Good morning tea friends! I want to start today by reiterating my gratitude for all of you that continue to read my posts. I truly enjoy researching new topics for you each week and in turn continuing to learn more about the wonderful world of tea. It is so humbling and wonderful when one of you comes into the store and tells me that you have read the posts and have taken something from them. In efforts to continue to do this for you, today I'll be talking about something that is always on people's minds, especially this time of year - hydration.
In thinking about hydration this week, I would also like to revisit some of the resolutions that I (and likely many of you) set in January and have since abandoned or that have become more of a nuisance. One of my resolutions that I set, but have more recently found that I have slacked on, is drinking more water. Water comprises up to about 60% of the adult body and is integral in every one of the vital processes necessary for our daily life. While you may be familiar with the standard rule of drinking 8 cups of water a day (64 ounces), recent studies have found that men should actually be drinking more like 13 cups (104 ounces) and women 9 cups (72 ounces). This is just the water from beverages, too. It does not include the water that is present in the foods you eat. Also, if you are exercising regularly you should be adding 2 more cups to each of these figures! Add in the increased temperatures and humidity, and you guessed it, more water is suggested. If you are like me, at first glance this seems a little excessive. Sometimes we don’t realize that 8 ounces is only the size of a small juice glass or the amount of juice that is in a Capri Sun pouch. I don’t know about you, but I can drink those Capri Sun’s in one big gulp. While 8 glasses of water can seem unreasonable or exorbitant initially, when we realize that a standard water bottle has 16-17 ounces of water, or 2 servings, the suggested daily water intake starts to become a bit more manageable. Where this applies in our case is that tea is a great substitute for just plain water to add some variety to your 72-104 ounces of water intake per day. Any tea you drink is included in this number because, as you know, tea is primarily water! What’s even better is, we at Good Life Tea, have over 130 different teas that leave you never feeling bored and keep you hydrated!
Because we have so many different options I thought I would give you guys a glance at what my daily routine for water and tea intake has become as well as some suggestions. Hopefully from this, you’ll gather a few ideas on how you can incorporate tea into your daily water intake and be able to keep with the resolution of drinking the suggested daily amount of water! (Keep in mind that as I mention cups of tea as well, these equate to approximately 16 ounces of water per cup of tea.)
To begin my day I wake up and try to have a small glass of water before I brush my teeth. To ensure and remind myself to do this, I keep a small juice glass right by my toothbrush in the bathroom. After I have finished getting ready for the day, with my breakfast I like to enjoy a cup of our traditional English Breakfast tea. It’s a hearty black tea that adds just what I need alongside my eggs or yogurt without compromising the flavors. After breakfast I typically make myself a Menna travel mug of my favorite tea, as you guys know, the Roasted Yerba Mate. There is another blog post dedicated solely to this tea and it is a tea I always highly recommend to those transitioning from coffee due to the caffeine content. My travel mug will keep my tea warm throughout the day and allows me to sip subconsciously to add to my water intake. Usually, I will carry with me a water bottle as well just to keep me hydrated and cleanse my palette if necessary. By lunchtime, I am craving something iced and possibly a bit fruity especially at this time of year. One of our more popular teas that I have come to enjoy over ice lately is our “White Peach”. Prior to working at Good Life Tea, I was partial to the Snapple Peach tea, but have since found that this has many added sugars, which is another resolution of mine to cut back on. Our White Peach adds just the subtle flavor I desire in early afternoon to complement my sandwich or salad and is delectable both hot and iced.
For those of you keeping track, with my early morning glass of water, my English Breakfast, my Roasted Yerba Mate, and my White Peach, I have already had about 56 ounces of water throughout my day! And, we are only half way through. (*I chose not to factor in my additional water bottle as I don’t always finish it and don’t have a reliable number for it everyday*)
After lunch I continue to drink from my water bottle that I have brought with me, often times filling it up again. In the afternoon, I will, most days, make an additional cup of Roasted Yerba Mate to keep me going until dinner. At dinner, most nights, I will simply enjoy a glass of ice water alongside my meal, but sometimes prefer an iced tea. For this tea, I often opt for something rather simple in flavor. I like our Ceylon (or decaf Ceylon) tea which I, most times, choose to sweeten with our Raw Amber Crystals. Susan, the woman and owner, I refer to as a tea aficionado here, lives by our iced Autumn Sunset. This tea is lovely as it has a hint of peppermint to cleanse your palette throughout your evening meal!
After dinner I relax into my evening and welcome bedtime with a cup of our house blend “Gentle Slumber” or our crowd favorite our "Sleep Better". Gentle Slumber tea has a blend of peppermint, for continuity if you choose Autumn Sunset, rooibos, and chamomile, which will promote relaxation and sleep. Sleep Better is a beautiful blend of valerian Root, lemon myrtle, verbena, spearmint, chamomile, and lavender that is loved by both my siblings and my fiancé. We all used to take melatonin as a supplement to help summon the sandman and now, we have since abandoned that to brew a cup of this delight. I do keep a water bottle by my bed as I sleep because I will often wake up in the night thirsty as well.
By the end of the day, only including tea, not the water bottles, I have completed my suggested daily water intake with 104 ounces! While this is by no means an everyday occurrence, I try my best to make it happen a majority of the time! Another added bonus of our teas proves, as mentioned I have tried to cut down on my added sugars, to which our teas have none of! Killing two birds with one stone! I hope this blog has been of help to you and that it gives you some motivation to up your daily water intakes! Water is vital in all of our daily processes, and also keeps our skin glowing and us looking fabulous! Please comment on any suggestions of tea you may have to incorporate in a daily routine or what works for you! Susan and I love hearing from you! Have a wonderfully water filled day! – Kay-tea :)
P.S. We want to help you to achieve your daily water intake! To do so, we have extended our deal of including 2 free ounces of your tea of choice when you purchase our 50 ounce Mist Iced Tea Pitcher! Simply let us know which tea you would like in the "Special instructions for seller" section of your order! These pitchers are our most popular piece of tea ware so don't wait on this deal! They sell out fast!
Hello goodlifetea.com owner, Your posts are always interesting.