Tag: green tea

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LET’S HAVE SOME TEA

The Christmas holidays are a magical time.  Everything comes together— family dinners, cards from far away friends, calls and visits from loved ones, beautiful music, and delicious food.  We want everything to be perfect. But often it’s not.  Things don’t always turn out the way we expect.  Someone’s late for dinner, your son has a fender bender, you burned the coffee cake—there are dozens of little annoyances that are bound to happen even during the best of times.  How to cope?  Take a tip from the British.  When things go wrong, they say, “let’s have some tea.”

When things go wrong the British say, "let's have some tea."
When things go wrong, the British are apt to say, “let’s have some tea.”

I was never much of a tea drinker until the covid-19  pandemic started last March.  The weather was still cold,  and we were all a bit panicky and depressed.  All of a sudden, I had a craving for tea.   As the days wore on and the virus continued to spread, I started heating the water in the late afternoon, and sitting down to sip a cup of  hot tea.  It was more soothing than I had ever expected.  It also gave me a little lift —not the jolt you get from your morning coffee, just a feeling of calm and clarity.

The history of tea dates back over 5,000 years ago to ancient China. In 2732 B.C. Emperor Shen Nung discovered tea when leaves from a wild tree blew into a  pot of water he was boiling .  He enjoyed  the pleasant scent of the resulting brew and  described a warm feeling as he drank the tea.

Besides giving you a boost of energy, tea also has other health benefits. According to Harvard Health, it’s an anti inflammatory which may reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. It also boosts memory and may prevent cognitive decline.  Drinking tea after a meal reduces blood sugar levels, which is helpful for those with Type 2 diabetes.

There are various types of teas.  Green tea is preferred by many, and is supposed to have more health benefits. Personally, I prefer black tea with a little bit of honey.  The next time something goes wrong, and everyone’s feeling stressed, you might suggest “let’s have some tea.”

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WATCH OUT FOR WINTER WEIGHT GAIN

Yesterday, it began to snow and blow here in Indiana.  I  reached for a can of salt crystals to sprinkle on the sidewalk, and found they had melted into a solid mass.  Panic.  I grabbed my coat,  and drove over to Rural King for a new can of sidewalk salt,  and free popcorn.  By the time I got home,   I was so hungry that I finished half a bag of popcorn before I’d taken off my cap.  It’s true.  Cold weather makes you hungry. Watch out for Winter Weight Gain!

Out bodies get hungrier in the winter
Watch Out For Winter Weight Gain. Have a cup of green tea instead of a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

There’s a lot of research to explain why our bodies respond to decreasing temperatures with hunger. It’s an instinct inherited from our ancient forebears. Apparently, the healthiest members of the tribe  survived by upping their calorie intake as the days got shorter and colder.

Cardiologist  Ira Ockene explained to National Public Radio.:

“We are driven by things implanted in our brain a long, long time ago.”

His research conducted at the University of Massachusetts Medical  School found that, in 593 participants from 20-70 years old, people consumed an average of 86 more daily calories in the fall than in the spring.  Worse yet, that increased to 200 extra calories per day in the winter.

He explained that when the days get dark earlier, we’re biologically compelled to seek out more food  and eat faster than usual — an ingrained behavior he likens to what a chipmunk does.

Ockene  also cited an earlier study in which participants ate more as the season changed  but reported still being hungry despite the larger meals.  This  suggested the seasonal effect on hunger might overpower normal satiety triggers.

Okay, so we don’t have to feel guilty about putting on a few pounds over the winter.  On the other hand, there are ways to ward off those hunger pangs.  As soon as your stomach starts demanding more food, stop a minute and tell yourself that you live in a warm place, not a cave, and you don’t really need to stuff yourself with chocolate chip cookies.

Heat a cup of  water in the microwave, and reach for a bag of green tea.  Maybe give it a little flavor with some mint or peach  tea.  Sit down and drink it slowly. There now, your stomach is calming down.  You’ve warded off the winter hungries.  Now, go do something else to take your  mind off food.  Read a book.  Scrub the kitchen floor.  Play a game on your computer.

And remember,  spring is just around the corner.