Healthy food – part 2
3) Matcha (stone-ground Gyokuru green tea powder)
So those green tea bags at the office water cooler aren’t the ultimate form of green tea? Do I need something better? What brand of tea bags ARE better?
Oh dear. Where to begin. If you’re used to getting your tea from tea bags, you’ll need to put aside notions of brands, tea bags, and tea in general for a moment and take a big step back: as we discussed in our BrainReady health feature on the health benefits of Matcha, Matcha — which is the finely-ground powder of the highest-quality, most revered part of the shade-grown green tea plant (Gyokuru leaves…the very top part of the shade-grown green tea plant then dried to become”Tencha”) carefully grown, selected, dried, stone-ground, processed and prepared according to an ancient Japanese tradition, is not your average green tea. Nor does it come in tea bags. Nor do you brew it, boil it, or consume the watery extract from leaves.
Perhaps best known as the traditional, ceremonial drink tightly interwoven with the Buddhist ceremonies and tradition, Matcha’s unique effects on the brain were a perfect fit for those monks in Japan preparing to endure 12-hour straight meditation sessions: calming and focusing while stimulating at the same time, it’s no wonder that Matcha became integrated into the monks’ meditative practices (thanks in large part to the amino acid L-Theanine).
But as Matcha has become more known (and researched) in the West recently, even more exciting are the health properties being discovered and reported (and yes, now marketed as buzzwords by tea companies..have you seen that EGCG commercial for a bottled green tea maker?). You’ve probably already heard about many of the health benefits of green tea in general, so imagine those benefits amplified exponentially (up to 10x or more!) in the case of Matcha…as you’re drinking an extremely concentrated, ultra-high quality form, straight. Antioxidants, catechins, vitamins such as C and A, even Fluoride. And the meditatively calming yet focusing effects of L-Theanine.
But perhaps best known is EGCG: Epigallocatechin Gallate, a compound found uniquely in green teas which has been shown to possess almost unbelievable anti-cancer, anti-aging and overall health benefits…so much so that ‘EGCG’ has become a health marketing buzzword for tea companies. Here’s where Matcha is really unprecedented: Matcha contains exponentially higher amounts of EGCG than regular brewed green tea (including high-quality fresh Sencha green tea). Matcha also has over 33 times the antioxidant levels of antioxidant powerhouse blueberries(!)…hard to believe, but real.
So if you’re looking for a great way to get a veritable blast of antioxidants (not to mention EGCG, vitamins, minerals, etc.), boost your brain with Zen-like concentration and physical benefits, it’s hard to beat Matcha. And you can’t get that with a tea bag.
4) Acai berries & Blueberries (tie)
We recently reported on the comprehensive health benefits from the highly unusual South American native berry called Acai…a berry that possesses not only all of the antioxidant, vitamin and brain benefits of other purple berries such as blueberries and blackberries but also (oddly, for a berry) contains Essential Fatty Acids like Omega-3′s like salmon, and and is even high in protein.
Sounds like a a true superfood, right? It is. With proven ORAC antioxidant levels higher than any other berry ever tested, Acai’s unique combination of health properties make it a true superfood for brain and body. Of course, we’re talking about fresh Acai berries here…not some local generic health food shop pills claiming to contain Acai. And that’s where the challenge can come in (hence our research and report on the best Acai products that we published recently), as Acai needs to be quickly processed (flash-freeze dried, flash frozen, etc.) and maintained and processed if you’re to get the full benefits of this berry outside of South America.
Fortunately, companies like Sambazon and Bolthouse have created amazing local growing and processing facilities to do exactly that, and we can now buy great Acai in various forms in the U.S., Australia, Europe and beyond these days including our personal favorite: the Amazon organic Acai powder (their ‘PowerScoop’ product) as well as in Sambazon and Bolthouse refrigerated juice blends.
5) Coffee beans
Ah, coffee. So popular, so ubiquitous, yet still so surprisingly misunderstood when it comes to “healthy or not”. How can this be?
You’d think that virtually everyone would be an expert on coffee these days, given the explosion of coffee chains like Starbucks over the last decade. Perhaps it’s because the situation is much like chocolate: the coffee bean, much like the cacao bean, is incredibly rich with antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Fresh-ground gently roasted coffee bean powder (again, like with cacao) has numerous brain and body health benefits…yes, including the caffeine content which has recently been shown to be GOOD for the brain, not bad, and particularly in the area of antioxidants. Regular coffee consumption has been shown to actually reduce the risk of mental decline and diseases such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s, and has also recently been found to be (shockingly) the “#1 source of antioxidants in the average American diet”…showing at once how health food-deprived the average diet continues to be while illustrating the surprising health benefits of something as common as coffee.
So where’s the controversy and confusion? The problem comes in when coffee is combined with other unhealthy things, as is so commonly done: triple-carmel-double-whip-chocolate-creme-mocha-blast-freeze drinks, weak over-extracted brewed cheap poor quality coffee, coffee loaded up with artificial cream and sweeteners, you know the drill. Compare such carb, chemical and fat-laden concoctions with, say, a high-quality organic coffee freshly ground into an Espresso-grade powder and served as a couple shots of fresh espresso, straight? No comparison. This should be obvious, but surprisingly, many or even most people still don’t get it.
Equally odd is that for many people, coffee is still viewed as a ‘vice’, something bad for you, something ‘naughty’ that should be avoided…as if it were akin to smoking cigarettes or pounding shots of tequila. The origin of this bizarre thinking comes partially from the effects of the caffeine (and other elements) which contribute to the stimulating effects of drinking coffee, and yes, for some people, coffee is contraindicated due to sensitivity to caffeine or gastrointestinal effects that coffee can sometimes produce.
But generally speaking, the coffee bean is a safe, true superfood. And when properly consumed in ideal forms (such as pure Espresso), it’s one uniquely enjoyable beverage that also packs a host of brain and health-friendly properties to boot!