Are you addicted to Mocha's?

Are You Addicted to Mocha's?   

Research suggests that the caffeine in your tasty pick me up has the ability to cause blood 

vessels to constrict blood flow and may play a role in other negative health effects. 

However, caffeine in coffee widens blood vessels in the lungs and brain which can 

help you breathe more easily and reduce headache pain respectively.  This extra 

increase in stress hormones, including adrenaline, can also temporarily increase your 

blood pressure do to the changes in your blood vessels.

One of the problems with consuming caffeine in coffee is the sensation of withdrawal. 

When your body fully uses caffeine, the effects caffeine had will reverse.  

For example, the blood vessels to your brain and lungs will constrict back to their normal

size and those to your stomach will dilate. This can cause you to feel fatigued, have 

a headache or experience stomach upset which I know happens to be instantaneous.

If this already bumming you out don't be down trodden because there is hope!  

After having bad experiences like the ones listed above I started experimenting

with healthy alternatives.  We all know that green tea is really good for us and full of 

antioxidants so I started drinking a version of it called oolong tea.  

Oolong tea is like the fine wines of tea.  It is partially fermented and it is used to 

sharpen thinking skills, improve mental alertness, prevent cancer, tooth decay, 

osteoporosis, and heart disease.  It is also known to treat obesity, diabetes, 

"hardening of the arteries",high cholesterol and skin allergies like eczema; and to 

boost the immune system.  I get usually get mine at a local asian market and of course

 you can always get it via the internet.  I suggest trying Formosa and Tung Ting Oolong 

first when making our alternative "Mocha".

Lets start by boiling water in a pan or tea pot. I put about one tablespoon of tea in a

single cup brewer and then slowly pour the water over the tea until the cup is almost full.

Let sit for 5 minutes.

While it's brewing I prepare my protein powder in a large tea/coffee cup.

I usually use Protein Synthesis 7 that I get at The Nutrition Shop but any other vanilla

flavored protein powder would work.  I then mix in a serving of my all time favorite

cocoa mix called Cocoa Well. 

 I get the unsweetened over the sweetened to cut back on my sugar intake at whole foods.

This particular mix is Organic and has 200mg of pure plant flavanol complex which greatly

boosts the antioxidant levels in your body.  It is also non GMO, soy and gluten free.

I then take the strainer out and make sure the water is not scalding hot because it will cook

the protein powder and make it clumpy.  I then slowly pour the tea into the powder mix

and you now have a tasty mocha like beverage that will surely give you

Ample energy for the day!!