[beachgal]

Turns out that we don't absorb up to 80% of the catechins (antioxidants) in green tea. But a study showed that a mix of 50% green tea and 50% citrus juice (lemon, grapefruit, orange, etc.) led to a much higher absorbtion!

http://www.realage.com/ct/tips/5248

Obviously, it wouldn't be the best thing for those of us on SBD to flavor our green tea with orange juice, but lemon (and I'd think, even grapefruit) should be fine. I think I'd be adding some agave juice or splenda to that concoction, though...that could be pretty sour!

I know we have a couple of Beachies that drink a lot of green tea, so I thought you'd want to know!

[cottagebythesea]

Thanks for that info, Laurie! I just sat down for my mid-morning break with a mug of green tea, but I like mine with milk. I think it would curdle if I added any citrus to it. I'll have to try it next time with a wedge of lemon in it and a bit of agave. Maybe I'll learn to like it that way.

[Ruthxxx]

How about taking a Vitamin C tablet with your green tea? It's the one vitamin you can't OD on so....... Whaddaya think?

[pamatga]

One caveat: green tea comes in both caffeinated and decaffeinated. I like to have it iced so I make up a large pitcher and put it in the refrigerator. One time, not too long ago, I drank quite a bit that day. If I drink too much caffeine, I get a real burning in my stomach!

Also, someone else around here brought up the fact that you have to read your labels(again!) because not all green tea is created equal. It seems some of it has only "some" green tea" in it. (sigh)

As for lemon, I have always loved a good squirt of lemon in my iced tea. It is the stand by for iced tea drinkers. However, you might want to think twice about sticking the actual lemon wedge in your glass if you are out in a restaurant. It seems that there was a bacterial study done and lemon skins seems to be a magnet for germs and bacteria. I won't tell you what they found out but let's say, your toilet is cleaner. (yuck) So, if you have to squirt leave the lemon wedge on the dish besides the glass.

Time to brew a new pot!

[beachgal]

It definitely couldn't hurt to add a vitamin c pill, but the study found that though the vitamin c helped, there might be other things that help:

Taking Tea with C
The vitamin C in citrus may help with absorption by increasing the acidity in your small intestine. Other unidentified substances in the juice probably lend a hand, too

.

They also gave a link to a recipe for a green tea/lemon smoothie (though it has a very small amount of lemon, IMHO...). I think it would work for SBD if you used agave nectar instead of honey (or Splenda/erythritol/SF vanilla syrup).