I offered my recommendations about tea earlier. Andrew Weil is an even stronger advocate (not that you should ever trust a man with a beard.) From his most recent book, Healthy Aging:
The least processed form is white tea from parts of China. Often quite expensive, it brews into a beverage that is almost colorless or very pale and has a most delicate flavor. Next on the scale is green tea, which comes in many varieties and qualities from places as diverse as India, China, and, of course, Japan. It is somewhat lower in antioxidant activity, stronger in color and flavor. Next is oolong tea, produced in quantity on the island of Taiwan and on mainland China. Intermediate in color, flavor and antioxidant activity between green and black tea, it ranges from inexpensive, forgettable forms (Chinese restaurant tea) to exquisite brews that are the most expensive teas in the world, $10,000 a pound and more. Black tea, produced in great quantities in India, Ceylon [Sri Lanka], and Argentina, has been the form most familiar to Westerners. It is what we get in ordinary tea bags (usually the cheapest stuff of all) and what North Americans consume as iced tea. Finally, there is the curious pu-erh tea of China, very dark in color, with flavor notes of earth and tobacco and the least antioxidant activity. When brewed it can resemble coffee, and a tea importer friend of mine thinks it's the best form to use when trying to persuade coffee drinkers to switch to a healthier caffeinated drink.
I recommend drinking tea, especially white, green, and oolong, regularly -- up to four cups a day.
If you are going to drink 4 cups, go easy on the sugar. Please. Honest Tea makes a wide selection of organic teas and are my choice (their green tea is good, though "gunpowder" green teas do not agree with everyone.) There are plenty of fancier teas available, if you're a high-end type.
Weil will be on Larry King Live tonight, for any that are interested.
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