by Andrew May

Our modern way of living teaches us that faster is better. Speed is the new king with our lives measured in bits and bytes, and dissected into micro-detail. Is it any wonder our health, performance and relationships begin to suffer?

We are not designed to go flat out around the clock. Life is meant to be a series of sprints interspersed with periods of rest and recovery. Our culture has conditioned us to think that slow is the enemy of achievement, yet as the Slow Movement is showing us, nothing could be further from the truth.

The Slow Movement

The Slow Movement is about slowing down and taking time to enjoy the things that give us pleasure. It’s about reconnecting with food, people and places, but it’s not anti-work or even anti-capitalist. In fact as Carl Honoré says in his book, In Praise of Slow, “The secret is balance. Instead of doing everything faster, do everything at the right speed. Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow. Sometimes somewhere in between”.

Founded by Carlo Petrini, the movement started in the late 80’s as a foodie fight back against the opening of a McDonald’s restaurant on Rome’s Spanish Steps. Slow Food gave birth to Slow Cities, or Cittaslow in Italian. Adhering to the Cittaslow Manifesto, these towns of 50,000 or less embody a way of life that supports slow living; where traditions and conventional ways of doing things are valued.

In Australia, the town of Goolwa was recently named our first Cittaslow, while Bloodwood Vineyard in Orange is now making slow wines. Annually, Canberra also hosts the Slow Festival in celebration of all things, well, slow.

Lessons in slow from Kenya

When I was a middle distance runner in the 90’s, every year we’d get the opportunity to train with Kenyan athletes who would come out to Australia. Each year a different group of athletes would come, and amazingly each year a new champion would emerge from their ranks: the talent pool seemed endless. What did they know that we didn’t?

There’s a phrase in Swahili that sums it up, ‘hapa hapa’. It means slowly, slowly, and that’s exactly the way these high speed Kenyans took things. They listened to their bodies, training when they felt good and taking time off when they needed rest, often for weeks at a time. Looking back on my running career, I really believe I would have run much faster if I’d taken more notice of the Kenyans and trained hard and recovered even harder!

Eight go slow tips

Here are some great ways to apply the slow philosophy:

1. Slow stretching
Try doing a gentle 5 to 10 minute stretching routine before going to bed. Slow your breathing and your heart rate.

2. Slow walking
Emulate my dog, Cougar. Stop and sniff absolutely everything!

3. Slow weekends
Don’t race around trying to see and please everyone. Try shifting back a few gears and getting rid of the weekend to-do list.

4. Slow mini-breaks
Get away for a three day mini-break, but avoid scheduling every waking hour with sightseeing.

5. Slow food
Copy the Italians with a three to five course meal that takes a few hours to get through, washed down with a couple of glasses of hearty vino.

6. Slow gardening
Just stop and smell the roses! Potter in the garden and take stock of the beautiful smells and plants.

7. Slow sex
Tantric sex is not just for hippies and rock stars like Sting. This 5,000 year old discipline advocates slow sex as a way to increase awareness.

8. Slow thinking
Stretch out on the grass and stare up at the clouds. It’s amazing how often the biggest breakthroughs come when you turn off the conscious chatter.

Like to know more?

For more on Slow Movement practise, try Carl Honore’s book, In Praise of Slow – How a worldwide movement is challenging the cult of speed, or my latest book, Flip the Switch – Why performance increases when you play hard and recover even harder.

Andrew May is is considered Australia’s leading expert on performance and productivity and is the author of the bestselling book, Flip the Switch. Andrew speaks at conferences across the globe, mentors CEO’s and senior managers. He is published throughout national and international media, with regular segments on 2UE radio, Mix 106.5 Body and Soul and Channel Nine’s TODAY show.

by Maya Anderson

With many of the latest health reports now focusing on carbohydrates and fats, it sometimes seems that sugar has been forgotten. So does sugar actually deserve the bad rap it has gotten in previous years? Natureco naturopath Samantha Warner said while sugar in itself is neither good nor bad, the issue is quality and quantity. “Sugar in the modern world has become evil purely due to its high availability and excess in processed foods,” she said. Most processed food does not contain many minerals and vitamins, which help the body to use the energy from sugar. “We must use our stored nutrients to help us digest and assimilate the sugars we are eating, leading to chronic deficiencies particularly magnesium, chromium, zinc and B vitamins,” Ms Warner said.

