Hot Drinks Warm Body and Soul
January 03, 2006
By: Jean Johnson
The researchers have been getting with the program over the past several years, and the latest reports are that coffee, hot cocoa, and chamomile tea are pretty decent choices when winter temperatures send us flocking in around the wood stove for warmth.
Chamomile Tea
The English, of course, have traditionally thought of hot holiday drinks in terms of toddies, punches, and nogs. But Elaine Holmes, Ph.D., of the Department of Chemistry at the Imperial College London departed from spirit-infused ministrations and took a look at chamomile tea.
Chamomile is an herbal caffeine-free tea that does not dehydrate the body like drinks containing caffeine or alcohol. The brew scored high marks in Holmes’ assessment.
In her study funded by Oxford Natural Products – a pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and technology company – the chemist found that this popular tea alters levels of two chemicals in the body associated with antibacterial activity and muscle cramping.
In her report in the January 2005 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Holmes speculated that chamomile, at least if imbibed at the rate of five cups a day like her 14 study volunteers did for two weeks, may help decrease colds and ease menstrual cramping.
"Other types of tea may work as well," Holmes said. "We don't know as yet." Still, in the case of chamomile, Holmes indicated that on the basis of urine samples she obtained from her volunteers, the herbal infusion seems to alter microflora in the intestinal tract that in turns leads to increases in urinary hippurate (associated with antibacterial activity) and glycine (an amino acid that relieves muscle spasms).
Additionally, the effects of drinking chamomile tea carried over after the subjects quit dosing themselves. "One of the most interesting findings was that the effect of the chamomile tea lasted at least two weeks after the volunteers had stopped drinking the tea," Holmes said.
Beatrix Potter might feel vindicated – that is if the great literary figure felt she needed science to corroborate her folk wisdom – to learn of Holmes findings.
Indeed, it was in “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” that Potter wrote, " …Peter was not very well during the evening. His mother put him to bed, and made some chamomile tea and she gave a dose of it to Peter."
Hot Cocoa
| Take Action | Ways to incorporate cocoa into your diet:
Take time to stir up your own drink spiked with honey and zapped with chile. Whisk two or three tablespoons of cocoa powder and a tad of cornstarch into a cup of cold milk and then warm over medium heat adding honey and chile powder to taste. Savor in small cups with a pal.
Molé is the South American sauce made from all manner of fried fruits and nuts and meats. The concoction is nigh to an art form to prepare, but instead of the full bore, creative cooks can experiment with adding a few tablespoons of cocoa to stews and hearty soups.
A rule of thumb is that any dish that melds well with a dose of red wine will probably pair with cocoa. Also, treat the powder like flour and whisk it into a lump-free paste with a bit of broth prior to incorporating it into the dish. |
If you want to talk antioxidants, Cornell University’s Chang Yong Less, Ph.D., professor of food chemistry, found sweet news in his research published in 2003. The creamy dark concoction beats out red wine and tea sip for sip. Thus hot cocoa rings right up there on the scale of foodstuffs that fight cancer, heart disease, and most magically of all, aging.
"Although we know that antioxidants are important for good health, nobody knows the exact daily amount required per person," said Lee. "Nevertheless, a cup or two of hot cocoa every once in a while can provide a delicious, warm and healthy way to obtain more antioxidants."
But, before we start heading off to open packets of the instant stuff or line up in the shops that don’t do justice to the drink, we might recall that cocoa in its pure form is a dark velvety powder divorced of sugar or milk. Indeed, cocoa comes from tropical trees in Central and South America, Africa and parts of Asia that produce melon-like pods.
Original drinks were melded from ground cocoa beans, water, wine and a pinch of crushed chile. Only after the Spaniards got a hold of the drink did sugar become a standard, and it was the English that added the dose of milk, completing the revolution of turning an original exotic into a drink that appealed to the mass palate.
Java
Not to be outdone, coffee jolts in strong in the antioxidant score according to study described at the August 2005 American Chemical Society annual meeting as well as in 2004 research completed by a Norwegian team.
"Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source. Nothing else comes close," said the American study leader and chemistry professor from the University of Scranton, Joe Vinson, Ph.D. "One to two cups a day appear to be beneficial." The chemistry professor adds that black tea is second to coffee, before bananas, dry beans and corn.
Despite his findings in a study funded by the American Cocoa Research Institute, Vinson notes that coffee still has its liabilities – like giving folks the jitters, increasing heart rates and blood pressure, and wrecking havoc with the stomach – and also that nothing replaces nature’s bounty.
"Unfortunately, consumers are still not eating enough fruits and vegetables, which are better for you from an overall nutritional point of view due to their higher content of vitamins, minerals and fiber," Vinson said, adding that dates, cranberries and red grapes are among the top fruits for antioxidants in part because the morsels are so highly concentrated.
So the message is, enjoy your coffee and hot cocoa in moderation knowing that these drinks brings health benefits as well as comfort on stormy days. Do remember, though, to follow these dehydrating beverages with the considerably more beneficent chamomile tea.
Even five cups a day don’t seem to be too much and go a long way toward replenishing the body’s fluids and keeping the skin hydrated. There was a reason chamomile was a medicinal hit with Peter Rabbit’s mother back in 1902. And anything that’s stood the test of a good century has us putting the kettle on to boil as well.
Last updated: 03-Jan-06
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