Feeling a little under the weather? Got the seasonal cold that seems to be tormenting all of us as we hover on the cusp of Spring? Well now there's new evidence to prove that tea does more than just warm you up from the inside and add a (much needed) jolt of caffeine to your day: it's good for you.
For as long as any of us can remember, tea as been anecdotally accepted as a cure-all for the common cold. Runny nose? Sore throat? Congestion? Try some tea -- mint, ginger, or chamomile with a dash of honey. Beyond that, the anecdotal evidence abounds: "I drink green tea every day and I haven't been to the doctor in a decade," says my friend's grandfather.
Turns out, there's science to back that up. According to Yoshihiro Kokubo, the lead author of a new study that followed over 80,000 Japanese adults for an average period of 13 years, men and women who drank at least three cups of green tea OR two cups of coffee a day had a 20% lower risk of stroke. Kokubo and her team accounted for factors like age, exercise levels, alcohol consumption, and smoking, and found that consuming five or more cups of green tea daily corresponded with a 26% decrease in death from cardiovascular disease along with an astounding 15% decrease in all-cause mortality.
I'll take those odds any day.
For more information, check out the write-up in the Atlantic, or NPR's "Morning Edition" story.
Join us this Friday, March 8th, at Teaism in Old Town for another Healthy Happy Happening. What is a healthy happy happening, you might ask? It's simple. It's an informal gathering of like-minded individuals -- people who care about what they put in their bodies: health care and nutritional professionals, athletes, yogis, and informed consumers.
We've been hosting Healthy Happy Happenings on the second Friday of every month, but this week we've got a special guest: Chef Nora Pouillon, founder of the first certified organic restaurant in the United States, Nora.
Born in Vienna, Austria, Nora immigrated to the United States in the late 1960s. Although her formal training was in interior design, she found herself increasingly drawn to the world of food. Nora was horrified to realize that Americans were consuming processed, chemical laden foods on a regular basis, and the extent to which that was affecting our public health. "That's when she embarked on her crusade to promote a healthier lifestyle" (Nora's About).
Since then, Nora has opened City Café and Asia Nora, all while pursuing her mission of providing the healthiest, most delicious food to her customers. She sources organic and locally wherever possible. Above all, she advocates "a sustainable, health-focused lifestyle based on the premise that you are what you eat, drink, and breathe."
We will be showing a short documentary on Nora's work and discussing how to incorporate the healthy and happy into our every day happenings with the local queen of Organic, Nora Pouillon.