Too much sugar can also feed fungi and other pathogens in the blood, leading to candida and other bowel dysbiosis. “Sugar makes the blood sticky, potentially leading to clots, and blocks in small capillaries, leading to tissue and nerve damage,” Ms Warner said. Excess sugar can also cause free radical damage and oxidation in the vascular system, which can contribute to plaque formation in the arteries and cardiovascular disease.

While our bodies need a neutral or slightly alkaline environment for healthy cell function, sugar creates an acid environment which may promote the spread of cancer. “Cancer cells are able to produce their energy from sugar, and excess amounts will encourage cancer growth,” Ms Warner said.

Perth Diet Clinic dietitian Peggy Stacy said that sugary foods are often not filling and are high in kilojoules. “Many high sugar and fat foods will result in kilojoule intakes far higher than is required,” Ms Stacy said. “If you eat more than you burn up, then weight gain will result.” Excess sugar is often converted to fat, which can lead to other health problems. “Weight gain can cause hypertension and diabetes, which in turn can lead to kidney damage.”

While we need some sugar, our body can get sugar from carbohydrate, which is converted into glucose by the body with the aid of insulin. “We do not need sugar for carbohydrate as we obtain carbohydrate from breads, cereal, fruit, vegetables, milk and yoghurt – all healthier choices,” Ms Stacy said.

However, we may benefit from sugar in small quantities. “Sugar is the most efficiently broken down food for the energy needs of the body,” Ms Warner said. “In the right amount, sugar helps your cells create energy to do their work – building, repairing and breaking things down.” Sugar is also part of the connective tissue structure in the body. “A deficiency of sugar will lead to fatigue, immuno-suppression and poor cell functioning – in fact, the same outcome as too much sugar.”

So can eating too much sugar cause diabetes? Dietitian Sophie McGough, who is a diabetes educator for Diabetes WA, claimed it is a myth that excessive sugar causes diabetes. “There is no relationship between eating sugar and the development of diabetes,” Ms McGough said. “Becoming overweight and not being physically active enough are the modifiable reasons why someone may develop type 2 diabetes. There is no relationship between diet or lifestyle and the development of type 1 diabetes.” However she added that if a person eats a high sugar diet they increase their chances of being overweight, which increases their risk of type 2 diabetes.

There is currently no maximum recommended intake of sugar each day. “There is no current consensus worldwide on what the safe upper limit should be,” Ms McGough said. “The World Health Organisation recommends that less than 10 percent of a person’s energy intake should be coming from added sugars.” For the average adult, this would be equivalent to about 50 grams or 10 teaspoons of added sugar daily. “This would include added sugar in food products, beverages and actually adding table sugar to coffee and tea,” Ms McGough said. “To put into context, a 600ml bottle of soft drink has about 13 teaspoons of added sugar.”

Want a Sugar Fix?

Remember that moderation is key. “Have a healthy varied diet and limit sugar,” Ms Stacy advised. “If you are having something sweet, do so in a small quantity.” Or try alternatives for your sweet tooth – although Ms Warner said artificial sweeteners are not the answer. “Try rapidura sugar (dried, crushed cane juice) it is brown with an irregular crystal texture and sweet, but still contains all the nutrients that are usually removed with refining. Molasses is what is left after refining sugar so it is also a suitable sweetening agent in moderation.”

Ms Warner advised minimising your intake of processed foods and anything that has sugar labelled as one of the first few ingredients, as it is likely the product has a high sugar content, such as lollies, cakes, biscuits, white bread and other white flour products, low fat products where extra sugar has been added for taste and chips. Also cut back on high-sugar, energy-dense soft drinks, cordials and juices. Yoghurt or fruits such as berries may fix a craving for sweet things.

Excessive sugar may:

• Increase fluid retention
• Suppress the immune system
• Promote harmful cholesterol
• Cause kidney damage
• Cause tooth decay
• Cause headaches
• Increase weight gain
• Lead to hypertension
• Feed cancer cells

Maya Anderson is a full-time freelance journalist who specialises in health, fitness, nutrition and wellbeing issues. To contact Maya, email maya.anderson@hotmail.com

By Matt O’Neil

Want to get more bang for your buck at the supermarket? Would you like to know that every calorie is working to get you healthy? Then why not try THE new food mantra ‘nutrient-rich eating’?

