Girly Jock (guest post).

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Ive been a fan of GirlyJock since the inception of her blog. She’s smart, honest, raw, amazing, funny, insightful and GETTING MARRIED to her soulmate soon.  As a result when she generously offered to write a follow-up to this post I leaped at the chance.

Thank you thank you Girly Jock.

I’ve been drinking tea since I was a kid: when I was sick, my mom would make some English Breakfast Tea, and load it with milk and sugar to get me to drink it. Since then, I’ve developed a passion for tea that surpasses most other passions (my favorite Christmas gift last year was a tea chest, and my favorite birthday present was two bags of loose tea, and a tea infuser). Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about teas, and have compiled a bit of a cheat sheet when it comes to the varieties of tea.

White, Green and Black Tea

All three of these come from the same plant. White tea is the least processed, and black tea is the most processed (black tea also has comparatively few antioxidant benefits). Green tea will give your metabolism a small boost.

There are conflicting studies about milk and tea: some say milk destroys the antioxidants, some say milk is neutral or beneficial to the antioxidant properties. I think that, as milk is not needed to reap the antioxidants in the tea, it’s best left out.

Further, if you leave your green or white tea sitting out too long, it can start to oxidize. This means that the antioxidants will start to degrade, and eventually (when your green or white tea turns brownish) there won’t be any antioxidants in the tea. However, adding a splash of lemon juice seems to slow the browning process (Vitamin C helps protect antioxidants. That’s part of the reason it’s so awesome). The easiest way to ensure that you’re getting the healthy goodness in the tea is to let it steep for about 5 minutes, then give the tea bag a squeeze, and pour over ice. 1-3 cubes will still leave the tea warm, but it will be drinkable. Then drink the tea quickly.

If you drink the tea quickly, you do not have to worry so much about tea quality (and there are some expensive teas that are poorer quality, so it’s not always a matter of price). In my opinion the store brand teas are on par with more expensive teas, provided they are consumed within a few hours of brewing.

In terms of waking up, in my experience nothing beats coffee (it’s the smell). However, when it comes to staying up, green tea got me through a 42 credit year at college, jitter-free.

Herbal Teas

These are dried herbs and/or dried fruit that do not provide the antioxidant power of green or white teas. However, they have their place: chamomile is great after a rough day (or the night before a day you know will be rough); ginger will settle your stomach; dandelion teas help prevent and get rid of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness; and the fruitier teas taste good, and are a better choice than soda. With the teas that claim stress relief or what have you, their taste can be hit or miss.

Mixed Teas

I’m talking about “blueberry green tea” or “raspberry white tea” here. They can be deliciously fruity and good for you, but you’ll need to check the ingredients: some teas use artificial flavors and colors to make the tea more appealing. Again, the taste can be hit or miss.

Diet Teas

Usually, these teas will have a laxative/diuretic effect that will cause temporary weight loss. Drinking too much can mess with your body’s digestion/elimination.

(Some teas should not be consumed by pregnant or nursing women (usually these teas have extra caffeine). Check the ingredient list and the box to make sure that there are no warnings on the box before consuming any new tea.)

Longing for some MizFit to fill your day? Curious to hear how little I actually know about running & training for races? Miss the Dr. Rus Show Monday morning? Please to listen and enjoy…

Wanna DOWNLOAD from itunes to yer ipod? Go to CATEGORY: News & Politics and look for Dr. Rus: Best of the LiveLine

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Comments

  1. I “need” coffee in the am for the smell too (usually a blend of a lot of decaf mixed with a little cafinated) to wake up, but never thought of tea for the late nighters or afternoons when I don’t think I can concentrate another minute. I’ll have to try 🙂

    I also never let it steep for 5 minutes. I dunk for a little while then take it out. I guess learning patience would be a good thing here too. lol.

    Great information! Thanks.

  3. Lots of good info here. I’m an occasional tea drinker, usually decaf chai of some sort, when weather’s yucky, throat is yucky, or day is … yucky. Comfort in a cup.

