily, Organic Japanese Sencha and Organic Moroccan Mint |
As you celebrate this week of how to achieve a healthy weight without dieting, give some consideration to the role tea can serve in that goal. Tea helps biologically by raising metabolism and stabilizing physiological functions, socially by being part of intimate moments you share with others, and spiritually by providing opportunities to relax and unwind. All these benefits and it tastes great too. This week, share a cup of tea with a friend or family member and contemplate how you can achieve a healthier you!