During the last decade, food marketers have busied themselves removing many nutritional nasties from our food. These ‘better-for-you’ foods are labelled ‘less fat’, ‘salt-reduced’, ‘low-sugar’ and ‘additive-free’, and are promoted as being healthier so you can get into shape.

But simply eliminating certain nutrients and food chemicals from your diet won’t guarantee optimal wellbeing. What is important are the ingredients that improve the health of your cells and optimise your metabolism. These are the vitamins, minerals and beneficial plant compounds (known as phytochemicals) that you want to pack into your pantry.

What is ‘Nutrient-rich’ eating?

Professor Adam Drewnowski from the University of Washington is leading the way to define the terms ‘nutrient-rich’ and ‘nutrient density’. He suggests that a nutrients-to-calorie ratio can translate to a ‘nutrient density score’ that will help people make better food choices.

This means that the pathway to optimum health will be easier because every calorie will count in terms of the nutrients you receive per calorie. Fast foods and sweet snacks offer many calories but few nutrients, obviously a poor choice.

Nutrition all-stars

Shining the nutrient-rich torch across a range of foods reveals that some foods shine brighter than others. This concept also reinforces the need for portion control, ensuring that you only eat amounts that provide a level of beneficial nutrients without excessive calories.

Here are some stand-out foods that are recommended:

Nuts – Nuts contain healthy fats plus vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, all helping to reduce heart disease risk, lower cholesterol and control weight. An average serve (30g) of mixed nuts provides about 20% of the recommended daily requirement of vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant. It also appears that moderate nut consumption is not a threat to weight gain because of their energy burning affects and ability to satisfy hunger.

Eggs – Once eliminated from diets due to cholesterol concerns, eggs are now recognised as nutritional powerhouses. Along with other nutrients, they can contribute up to a third of the daily requirement for iodine, essential for healthy thyroid function and maintenance of metabolic rate. Unless you are sensitive to the cholesterol in eggs, an egg a day is acceptable.

Milk – Often cast out of weight loss diets, dairy products are now acknowledged as assisting weight management. In population studies, the lowest consumers of dietary calcium tend to weigh the most and the highest consumers, weigh the least. Researchers are busy looking for the mechanisms by which dairy foods exert fat loss benefits.

Fish oil – In the 1990’s, a claim that taking a capsule of fat helps fat burning would be met with extreme scepticism. However, recent studies show that high-end fish and fish oil consumers may have a fat burning advantage. The studies show that the long-chain fatty acids in fish oil may enhance cellular membrane function to help release more stored body fat, particularly when combined with exercise.

Dark chocolate – Emerging studies suggest that eating small amounts of dark chocolate daily, say 25g or two small squares, can help improve blood pressure and cholesterol level. The antioxidants in the cocoa, which are more concentrated in the 70% and 85% dark chocolate, are believed to offer the benefits. Just remember that in this case more is not better!

Processed food CAN be nutrient-rich

Just because a food might be nutrient-rich does not mean those nutrients are available to our body. Together with the concept of nutrient density comes the ‘bioavailability’ of the nutrients. For example, the calcium in dairy products is absorbed better than the calcium in spinach which is bound up in the food.

Although processed foods tend to be less nutritious than their fresh counterparts, there are a few exceptions. For example, folate in the form of folic acid in breakfast cereals is more bioavailable than the folate found naturally in asparagus and other folate-rich vegetables.

Similarly, you will get more of the antioxidant lycopene from a can of tomato paste than from raw tomatoes. If you heat the paste in oil you will further enhance the release of lycopene into your body. Of course, choose a low-salt option for tomato paste.

Nutrient-rich snacks for people on the run

Too busy to think about nutrient-rich foods? Then try some of these power-packed snacks to help you through your day.

Berry smoothie – antioxidants and calcium
Mixed nuts and seeds – monounsaturated fats and vitamin E
Canned salmon – omega-3 fish oils
Natural yoghurt – beneficial bacteria and calcium

Your new nutritional mantra

Nutrient-rich eating is more than a healthy recommendation, it is a guiding philosophy that can communicate your true food values. If every time you plan a meal or snack you demand a nutrient-rich experience, then you will automatically choose wholesome foods. This will keep you in good shape for life - exactly what your body deserves.

