Tea for Longevity

Prevention recently listed 14 surprising reasons you'll live a long life. Number two on the list? You're a tea lover. More:

Both green and black teas contain a concentrated dose of catechins, substances that help blood vessels relax and protect your heart. In a study of more than 40,500 Japanese men and women, those who drank 5 or more cups of green tea every day had the lowest risk of dying from heart disease and stroke. Other studies involving black tea showed similar results.

You really need only 1 or 2 cups of tea daily to start doing your heart some good—just make sure it’s a fresh brew. Ready-to-drink teas (the kind you find in the supermarket beverage section) don’t offer the same health benefits. "Once water is added to tea leaves, their catechins degrade within a few days," says Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, a professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University. Also, some studies show that adding milk may eliminate tea’s protective effects on the cardiovascular system, so stick to just lemon or honey.

SNL "Tea Break"

Saturday Night Live recently had a skit about an "Extreme Activities Competition," during which two contestants battled in tasks like balancing a hat on his/her head and pinning a chair down by sitting on it. Of course, this is humorous because there are so many absurd "extreme" shows out there, and this skit is pitting people against each other in activities like "acting casual." In the middle of the competition, they take a tea break. To me, this says a lot about tea in American culture. It's the antithesis of the extreme sport lifestyle, a way to relax and notice the everyday things, like acting casual and even walking. The obvious internet counterpoint to this is Powerthirst: Energy Drinks for People Who Need Gratuitous Amounts of Energy. Why do you need to win at yelling, anyway? Win at contemplation, or happiness, or observation. Win at TEA.