I?m an engineer by day who instructs yoga asana evenings and weekends in the flavor of Ashtanga Vinyasa. My company has an office in Shanghai which I visit a few times a year, interesting yoga studios mostly run by Indians speaking English accompanied by Chinese translators, I know what?s coming before the rest of the class when I practice there, snicker. Ok my concerning thought; I understood a long time ago that I can rationalize almost anything in my head if I want it bad enough but it wasn?t till I started distinguishing between needs and wants, pleasures from happiness that I questions some of the things I partook in. It?s always been my nature to stay away from nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, sugar and heavily processed foods simply because I feel better, using the logic: ?life becomes easier when you feel good therefore you may draw closer to personal potential, which helps not only oneself but those influenced by you?. When in China I started doing as the Chinese do, I took to green tea like a bear with honey. It started many years ago with a visit to Hangzhou where the famous Longjing (Dragon Well) tea comes from, yummy spring tea is coming soon. You can read endless good things about green tea but it does have caffeine in it. I look forward every morning to that first euphoric cup and several other energizing cups throughout the day never past 3:00 pm. I sleep like a baby but wonder if I should be concerned about the caffeine. I feel there may be other energizing ingredients besides the caffeine and it does work great for inflammation, sinus and allergy problems. I?m kind of going down the same path with red wine lately. The rationales in my head; the antioxidants are good for me and I?m 54 years old, why not? Or am I kidding myself.
5 cups of green tea a day (although I?m using the same leaves, so it?s watered down with each cup).
1 bottle of red wine a week (but drinking Friday and Saturday evenings only).
its a great ideas. thanks for share.
I’ve heard/read that Green Tea and Red Wine can both have beneficial health effects. However, I’m really not sure about the dosage. 5 cups seems like a lot. I drink mostly water throughout the day with one cup of tea/green tea some days.
As for wine I’ve read that a glass a day is “healthy.” I’m not sure if that is true or not, though, as the medical world seems to change their minds on these things weekly. I don’t drink any wine. That isn’t for health reasons, though. I just don’t like the taste and I don’t drink much/any alcohol anyway.
There are lots of good antioxidants.
Red wine contains Resveratrol, which can also be bought as capsules at health food store.
Less fun than red wine though.
Garlic is an excellent antioxidant. If the smell bothers you, take selenium instead.
CoQ10 is a wonder. Not only a good antioxidant but also repairing the cells. Everybody should take it, because of its huge benefits.
Vitamins E and C are good antioxidants.
The list can go on.
[QUOTE=ray_killeen;52117]I?m an engineer by day who instructs yoga asana evenings and weekends in the flavor of Ashtanga Vinyasa. My company has an office in Shanghai which I visit a few times a year, interesting yoga studios mostly run by Indians speaking English accompanied by Chinese translators, I know what?s coming before the rest of the class when I practice there, snicker. Ok my concerning thought; I understood a long time ago that I can rationalize almost anything in my head if I want it bad enough but it wasn?t till I started distinguishing between needs and wants, pleasures from happiness that I questions some of the things I partook in. It?s always been my nature to stay away from nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, sugar and heavily processed foods simply because I feel better, using the logic: ?life becomes easier when you feel good therefore you may draw closer to personal potential, which helps not only oneself but those influenced by you?. When in China I started doing as the Chinese do, I took to green tea like a bear with honey. It started many years ago with a visit to Hangzhou where the famous Longjing (Dragon Well) tea comes from, yummy spring tea is coming soon. You can read endless good things about green tea but it does have caffeine in it. I look forward every morning to that first euphoric cup and several other energizing cups throughout the day never past 3:00 pm. I sleep like a baby but wonder if I should be concerned about the caffeine. I feel there may be other energizing ingredients besides the caffeine and it does work great for inflammation, sinus and allergy problems. I?m kind of going down the same path with red wine lately. The rationales in my head; the antioxidants are good for me and I?m 54 years old, why not? Or am I kidding myself.
5 cups of green tea a day (although I?m using the same leaves, so it?s watered down with each cup).
1 bottle of red wine a week (but drinking Friday and Saturday evenings only).[/QUOTE]
I see no problems in what you do with your green tea as you have explained it. Infact it is most likely a beneficial practice for your body. I don’t think the dirty devil made ‘green tea’ Nor do I ‘think’ the caffeine your body assimilates from your practice is in anyway harmful to it.
I see no problems in what you do with your red wine as you have explained it (in moderation). I would be hesitant to say it is “healthy” to drink alcohol no matter what anyone says about reservatol or whatever it’s called. I’ve heard the Alcohol has a blood thinning effect so I would imagine there’s a moderate boost to circulation (relatively speaking)
The tannin content of the tea could be a problem for certain people who may have liver troubles and what have you. Something for consideration, and to look into.
