Your planner sits before you, exposing the harsh truth about the week ahead.
Your schedule is completely booked before Monday even arrives.
You spend a few minutes looking for gaps where you might find time to go to yin yoga with your squad or pop in your favorite old Jillian Michaels DVD. You mark off a few blocks in your mosaic of time, knowing that your meeting runs late and you miss yoga class you can say good enough and do a 20-minute practice at home.
It’s an imperfect way of living. You know the risks of too much work and not enough play. Yet you’re not sure you could do anything else. You do your best to de-stress, to eat for your heart and get it pumping for short although perhaps infrequent bursts.
Your life right now requires you to make the most of the little time you have and to always be on the lookout for healthy quick hits.
Here’s a great heart healthy hack to add to your list of 10-minute workouts and 5-minute meditations: a cup of tea.
For thousands of years, tea has been considered a tool for health and healing. But certain teas may have more heart health benefits than others. Here are three delicious teas to add to your list of heart-healthy quick hits.
Puerh tea: In China what we call black tea, is considered red. Puerh tea is what the Chinese call black or dark tea. While all teas come from the same camellia sinensis plant, puerh is fermented. This process seems to give puerh an edge over other teas when it comes to our health. Not only do you get the probiotic benefit, but you also get a natural plant statin. It’s a boldly flavored tea, making it a great heart-healthy way to start your day (with breakfast of course.) Try the Rainy Day Puerh from Plum Deluxe any day of the week.
Green tea: If it all comes from the same plant, why is green tea specifically touted for its health benefits? Oxidation (the process by which tea becomes black) seems to hold the key. A meta-analysis done in 2011 found that green tea drinkers had a 28% lower risk of coronary heart disease but drinking black tea didn’t affect the risk level. Researchers link the benefits to the active polyphenols present in the green tea, a less oxidized tea than black. Try the new Abundance Blend green tea from Plum Deluxe for a calming influence.
Hibiscus tea: If you need a caffeine-free tea, hibiscus may be your best option for heart health. The vibrant red color hints at the high levels of phytonutrients and heart health properties. Long used as a traditional medicine in Iran, recent studies have found that hibiscus tea can be helpful in maintaining healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. I’ll be serving the Meadow Walk herbal tea from Plum Deluxe at my upcoming Refill Your Cup Retreat. In addition to hibiscus, it also has anti-oxidant rich blueberries and relaxing lavender.
As we wrap up Heart Month, it’s important to remember that it’s the little things we do daily that make the most difference in our health. Moving daily, eating minimally processed foods and meditation are all key strategies for a heart-healthy life. You may not do them perfectly, but if you do just 1% better (while enjoying an easy and comforting cup of tea for heart health) it does add up!
