Your Best Morning Cup of Joe, Spot of Tea, or Water with a Twist?

It’s the subject of almost every health website… “What is the best think to drink in the morning?” Hot water and lemon is a common detoxifying choice. That comforting morning aroma of that cup of joe gives you a big jolt. The classic spot of English Earl Grey is a time honored tradition. And what about this Japanese Matcha that is now thrown into the mix. Well look no further for the answers.

The truth is, there is no right answer. Like anything else there are pros and cons to each beverage of choice. In my experience, your life style and the personal enjoyment you get from each drink is what drives your selection. The good news is, you don’t have to pick just one. Having gone through my own trials and tribulations with each choice, I think it is important to understand the purpose and history of each drink. So here we go…

Hot Water and Lemon

When you look up ways to detoxify your body, one of the most common and cost effective ways is to drink hot water and lemon in the morning to give your body a healthy jump start. The reason it is stressed to drink in the morning is because while you are sleeping, your body is going into it’s own detoxifying and recovery mode. Most of the time, your body cannot process all of the toxins our bodies accumulate each day. Drinking hot/warm water in the morning is easier on your body to help flush out the sluggish toxins still left, without taxing your body to much; as drinking cold water takes more energy to process.

Why lemon? Well lemons do amazing things to our bodies. Lemon juice is extremely detoxifying because it is similar to the digestive juices we have in our bodies. It encourages the liver to produce bile, which aids in the over all classing of our body system. This helps flush out all the bad stuff at a faster rate aiding in better digestion. Lemons help to alkalize your body (keep it at the correct pH) for optimal health. It is important to try and keep your body in an alkaline state to prevent illness and disease. Let’s not forget about the vitamins that in lemons, to help boost your immune system: vitamin C and potassium. Vitamin C helps fight colds, produce collagen, supports respiratory function, and aids in Iron absorption. Potassium helps with brain and nerve function and helps control blood pressure.

Pros: aids in digestion, cleanses your body, balances your pH, boosts your immune system, hydrates your lymph system, enhances your mood, freshens breath, aids in weight loss.

Cons: because lemons acidic, they can be damaging to your teeth, eroding away your enamel.

My tips:

Drink as much water as you can in the morning. I keep a big glass of water by my bed, so that right when I wake up in the morning, I can chug it down. Drinking a good amount of water upon rising purifies your colon, allowing your body to absorb the good nutrients throughout the day. Hydration is key to health!

Prevention. When I feel a cold coming on, I add honey, apple cider vinegar, a slice of ginger and cayenne pepper to my morning warm water to battle whatever germs try to penetrate my immune system that day.

Tea

Tea is something that civilizations across the world have been utilizing for centuries. There are various types and flavorings that have particular health benefits to your body and well-being. Because there are so many different types of tea, you need to decide which effect you are looking for, before you can get out that cup and saucer and raise your pinky.

Black, Green, and White teas all contain caffeine, which gives you a little boost of alertness. This means however that these teas will negatively affect the pH of your body and your overall alkaline state. All three also have flavonoids, which are antioxidants that can help fight against free radical causing deceases. Black tea is made with fermented leaves and has the highest caffeine level. Some studies have shown that black tea can protect lungs exposed to cigarette smoke! WOW! Green tea also has many health benefits protecting against numerous cancers, helps to burn fat, reduce stress, improve cholesterol levels, and reduce neurological disorder risks. Believe it or not, White Tea has the most antioxidants! White tea has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties that protect the body from infections and disease. The excess of antioxidants gives it anti aging properties aiding in youthful skin. It also contains fluoride reducing the risk of dental decay! Take a sip of that!

Herbal teas that alkaline your body include: Yerba Mate (which is detoxifying and classing, and gives you a caffeine free boost), Rooibos (packed with antioxidants! great for respiratory system), Peppermint (great for digestion, nausea, and heartburn), Ginger (great for digestion, nausea, circulation, and colds), Rose Hip (high in vitamin C, and energizing) Lavender (calming, eases stress) and Rosemary (overwhelming supply of essential vitamins and smells amazing).

Pros: high in antioxidants, large selection of flavors, various health benefits, prevents tooth decay, calorie free.

Cons: can stain teeth, may interfere with certain medications.

