When you are taking part in tours of the Himalayas, I hope you are able to visit a tea manufacturing place. This is my final discussion on teas and today’s topic is on the healing qualities and health benefits of teas.

All types of tea contain flavonoids, which are powerful antioxidants. These flavonoids in tea also help maintain bone mineral density, reducing osteoporosis and preventing fractures as we age. Green tea flavonoids stimulate the body’s ability to burn calories by increasing fat oxidation and raising the metabolism.

Dr. Jack Bukowski of Harvard Medical School concludes that the flavonoids and antioxidants found in tea may inhibit the formation of cancer cells, and protect the cardiovascular system by decreasing free radicals.

Flavonoids also work as anti-clotting agents, enhance the body’s immune functions, lower LDL cholesterol levels while raising HDL, boost longevity, assist digestion, and lower blood pressure.

So bottoms up to a nice cup of tea!

You can read more about teas, tips on making a perfect cup, as well as my yummy chai recipe in my book, The Deity Diet.

Because my wellness boot camps in India are at a 1600-acre tea plantation, my guests and I have the good fortune of seeing how tea is manufactured from the initial picking of the “two leaves and a bud” until the tea is packaged for the open markets, so I thought I would share with you how this process works.

It starts with the harvesting of the tea leaves where as I had mentioned above, only the bud and the two youngest leaves are plucked. My boot camp guests and I are so fortunate to have the pleasure of hiking amongst the many trails and tea bushes of the vast estate and frequently come across the workers who manually do this harvesting, a pretty labor intensive process.

And did you know that an experienced worker can pick up to 60 pounds of tea a day which produces about 15 pounds of the final product.

These freshly picked leaves are spread out on trays and hot air is blown over them for up to twenty four hours to drive out the moisture. This is known as the withering process and during this phase the leaves lose about 40% of their weight. During the drying process the leaves turn a dark shade of green. Leaves that are to be made into black tea are then rolled and broken up with machines to release their enzymes and essential oils, preparing them for the oxidation process.

In my next post (part 2 of 3), I will discuss the oxidation and fermentation process.  Part 3 will be the final section on tea where you will find out how manufacturing is done to create black, green, oolong, and white teas and what makes these teas different from each other.

Picture source: Photobucket (exmanforever)

The Acai berry also contains anthocyanins and flavonoids, powerful in helping the body fight oxidative stress and disease. According to experts, these substances play a significant role in the body’s cell protection system and a diet rich in antioxidants help counteract the aging process by neutralizing the free radicals in our bodies that destroy our cells.

Anthocyanins create the red, purple and deep blue tone in many fruits, flowers and vegetables such as red grapes, blueberries, blackberries and the acai fruit pulp according to some studies, indicate higher antioxidant properties than cranberries, strawberries or even blueberries.

Acai oil is also an antioxidant powerhouse as an ingredient in cosmetics as the processed oil appears to have a longer shelf life and the antioxidant levels continue to remain high.

So why am I writing these posts about these superfruits? Because I am exploring a “vitamin stick” product high in anti-oxidants from these superfruits, including the means to absorb them into our cells effectively so the body can function at its optimum for a longer, healthier life. I certainly don’t believe these superfruits are the cure all for everything and there are a lot of scams out there, however if they contribute to a healthier mind and body then I am definitely interested in finding out the best way to utilize them. After all, research has indicated that living past 100, in fact up to 120 years of age is not pie in the sky any longer, and although some of it can be attributed to out genes, how we live contributes significantly to this longevity. Therefore I am of the opinion that if we take care of ourselves holistically, coupled with advances in technology and medicine, we can become vibrant, active, and healthy super-centenarians.

And why not? What do you think?

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