What do you drink, Dr. Greger?

Dr. Greger ~ Are you still drinking that yummy Hibiscus Tea? (I did not see it in your “morning mix”!)

Kenton R. Mullins / Originally Posted in A Better Breakfast

Answer:

A half gallon a day Kenton! I no longer do the teabags, though, but the bulk dried hibiscus flowers themselves (why hibiscus? See Better Than Green Tea?). My current recipe is a handful of dried hibiscus petals in 8 cups of water with a penny sized chunk of fresh ginger root (see Plants vs. Pesticides), handful of fresh mint leaves (Antioxidants in a Pinch), teaspoon of amla (Amla: Indian gooseberries vs. cancer, diabetes, and cholesterol), and erythritol to taste (3 tablespoons for me–see A Harmless Artificial Sweetener)–all blended up in a high speed blender and then sipped throughout the day. I’m on the road right now and I sure miss my concoction!

Anyone have any suggestions for improving it even further (taste or nutrition-wise)?

image credit: Emily Barney / Flickr

About Michael Greger M.D.

Michael Greger, M.D., is a physician, author, and internationally recognized professional speaker on a number of important public health issues. Dr. Greger has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the International Bird Flu Summit, testified before Congress, appeared on The Dr. Oz Show and The Colbert Report, and was invited as an expert witness in defense of Oprah Winfrey at the infamous "meat defamation" trial. Currently Dr. Greger proudly serves as the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States.

View all videos by Michael Greger M.D.

luveggies

I keep ginger root in the freezer and use a Cuisipro fine rasp to grate a small amount directly into the water before i brew it over night. This rasp makes very quick work of grating ginger, regardless of what you’re using it in and is a more efficient way to get the ginger into the tea.
naveh masad

do you have a research about Distilled water? Thank you so much about all this amazing site!!!
vegan2u

Here is something you can try, in a Vitamix, input 1 whole Lemon, 1/4 cup of whole Hibiscus Flowers, 1/2 cup of Cranberries, 1/2 cup of Strawberries, 1/2 cup of Raspberries, 1 teaspoon Amla, 1 Young Coconut (Water & Meat), Watermelon to taste…no need for the processed sugar… I love life!
- Robin Petersson
  
  Juice of one whole lemon, or the entire lemon?
  - vegan2u
    
    1 whole lemon with peel
- foxfyr
  
  The list sounds pretty good;
  Adding a bit of ginger would be good as well,
  while omitting the coconut would improve it substantially.
  
  Please see:
  
  Is Coconut Oil Good For You?
  Coconut Milk Good For You?
  Does Coconut Oil Clog Arteries?
Neil

I would include lemon zest and white tea for both flavor and nutrition. Especially with your demanding lecture schedule and interaction with sick people. This site is a genuine blessing; thank you.
Thea

Thanks so much for sharing this. I’m looking for palatable ways to use that amla powder I bought. Maybe I can give this a try.

Follow up question: If you are drinking so much of your above potion, do you still have room for green tea? It seems like green tea has so many benefits. But then maybe it is just a matter of hibiscus not being researched enough and it may be as powerful as green tea?? Just curious if you have any thoughts on green tea vs hibiscus. Thanks.
Kenton

Your “potion” is nice & in line with whole-food nutrition / low sugar.
I still consume coffee & Silver Needle in the AM. Are you done with the matcha mode?
mbglife

I just called the Celestial Seasonings consumer line on their Red Zinger tea box. I asked if there is a difference in bioavailablilfity of the antioxidants when steeping at different temperature, specifically cold brew vs hot brew. The knowledgable young man I spoke with said that cold brew will taste and look the same as hot brew, but does NOT yield the same antioxidant amounts. He said green tea can be had around 110-120 degrees, but that this tea is optimized at around 160 degrees, and steeped for 4 to 5 mins, a bit longer if you like it stronger.
- Thea
  
  mbglife: Interesting answer you got there. I wonder just how knowledgeable that young man was? More importantly, did he give you any studies to back up his claim?
  
  I’ll have to confess that I can’t tell from your post whether the young man was saying that hot brew gives more or less antioxidants. Either way, I think you will be interested in the following Dr. Greger video which shows the results of a study where cold-brew yielded dramatically more antioxidants than hot.
  
  http://nutritionfacts.org/video/cold-steeping-green-tea/
  
  Interesting, yes?
- foxfyr
  
  You might also want to familiarize yourself with the recent evaluation of their products.
  
  Google:
  
  ‘Dangerously high pesticide levels’ found in Celestial Seasonings teas
  
  http://www.examiner.com/article/dangerously-high-pesticide-levels-found-celestial-seasonings-teas
http://www.facebook.com/valerie.zinn.7 Valerie Zinn

Does hibiscus tea interact with inhaled steroids?
TJ

I am drinking alot of Cinnamon Apple spice herbal tea by Celestial Seasonings, first ingredient cinnamon, second ,hibiscus. Is this tea as good as the hibiscus Red Zinger teas nutritionally?
Robin

Any idea if hibiscus tea inhibits iron absorption like other teas?
LizMD

You should include in your videos about hibiscus tea (which I love and am happy to have heard about here) that pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant should not drink it. It interferes with implantation.
Mark

Hello,

Thank you very much for your many efforts in helping us to ferret out & separate the science from the belief in nutritional matters!

Question 1:

Have you had the opportunity to look into the anti-cancer research regarding papaya leaf ( & bark) by Nam Dang, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Florida?

From the preliminary findings, it might seem prudent to add papaya leaf to the tea as well.

Question 2:
In addition, have you had the opportunity to peruse:

Common Tea Formulations Modulate In Vitro Digestive Recovery of Green Tea Catechins, by Rodney J. Green, Angus S. Murphy, Burkhard Schulz, Bruce A. Watkins and Mario G. Ferruzzi

which suggests that complementing green tea with either citrus juices or vitamin C likely increases the amount of catechins available for the body to absorb?

Thanks…

What do you drink, Dr. Greger?

Answer:

About Michael Greger M.D.

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