SFH #164: Sunday Superfoods Kicks Off
A series dedicated to introduce you to new superfoods to boost your health 💫
I'm kicking off this series on Sundays to highlight lesser-known and underappreciated superfoods.
We start today with pu-erh tea. This polyphenol-rich tea came onto my radar when GT's started making their 'Alive' elixirs. I've been drinking their Root Beer inspired adaptogenic pu-erh tea for the last couple of years. It's a treat for me...and Henry. He loves it. Although, he complains when I water it down. I started the habit for the boys wanting to make sure their palates didn't get hijacked. I water almost all drinks down these days. 🤣 I treated myself just yesterday post-workout to this 1:1 cut ratio.
So, what's unique about pu-erh? It comes from a tree called 'wild old tree.' If that's not telling you that you are drinking something ancient and special...😉
I like the tea because it's combining the benefits of tea, fermentation, and the adaptogenic boost (in my version of it). Their fermentation is different than what is going on with kombucha. The leaves are fermented with pu-erh versus the tea itself. This allows the tea to age for decades, similar to wine. If not consuming in ready-made form as I do, you can find it either loose-leaf or in compressed cakes called bing cha. The big wins with this antioxidant-rich resource are its digestive aid ability and cancer-fighting properties.1 2
Pu-erh contains caffeine, so note that if you have a sensitivity or a desire to avoid it. The GT's I drink is on the low end, 15 mg per bottle.
Give it a try and tell me what you think!
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22855451/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28428754/