Matt O’Neill is a top Australian nutritionist and regular on Channel 7’s Sunrise program. You can subscribe to Matt’s free email newsletter, download useful tools or enrol in a course at his website at www.SmartShape.com.au

by Catherine Saxelby

Energy or vitality?

Do you want more energy?  Want to bounce out of bed in the morning? Need to power through your Inbox? That’s what all frantic overworked people want, isn’t it? Energy and lots of it! Yet that’s not what is meant by the word ‘energy’ when it’s listed on a food pack.

As a nutritionist, I hate the word ‘energy’. These days it’s everywhere on energy drinks, energy bars, B vitamin pills and even breakfast cereals that claim ‘carbs for energy’ as if there was something magical about their cereal.

The problem is that the term ‘energy’ has two meanings. Tired people seeing ‘energy’ on a food pack think it will give them more ‘vitality’ and ‘vigour’ of the sort associated with the ‘high energy’ lifestyles promoted in the media.

To a science-based person, however, ‘energy’ means something completely different. It refers to the fuel value supplied by food and diets and burned by activities.

Kilojoules and calories

These are the units used to measure food energy - kilojoules (abbreviated to kJ) and Calories (Cals). Kilojoules are the metric units that have replaced Calories, e.g. a bowl of cereal supplies 480 kilojoules or 117 Calories.

A ‘high energy’ food (seemingly positive) simply means it’s high in kilojoules (not so positive), something to avoid if we’re sedentary or overweight. Chocolate bars are often promoted as ‘high energy’ together with images of athletes sprinting, running a marathon or doing push-ups. If that’s what you do with your day, then you need high kilojoules. If you’re a tired office worker getting little or no exercise then you definitely don’t! In reality, ‘high energy’ means high kilojoules – around 1090 kilojoules or 265 Calories for an average 60 gram bar. You’d have to jog 30 minutes to burn off the energy.

Energy drinks - are they just caffeine or will they boost your energy?

‘Energy drinks’ is another misleading term for the processed, coloured, flavoured caffeinated drinks sold at night clubs and workplaces. The ‘boost to energy’ from these comes from their caffeine and sugar – simple! Caffeine is an effective aid to both mental and physical performance. We love it because it decreases our perception of fatigue and increases alertness. But if you’re not active, beware of all that sugar.

How to get more vitality

Vitality comes from a balanced lifestyle which includes:

•    Steering clear of so-called ‘high energy’ - high kilojoule - foods which weigh you down, not pick you up!

•    Eating a balanced diet - wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, nuts - that gives you the vitamins and minerals you need.

•    Exercising – it clears out the cobwebs, releases endorphins and renews your enthusiasm for life.

•    Being positive (depressed people often have little energy)

•    Getting enough sleep

•    Little or no alcohol

•    Having a passion or purpose in life

•    Listening to energising music

•    Eating lightly – especially late in day

•    Doing some fun, silly things every so often.

The bottom line

If you’re tired and are craving more ‘energy’, chances are your life is somewhat unbalanced. A little more sleep, a little more exercise and more fresh foods are the answer not energy drinks and energy bars. Remember there’s energy (vitality and vigour) and there’s energy (empty kilojoules)! Choose the former not the latter.

Catherine Saxelby is a nutritionist and author of Nutrition for Life. Visit her website www.foodwatch.com.au for more ideas on healthy eating.

by Catherine Saxelby

The unhealthier sex?

Health statistics reveal that women complain of ill-health and are in hospital more often than men, yet men’s health is definitely poorer than women’s. Consider these male-female differences:

•    Men suffer more from heart disease, lung disease, high blood pressure and bowel cancer than women.
•    Men have higher rates of suicide and self-injury than women.
•    Men die on average six years earlier than women - life expectancy for men is 75, while for women it is 81 years.
•    Men consult doctors less, take less responsibility for their health and are much less likely to be prescribed antidepressants than women.
•    Most alcoholics are men and men are seven times as likely as women to be arrested for drink driving.
•    Around 60% of Aussie blokes are overweight compared to fewer than 50% of women. Male fat tends to be distributed around the abdomen (the “apple” shape), which is far more dangerous than the female distribution on hips and thighs (the “pear” shape). Abdominal fat is linked with an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.
•    Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men (killing four times the number of men than women with cervical cancer), yet little is known about its origins and there is no national screening program.