  4. AWESOME post. AWESOME radio show!

    I had no idea that your husband backed out without ever running 🙂

    TOo funny.

  5. Great post and thanks for the new blog to check out.

    Is there a way I can save the radio show to my ipod?

  7. I started drinking more tea about 6 months ago. Mainly because the Doctor told me I had to start drinking something more on the healthy side. I love it! Teavana loves me too! My health is better too! Yee haw!

  8. I had no idea about the oxidization process with my white tea.

    Thanks for this Girly Jock and Miz.

    I don’t have time to listen to the show now and have the same question as Nan.

  9. My s-i-l did the shitea for weight loss. She lost a LOT. Maybe it was from being in the bathroom so much that there was no time to eat? Maybe it was from all that running to the nearest bathroom? Whatever it was, it worked. I looked into it and was thiisclose to trying it, but, besides being turned off by the whole thing, I learned that people actually died from it. She stopped drinking the shitea (senna, I think it was) and the weight came back, with friends, as it is wont to do. Think I’ll stick with regular tea, and thanks, Girlyjock, for the info…who knew? Guess after I slam the coffee for clean teeth I’ll slam some tea for antioxidants!

  12. I am not a tea fan but I think I ought to try again since I have been reading for years on the benefits. I just never liked the taste. Very interesting post!

    Oh, I recently read that white tea has the most antioxidants. Any truth to that based on your knowledge?

  13. I am not a tea fan but I think I ought to try again since I have been reading for years on the benefits. I just never liked the taste. Very interesting post!

    Oh, I recently read that white tea has the most antioxidants. Any truth to that based on your knowledge?
    Sorry… forgot to say great post – can’t wait to read your next one!

  14. I love green tea and had no idea that the antioxidants go away that quickly. Dammit. Sometimes it takes me an hour to drink it. Thanks for that info. And congrats on the soon to be nuptials.

    Off to the PODcast now.

  15. Being LDS, it is against my religion to drink tea or coffee (or alcohol while we’re on the subject) so I’ve actually never even tasted the stuff! (not to say I haven’t been curious!) Even if it weren’t a religious thing, I still probably wouldn’t drink it tho as I’m extremely sensitive to stimulants – even the “natural” kinds. I don’t think my health has suffered because of it! Still interesting to read about the science behind it though. Thanks Tricia!

  17. I drank tea often as a child, but once I had my first taste of coffee there was no going back. Now, I just don’t enjoy tea all that much except for peppermint tea, Genmaicha or spiced chai (though that definitely depends on the blend).

    Husband is a big tea drinker and hates coffee so he keeps trying to convince me that I should give up coffee, but it’s just not gonna happen.

  19. I adore Girly Jock!

    And love the white tea (as I sip from mug after mug of the stuff… :D). I had no idea about the lemon juice, but of course, vitamin C, it makes so much sense! Thanks for the tip.

  21. I don’t really drink tea, and if I do its herbal. I do find that I am longing for it in the winter or cold months but not really any other time. This was a really interesting post! thanks!

  22. Jody, white tea does have the most antioxidants, but I can’t stand the taste of plain white tea. However Trader Joe’s makes a delicious Pomegranate White tea (it tastes the way juice should, but warm), that even non-tea drinkers like.

  23. Ahh! thanks for this. It’s so darn confusing. I prefer peppermint. But I once ordered green tea straight from Japan and felt like I was drinking the grass off my lawn. It was expensive but I threw it out. Oh, how I wish I hadn’t.

  24. Thanks for the post. I knew most of that but I didn’t know that some of the more expensive teas are actually the same or poorer quality than less expensive teas. That will save me quite a bit of money when I go tea shopping to fill my tea boxes.

  25. I’m glad I was able to catch this post today. I normally brew my green tea in a coffee maker while I’m taking a shower, where it sits in the hot pot for 20 minutes or so, turning brown. That’s waaaay too long. Lesson learned. Thankie!

  26. Thanks for a great guest post, GirlyJock! I learned some new things about tea today. I’ve always loved tea and drink some nearly every day. Nice to know it’s good for me, too!

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