I'm not so sure that is has been covered on the EF before but I often time ask myself this question and need some advice from nutrition experts.
It's commonly known fact of life that beverages which contain sugar and various conservatives are not very healthy. However, the odds are that I found soda drinks especially coke quite soothing for my stomach and I believe that sometimes it has a healing effect, dissolves and helps to digest the food faster (like proverbial tooth left in a glass of coke overnight gets rapidly dissolved). Bottom line it works one way but on the other hand it's unhealthy the scientists would argue.
I'm beer and wine kind of person but recently decided to take a break from alcohol beverages and during hot days drink more fluids. The problem is that I'm not a big fun of still and mineral water as far as flavor is concerned. I started warming up to iced tea which apparently damages tooth enamel if consumed in large quantities.
Yesterday I bought me a six pack of PET mango flavoured iced tea and so far so good. Nonetheless I have my little doubts about it and need advice what brands of iced tea would you recommend as your favorite yet still healthy?
Before I start wading through all blends of lemon, mango, peach flavored Lipton's iced tea packets is there a word of warning that I should be beware of?
TIA
this might be slightly OT..but did you try some Arizona tea..they come in various flavors (though veeeeery limited here in CH) and tend to be on the healthier side.
Not yet but surely when I'll get to explore the plethora of iced tea products, I will try to find Arizona iced tea in this world next (hopefully in CH or DE)
BTW: If I infuse my own tea in litres from teabags and then cool it down - is that a healthiest way to go?
That way you know exactly what is in it which is an advantage. Coop also sell Ice Tea kits in the herb section with different flavours that are quite nice.
No idea, but that's what I do. I prefer Early Grey or Migros Green tea, eaither at room temp or chilled, no sugar.
Of course, at the moment it's Mont-sur-Rolle with mango juice. (tea later)
Tom
I drink gallons (or liters) of this stuff without - so far - any adverse effects
But that's a heck of the job at the kitchen counter to wait for boiled water from kettle and then filling up the PET bottles one by one. You need a cauldron and funnel not even talking about gazillion of tea leaves or teabags Any shortcuts there?
Ice tea should not be made with boiled water, that creates bitterness in the finished drink. Use cold water staight from the tap or filter jug instead.
I wouldnt call these drinks healthy - there are still preservaties and sugar in there.
Make your own. All you need is a 3-4 tea bags in a jug of water, let it sit for 30 minutes, add lemon slices and cool it in the fridge.
If you have a sweet tooth, you can always add a few tbsps of sugar.
I personally do that with green tea bags - healthy and refreshing.
Ok, forgive my ignorance but I'm "ready-to-drink" kind of product person. So let's agree then that the tab water should be cold and filtered e.g. with Brita filter. Then you chuck in the teabags add lemon and leave it for 30min then put the whole thing in the fridge. Sounds like a good recipe for rooibos and greentea.
Some specialty tea stores sell nice mixes, lemon gree tea, etc. I prefer my own teas, cooled and then chilled, with lemon or so. Or, we get cheapo instant mix from Denner or Migros, and make our own, but very diluted, so it is not so sugary.
If it is health that concerns you, make your own (just not yank style, I had some ice tea there, down south, and it was very very sweet and super strong). Cool mint tea is nice, too. I have green roibos lemon tea, green thai lemon tea, I also have loose lovely Lady Gray, that you can get in specialty shops. You make your own, throw some lemons in it, sweeten if you wish, put in the frigo. I would do this twice a week, so it does not have chance to develop some manky stuff when it sits in the fridge.
If it is budget that concerns you, then Migros/Denner instant and weak, it's nice and cheap (Arizona, btw, is quite costly).
Due to recent (and not so recent) research at the John Hopkins University there has been a general alert to the dangers of plastic and food. Plastic is a cocktail of various chemicals and hormones (notably oestrogen) that can transfer to the food contained. This includes PET bottles that were bought filled with a drink. These should not be reused if possible. The danger I understand rises if the food or liquid is hot.
I give this as advice as I simply stopped using plastic, except for my gym drink bottle because we are not allowed to have glass.
The issue with plastic is actually relatively well known, thanks for bringing it up, though.
This is the bottle I use for gym, BPA free. (Lock and Lock)
I got it for 2fr back home in Prague. I wonder if it is available here, must be, or around in other countries. I know there is more evil stuff in plastic than BpA, can't remember now exactly. But with these friendly bottles, one at least avoids some evil stuff. Next bottle I am going to buy is Starbux fancy BpA free cold drink bottle, ooh, lovely and pink. Starbux has removed all their BpA stuff last year abroad, unfortunately it is still sold here. But you can find BpA free bottles here if one looks, Sigg now makes them BpA free.
Why not to get stainless steel bottles:
Smaller versions can be handy to stash the schnapps of favorite liquor (outside gym hours of course )
Beautiful. I know aluminum has to be lined, Sigg used to line their bottles with PBA, and now does not. But I like the look of these, fancy.
When I was a scout leader in the UK, we were told not to leave anything "acidic" i.e. fruit juices and cordials in the stainless steel pots because the acid slightly erodes the surface releasing a dilute form of it into the liquid. It's okay as a vessel to use if the contents are used up relatively quickly but not for storage.
Some teas (especially with lemon) are a bit acidic so probably best not to store them in steel drink bottles.
Blimey we're afraid of everything these days, aren't we...
sun tea is a good way to go. like iced tea but brewing by the heat of the sun. i add lemon, fresh mint and if you like it sweet add some honey. you can change the flavor a bit by the tea you use but way healthier and pretty easy to make, a good alternative to iced tea, although that's pretty easy to make too.
Sigg actually had a recall last year...make sure to check with your Sigg dealer whether your bottle is made with some unhealthy substance.
I know they recalled the BpA stuff, haven't they, I got a BpA free afterwards.
iced tea, sweet tea and sun tea always taste best made and stored in canning jars