Tea - Not Just for Throwing in the Harbor Anymore

      Growing up 1/2 Canadian, I've always had an appreciation for tea.  While I drank more coffee, tea did make regular appearances in my hot beverages rotation.  I love hot beverages - coffee, tea, hot chocolate, hot cider, and hot toddies!  Just to name a few.

      For the last few years, tea has quickly been overtaking coffee - and everything else.  It started when I was researching trying to conceive (long before we actually could start trying). Living near a Teavana store, I quickly became a loose leaf tea addict.

      With my Ethical Eating journey, the way I look at tea (and coffee) has developped even further.  I urge you to purchase Fair Trade or Equal Exchange coffees and teas.  It makes a huge difference in the lives of the farmers and the global economy.

       These days, I start every morning with an excellent cup of Organic Fair Trade whole leaf green tea.  My current favorite is the Wulu tea from World Market, and I can't stop singing it's praises.  The health benefits are amazing.  And since I don't have to add sugar or creamers like I do to coffee (though admittedly creamers are half the fun of coffee), there are zero calories, just gobs of benefits.

      Since switching to green tea, I've seen many improvements in my health, mood, concentration, and mornings as a whole - much more so than I ever acheived with coffee or bagged teas.  I've incorporated it into some new herbal remedies I've been working on, and have acheived outstanding results so far.  Seriously, if you ever suffer from allergies, you have to read this.

      Herbal remedies and herbal teas have always been the realm of non-conformist hippies in my mind.  Sure, I'd recognize a few here and there, but the thought of creating my own tea seemed to be taking it a little far.  That is, until I found the mountains of scientific research backing up many of the health benefits of certain teas.

      Being easily swayed by science, and a lover of plants and all things natural, I've really started to dive in, with excellent results.  And I've drawn a new conclusion:  Just as a tiny bit of research opened my eyes to the fact that our culture has been completely brainwashed into seeing birth as medical instead of natural, we have also been "trained" to turn to chemical answers provided by large corporations when nature provides us with excellent answers.

      Now, I'm not talking about chewing on tree bark instead of taking pain killers after a major surgery or trying to treat cancer with tea (though study after study has shown that green tea very much helps with cancer treatments).  I'm talking about depending on a diet consisting mainly of vegetables to keep us healthy; using natural products to clean our homes instead of hazardous chemicals; and treating minor ailments with TRUSTED plants (see my Cold Remedy Soup).  READ MORE>>