The amount of caffeine in that FIRST cup of tea is extraordinarily low when comparing it to coffee. We of course won’t even get into soda, as that is clearly not an option.
I feel like only you can answer this question for yourself. I can tell you though that I have removed alcohol from my life, and it’s been a number of weeks since I’ve had coffee. I do enjoy a cup of coffee from time to time. But tea daily. You must of course weigh the pros against the cons - and the cons are very few, while the pros seem to be many.
My struggle at this point is the social aspect of a glass of wine, a beer, or a cup of coffee. Sharing drink is a time-honored tradition. Of course, slavery, oppression, and hate are all time-honored traditions as well, so this is neither here nor there.
Good luck with your decision. I find it useful to evaluate the expected opinion of the person (or group in this case) when you ask a question. Perhaps you are just wanting confirmation of the right answer.
A few times a month or week, I love to put a bunch of red grapes into a high powered blender with half a glass of water and make a [B]fresh live[/B] grape juice, it is indeed a treat. A different taste with each bunch of grapes.
Try it, you’ll probably like it, and it probably is better for us than we can imagine.
Best regards, Gil
P.S. When it doesn’t turn out well, I just add an apple, banana, and a couple brazil nuts and it becomes a remarkable smoothie.
Although I?ve always practiced good health I?ve learned my body truly is a temple. At some point I began to care for it on a much higher level treating it with greater respect becoming sensitive to its subtler needs. I modified my diet; started taking supplements, drinking more water, limiting alcohol, eliminating drugs, pollutants negatives and interferences while making more time to practice Yoga/meditate (clear body-clear mind). Learning tiredness fuels doubt, fear and uncertainty I planned more rest time. I learned that no one can go it alone…that it?s okay to risk asking for help. I make it a point to stay open to every wonderful possibility that may come along…I realized just as food fuels the body I needed fuel for my soul so I take more time to laugh, play and do the things that make me feel good. When determining decisions for choosing paths I now use my intuition in conjunction with my intellect. For me it has to do with not distorting perception of the real world through the rational mind or ego i.e. to see things for what they really are not the illusions created in my head. My intuition seems to lean towards my needs where as my intellect leans towards my wants although, as mentioned before, I do have the ability to rationalize almost anything in my head if I want it badly enough, perhaps a curse and a blessing? I?d like to think that I?ve acquired a certain sense of wisdom, through time and experience, which has enhanced my capabilities for good judgment however bouncing thoughts/ideas off others is somehow comforting, perhaps a social thing, sanity check.
“Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings - that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.” ~Buddha
As with all things in life, I think moderation is the key. A little tea and a little wine would be the least of my concerns considering the amount of genetically modified fruits and veggies we have been consuming unknowingly for years.
There is water and there is water.
Distilled water probably works best.
A banana skin kept in water for cca one hour absorbs more than 95 % of the metal
impurities.
Water might contain microbes etc… A simple method to get red of microbes is to place
an onion (skinned) in its immediate proximity for at least one hour. The onion acts as a sponge for microbes. It might become brown.
Same thing with a few garlic cloves.
Hi,
Thank you for sharing information for us…A little tea and a little wine would be the least of my concern considering the amount of genetically modified fruit and veggies we have been consuming unknowingly for years.
i would try to get use to too. This looks a really nice idea to follow.
Do you sweeten tea?
What do you use instead of sugar?
[QUOTE=panoramix;66441]Do you sweeten tea?
What do you use instead of sugar?[/QUOTE]
For the 1st cup honey is a like to my senses and mind nothing after that, on a side note honey may be the most stable food on the planet not requiring refrigeration, preservatives, etc. bacteria and virus resistant.
[QUOTE=ray_killeen;66443]For the 1st cup honey is a like to my senses and mind nothing after that, on a side note honey may be the most stable food on the planet not requiring refrigeration, preservatives, etc. bacteria and virus resistant.[/QUOTE]
I don’t eat honey because I consider it as as “robbery” or others’ (bees) work.
I’ll try syrup… thanks.
Syrup comes from somewhere, are you robbing trees?
i think that you would find the amount of caffine in green tea quite negligible when you compare the small amount of leaves used to make your tea versus the content of coffee beans. I also am an avid green tea drinker - I have no other caffine other than the ‘useful’ caffine that comes from the tea leaves and I find that it does me no harm and actually benefits my practice by aiding the elimination process.
whilst the intention is always to be pure - sometimes we have to remember that while there may be many rounds on the reincarnation wheel according to some - we only get one shot at this life. And part of the process is to actually enjoy it.
Enjoy your tea - and your wine - if that is the worst that you do then I think your doing pretty well! 
[QUOTE=ray_killeen;66461]Syrup comes from somewhere, are you robbing trees?[/QUOTE]
I’m robbing grains or hazelnuts, which cannot even be considered life forms…
Ahh, I C, spiritual dissonance is proportional to ones level of consciousness.