My Tips:

Buy organic. Just like your produce, tea is made from plants that are susceptible to chemicals that can be harmful.

Keep it healthy. Do not add dairy milk or sugar to your tea, which can both add to inflammation in the body. Instead, add lemon or find a tea flavor that doesn’t require any tampering with.

22 Uses for Tea

Coffee

Being a nation of coffee dependents, with a Starbucks or Dunkin Doughnuts on  every corner HAS to get you thinking… Is coffee good for me? So many people rely of coffee to get through their day. But when it all comes down to it, we shouldn’t need a substance to “get through” our days. However, there is something about the aroma and personalized ordering of a “grande skinny cinnamon dolce latte” that keeps us going back for more.

There is no secret that coffee contains caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant. It like anything else when abused can have negative effects on your body: headache, jitters, irritability, rapid heart beat, heartburn, increased blood pressure. Caffeine raises the acidity of your stomach causing your body to no longer be in an alkaline state. Too much, and you can be hindering the absorption of calcium, irregular heart beat, and ulcers. Caffeine is also known to help burn fat, and increase brain function and memory.

Not to worry. As my mother is quick to point out, coffee has many health benefits as well. Coffee has antioxidants: B2, B3, B5, potassium, and manganese. Studies have shown that coffee can lower your risk of a stroke, and developing type two diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease. For most people on the Western diet, it is the highest form of antioxidants that they will consume all day. There are over 1,000 antioxidants found in coffee that can help protect our cells from damage. Coffee is also good for your liver… go figure! Coffee has been found to lower risk of cirrhosis, by elevating liver enzymes. Studies have also found that coffee can fight depression. I mean, I know that when the pumpkin spice latte comes out I get really happy!

Pros: high antioxidants, good for your liver, burns fat.

Cons: the caffeine in coffee can have a lot of negative effects, acidic to your body.

My Tips

Add some more good! I like to add to the antioxidant benefits of my coffee by adding cinnamon and cocoa sometimes. This also adds to the flavor without yucky dairy creamer or artificial sweeteners.

Buy organic. Coffee beans are heavily sprayed with herbicides and pesticides that are extremely harmful when consumed by humans. Pay the extra two dollars and get the organic!

Don’t overdue it. As I stated before too much caffeine is bad. The acidity of to much coffee can really wreak havoc on your stomach.

Filter. You need to make sure you are filtering your coffee with a paper filter to prevent diterpenes with raise your cholesterol. Sorry beautiful french press!

Matcha

You may or may not have heard of the wonder of Matcha. Technically it is a super charged version of green tea. It has 10 times the amount of antioxidants of regular tea. How’s that for a start to your day? When you sip on matcha, you are consuming the whole leaf and all the antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals that this powerful plant contains. According to Tufts University studies, match contains an ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) of 1573! Pomegranates have ranking of 105, while blueberries have a ranking of 93. Talk about kicking the competition’s butt!

That’s not all this super drink can do. It also helps you loose weight, boosting your metabolism and burns fat without harsh side effects on your body. Matcha has also been proven to help with focus and relaxation, containing five times the L-Theanine than other teas. You will also notice the rich green color of matcha. It contains extremely high levels of chlorophyll, making it an amazing detoxifier and health tonic. Check out this website for more information.

Pros: anti-ager, weight loss, cancer preventer, detoxifying, relieves stress, helps with focus, increases energy.

Cons: I don’t have any.

My Tips:

Let it steep. Even though you are not technically steeping this tea, you are consuming the whole powder. I have found that if you let the powder sit in the hot water for a minute or two, it will mix better for greater flavor and smoothness. You can also purchase a tea sifter and bamboo whisk to prepare your tea the traditional way.

Add it to your recipes. The great thing about it is that you can add it to your smoothies, ice creams, breakfast bowls, lattes, baked goods, etc.

So what is the conclusion? I will always tell people to start their day with water. Your cells are made up of 60% of water. Your body needs water to function properly. Once you have consumed your water, the next question you need to ask yourself is how do the other options make you feel after you have consumed them. Each have their own Pros and health benefits. You need to listen to what your body truly needs. In no way should these drinks be a cure all or crutch to get you through the day.

I hope you found this post informative and inspirational to perhaps try something you have yet to experience. Enjoy your mug of… well what ever you choose!

Let me know your favorite in the comment section below!