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Is decaffeinated green tea as healthy as regular green tea? Are plums as healthy as prunes? Are fresh cranberries as healthy as dried cranberries? The "buzz" in the media is that green tea, prunes and cranberries are all extremely healthy foods. But, what if the caffeinated green tea keeps you up all night and you're not a fan of dried fruits?
Expert answer:
Hi Matthew - This is an excellent question and brings up an important point. While it seems like every week there is a new "must eat" food or drink, there are lots of nutrient rich foods that can be incorporated into a healthy diet based on your food and drink preferences. In addition, getting a variety of healthy foods is even more important than consuming the latest products generating media "buzz."
In general, I'm not a big fan of dried fruit either as dried fruit is much more calorically dense than fresh fruit because of its significantly lower water content. And with the obesity epidemic in this country, keeping calories under control is just as important as choosing healthier foods. Fresh fruit is just as healthy as dried fruit and you don't have to worry about added sugar, fat or portion sizes, which must be more closely controlled when it comes to dried fruit. And if you don't like cranberries, my colleague, Wendy Bazilian, who has a doctorate in Public Health and Nutrition, is a registered dietitian, and author of "The SuperFoods Rx Diet," is quick to point out that for urinary tract health, blueberries may work just as well as cranberries. For heart health, all deeply colored berries, cherries and even grapes are rich in disease fighting phytonutrients and antioxidants.
And shut-ins who can't easily get fresh fruit can even compote dried fruit to decrease the calorie density–and make a delicious flavorful snack! I also eat a lot of nuts and dried fruit when I travel or have to work long hours without meal breaks.
I can drink the bottled mixed black and green tea without incident, but straight green tea–caffeinated or not–upsets my stomach. White tea does not, nor do the typical black/pekoe varieties. Camomile and peppermint teas affect me the same as green does. Celestial Seasonings herbal teas aren't subjected to the decaffeinating chemical process mentioned earlier, so I generally use those when I don't want caffeine. They have a great blueberry and also a cranberry tea.
My mom gets constipated and keeps vacuum-packed prunes with her at all times. And my cousin has diabetes and keeps packaged raisins with her in case she is, for example, caught in traffic and unable to get a meal within a reasonable amount of time and her blood sugar drops. I've started keeping both on hand wherever I go in case I need an emergency snack (I'm sometimes in situations where I may have to go 6 or 7 hours without a meal at work) and also to hand out to those around me who may be in crisis.
Green tea is delicious and a healthy beverage choice. White tea has more antioxidants and less caffeine than green tea.
Visit our website for all your choices of white, green and black tea with organic dried fruits. http://www.TeaToEnjoy.com
I eat whatever my little heart desires. If nobody likes it. Not my problem. If anyone else doesn't like it. Again not my problem and nobody elses business what goes into my body. And if someone else noses into it. Remember one thing. Do not play with bears.
To Maxine Warner: My mother took Coumadin, and no one ever told her not to drink green tea, which she did every day! What is the reason? Does it contain Vitamin K?
I very sadly cannot drink green tea due to being on Coumadin . I feel as though I am missing out on a lot . Any alternatives ?
I'm late to the party, but 1/3 cup of dried blueberries is 180 calories (yes, 180 and not 80); 1/3 cup fresh is 28 calories; 1/3 cup frozen is 26 calories. And 80% of caffeine in tea comes off of the tea leaves in the first 30 seconds of steeping. Pour it off, add more water and steep 30 seconds longer (Mike Feller of Gong Fu Tea, Des Moines, MidWest Mag July 2009). The newsletter, Environmental Nutrition, is an excellent source of info on all things nutritious, and they're online. Julie
I just purchased an 11 oz. package of organic blueberries at Fairway in Paramus NJ for $4.99, sweet and delicious and worth every penny. Some people spend that on chips.
… I don't think a nutritionist is the right kind of medical professional for you…..
