From My Inbox (Comics, Daily Apple Blog, and Yerba Mate)

3 Things from my Inbox.

First, a few comics:

credit: Bytes Daily

Next, my FAVORITE HEALTH BLOG right now is “Mark’s Daily Apple” – I am still just exploring it, and I may not agree with all of his beliefs, but Mark Sisson’s blog has been the most comprehensive HEALTH blog I have ever encountered. His HELMINTHS post is fascinating and I encourage everyone to read it!

Anyhow, I have been doing an herbal cleanse for a few weeks now, which involves drinking a “tea” that is comprised of Hydrangea root, Gravel root, Marshmallow root and a few other roots. It actually tastes pretty good too!

“Yerba Mate” came up this week because my “root” tea was soaking and the topic of “teas” came up….

 

Back in 2009….  someone told me Yerba Mate was a nutritious energizer and so I bought some online.

However, it had a smokey aftertaste and in my gut I just felt something was not right about it.

I stopped drinking it and made some Rooibos and Green Tea instead.  (So many times we can just sense it, eh?)  Anyhow, I did a little searching about it and found that it was not an elixir after all!  And when Mark’s Morning Pick-Me-Ups Post came in yesterday – he summed it up so well – so I just had to share!

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Here are a few of Mark’s pick-me-up suggestions (cut and pasted) rest is HERE

~Hot Chocolate with Cayenne  That cayenne powder shot I mentioned a few weeks back certainly wakes you up…

~Whey Protein Isolate (at Night).  You have to plan ahead and down it at night. But it works. Consuming the alpha-lactalbumin in whey (or milk) before you go to sleep increases tryptophan production at night which leads to increased wakefulness in the morning.

~Protein and Fat If you’re going to eat something in the morning, make sure it has protein and fat. A few eggs, maybe a bowl of Greek yogurt, a steak, whatever. Your breakfast should be protein- and fat-centric.

~Rhodiola Rosea If you find yourself dragging in the morning, noon, and night because of mounting stress, consider rhodiola rosea.

~Sparkling Mineral Water with Salt and Citrus   As you know, I’m not a big “8 glasses of water a day minimum or else you’ll shrivel up” kinda guy. Just listen to your body, drink when thirsty, and you’ll be fine. That said, if you wake up feeling run down with an almost imperceptible inkling of a headache emerging and a dry mouth, I find that a tall glass of sparkling mineral water, a healthy shake of salt (sea, Himalayan, Celtic, Hawaiian, your choice), and the juice from one lime or lemon (give it a good roll on the counter first to break up the cells and liberate the juice) will have you feeling better, faster, than anything else on this list.

~Yerba Mate  Another South American hot herb drink with stimulating properties, yerba mate’s primary active compound is none other than caffeine. It’s got about the same amount as tea, less than coffee, plus other compounds (but none with proven stimulant qualities except for maybe theobromine). Caffeine is clearly the main player, and we all know that caffeine works…..

 Depending on how it’s processed, yerba mate often contains significant amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a potential carcinogen that’s often found in other roasted plant-based infusion drinks (like coffee). That’s because most commercial yerba mate is dried and smoked using burning wood for up to a day – barbecued, basically. Yerba mate that’s air dried without smoke, like this one or this one, should have fewer PAHs.

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In closing, here is a shot of one of my favorite “teas” – it is called Rooibos and it comes from a bush in South Africa – it is smooth, slightly nutty, and caffeine free!

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Have a great day!

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