Ikaria and Tea - part one (see all here)
I've been thinking about Ikaria and their magical tea, the specific ingredients of which remain a mystery - that is, a thorough Google search doesn't yield any specific ingredients. Until they are revealed (via a brilliant marketing scheme, I'm guessing; "Fountain of Youth Tea" is what I'd call it...) there's ways to imitate the Icarian Greek Tea model.
Remember I talked about not eating/drinking WHAT the Ikarians - and others who live in places where people have longer life expectancies - eat & drink but HOW they eat and drink? Their local-vore diet of things fresh from the garden or farm is one of the sustaining factors of their health. If you consume something locally grown, it has had less time to deteriorate and lose its nutritional value.
If you can find locally grown herbs and blend those with organic loose tea blends (like ceylon or black tea), that might be an Ikarian-like way of getting your healthy dose of tea. In a separate but related post, I have listed links on how to make your own tea.
However, if the idea of making your own tea seems daunting, there are other options. The local hippie health food store in my college town carried tea from Alvita Tea Company. They have dozens of blends of herbal teas and an informative website the describes the benefits of each of their blends. Benefits like the ones described in the Icarians' tea, like anti oxidants, diuretics & detoxification, vitamins and/or minerals.
Their products are available to purchase online or at various health food stores (like Whole Foods, or local ones, like The Store Ampersand in Orono, where I first found them).
(click here for part two on elements of the Ikarian tea)
I've been thinking about Ikaria and their magical tea, the specific ingredients of which remain a mystery - that is, a thorough Google search doesn't yield any specific ingredients. Until they are revealed (via a brilliant marketing scheme, I'm guessing; "Fountain of Youth Tea" is what I'd call it...) there's ways to imitate the Icarian Greek Tea model.
Remember I talked about not eating/drinking WHAT the Ikarians - and others who live in places where people have longer life expectancies - eat & drink but HOW they eat and drink? Their local-vore diet of things fresh from the garden or farm is one of the sustaining factors of their health. If you consume something locally grown, it has had less time to deteriorate and lose its nutritional value.If you can find locally grown herbs and blend those with organic loose tea blends (like ceylon or black tea), that might be an Ikarian-like way of getting your healthy dose of tea. In a separate but related post, I have listed links on how to make your own tea.
However, if the idea of making your own tea seems daunting, there are other options. The local hippie health food store in my college town carried tea from Alvita Tea Company. They have dozens of blends of herbal teas and an informative website the describes the benefits of each of their blends. Benefits like the ones described in the Icarians' tea, like anti oxidants, diuretics & detoxification, vitamins and/or minerals.
Their products are available to purchase online or at various health food stores (like Whole Foods, or local ones, like The Store Ampersand in Orono, where I first found them).
(click here for part two on elements of the Ikarian tea)