Joe, I'm afraid you're in the minority. Cranberries are mostly horrible when they're fresh. We use some for juicing… only put in 2 or 3 per batch and it's enough to get that super tartness usually.
II have drunk a cup of green tea at 4 in the afternoon and was jittery and awake all night. Some people like me are super sensitive to caffeine. The only way it doesn't bother me is if I drink it early in the day on a full stomach. Even then I have about an hour of increased heartrate and jitteriness.
Dried fruit and nuts are staples for me when I travel. They're light, more nutritious that a lot of airline meals, and provide fruit when I'm in a place where clean, fresh fruit is hard to find.
Frozen blueberries are an affordable option during the winter (and I like them, at least). To me dried fruit (along with fruit juices) are a treat, sort of like candy, rather than something I try to incorporate into my daily diet.
Freeze dried fruit would be the same as any other dried fruit- the biggest issue is caloric density. People eat about the same volume of food, no matter the caloric density. For example, someone might eat a 100 calorie apple and be satisfied, whereas they would need to eat 250 calories of fruit leather to be equally satisfied. If you need to loose weight you should mostly eat whole fruits (fresh or frozen). If you need to gain weight you should eat more nutritionally dense foods, like dried fruit. Pretty simple .
Buy them in the summer and freeze them. Just rinse them and freeze them. No sugar or cooking required.
Where are you getting Fat from dried fruits and tea? There isn't any.
histamine is produced when the body is trying to fight infection. bacterias are irritants in that way and others so they need allergy medicine.
Nyquil is sold for those who keep coughing and can't sleep but it has allergy medicine or antihistamine in it plus some soothant maybe antibacterial as well. i read their label today long after i figured out my own solution. also mouthwash gargle a couple of times before sleeping and in the morning to control the coughing. theresa noelle younan ymma-iii younan research management
Look for products decaffeinated using CO2, or even better if you can tolerate a little caffeine is to do it yourself by discarding the first steeping of the tea. The 2nd steeping has about 70% less than the first. I'm not sure how many antioxidants you lose by doing this, but probably not more than one of the traditional decaf methods. Most decent quality loose teas can be steeped several times without losing flavor.
I have been worry of the use of dichloromethane on the process to remove the caffeine. I think people should think twice before drinking decaf drinks. The Material safty data for dichloromethane says that it is a possible carcinogenic and possible mutagen.
Toxicology
Harmful if swallowed or inhaled. May be harmful by skin contact. Eye and skin irritant. Readily absorbed through the skin. Asphyxiant. Causes CNS depression. Possibly carcinogenic in humans. Possible mutagen. Experimental reproductive effects.
what about freeze-dried fruits where there is no added sugar?
@ Donna… I can't stand when people say that. I eat both whole cranberries and unsweetened dried cranberries all the time– and drink unsweetened cranberry juice (not from concentrate). They're great.
it seems like choosing dried fruit over a candy bar would be a better choice. however, choosing raw fruit over dried fruit would be healthier. one benefit could be that fruit contains natural sugars and refined candies are made of refined sugars.
Dried cranberries would be inedible without added sugar. They are extremely tart to begin with.
Some people are extremely sensitive. I have heard that white tea has even less caffeine than green tea.
You did not address the question of whether dried fruit, in moderation, is nutritionally equivalent to fresh fruit. I keep organic raisins (no chemicals) around so I can always have fruit in my diet, even if I've muched through all the fresh stuff.
Make sure that you read the ingredients. Some dried fruit has sugar added.
I have to agree, green tea does not have a lot of caffeine. I almost always enjoy a cup before I go to bed.
I feel like i could eat whole packages of dried fruit so i agree that we should eat the actual fruit and not the dried version. I suppose if you don't eat any fruit at all that eating dried fruit would be a better alternative to nothing. Green tea as so many great benefits whether it's caffeinated or not. Green tea doesn't have a lot of caffeine anyways so i wonder why you would need decaf green tea. http://www.diet-myths.com has a good article on teas benefits!