Men often know little about eating the right foods (having always considered it the domain of their mothers or wives) and this is taking its toll on their wellbeing as well as their families. This is because male preferences often dictate what the whole households eats, according to a recent Australian study. It reports that many wives are reluctant to experiment with recipes or to reduce the fat in meals because of complaints from the male of the house. Children frequently copy Dad, making it even harder for health-conscious mothers.

Ten ways to improve your nutrition

So how can males improve their eating habits and feel better?
1.    Take an interest in nutrition and what’s what in healthy eating.
2.    Trim the fat from your steaks and steer clear of sausages and fatty chops.
3.    Heap your plate with green vegetables – potatoes aren’t the only vegetable.
4.    Moderate your alcohol intake.
5.    Set a good example to your children. Eat your vegetables and salad – and look as if you’re enjoying them!
6.    Taste your food before salting it.
7.    Eat plenty of fibre to keep your bowel in good order – porridge oats, bran cereals, baked beans, grain toast, nuts and vegetables.
8.    Eat fish two or three times each week.
9.    Be prepared and pack a sandwich or leftovers so you don’t have to rely on fast food.
10.    Take cooking classes or invest in a basic cookbook so you can whip up easy meals such as an omelette, stir-fry with vegetables, a roast, vegetable soup and a good curry. It’s not that hard – and everyone will think you’re wonderful!

Catherine Saxelby is an accredited nutritionist and author of 9 books including Nutrition for Life. For more tips and ideas, go to her website at www.foodwatch.com.au

- without going into withdrawal

By Catherine Saxelby

Overdoing the caffeine? Living from coffee to coffee? Can’t get going in the morning without your java fix? Sipping a cappuccino or short black is a common way for busy people to recharge your batteries or even wake up. But what do you do when it gets to be too much?

Like you, I too enjoy a coffee out – that aroma and adrenalin hit is just wonderful. Plus it’s a great way to catch up with friends or colleagues. Especially when you’re pressed for time.

But the caffeine trap is a slow insidious one. You start out sipping a short black in the morning. Then one day, you realise you need four of them just to get through your day (or 10 instant coffees), as one of my friends discovered. May as well put in a coffee drip!

How much is too much?

The side effects? Well, some people never notice any – that is, until they have to go without. Say if you go camping or have to fast for a blood test. Then you hit caffeine withdrawal. Been there, ain’t pleasant.

You get the massive never-goes-away headache and the incredible tiredness. Lasts for a couple of days but it’s bad enough to send you screaming back for a coffee fix remedy (which works quickly and effectively).

Other people get warning signs from caffeine habituation, which is what the experts call that addictive quality of caffeine – they pull up short from using the actual word ‘addiction’.

If you’ve got any of these symptoms:
• insomnia
• upset stomach
• heartburn
• too-rapid heartbeats (tachycardia),
• mind always in overdrive
• irritability
• over-anxious (‘coffee jitters’)
• frequent urination

you can be fairly sure it means too much caffeine.

For me, two coffees in a row is enough caffeine to get my heart beating seriously. And my stomach unhappy. I don’t go there anymore.

What amount is safe?

Caffeine acts on the central nervous system, speeding up the heartbeat and rate of breathing, dilating blood vessels and relaxing smooth muscles. It boosts alertness and concentration and overcomes the perception of fatigue – key reasons for its enduring popularity in our fast-pace world.

Most of us can handle around 300mg of caffeine a day without problems. This translates to 4 or 5 cups of instant coffee or 3 shots of espresso (one latte, short black or cappuccino all start with a shot).

Kick the habit in four gradual steps

If you figure you’re a caffeine junkie or you cut want to cut back, here’s how to do it. Don’t go cold turkey. The headache is a killer, believe me. Cut back on caffeine gradually – one less cup day by day - to allow your body to adapt. It’s the only way to go.

1. Start on a weekend or on holidays when you won’t be under pressure. Begin by dropping your afternoon coffee or energy drinks. Have your last one by 4pm so you sleep well. Instead switch to
• decaf coffee
• regular tea, which has one-half to one-third the caffeine.
• a herbal infusion, especially after dinner when you’re looking for a good night’s sleep. If you think you’ll look like a sissy, how about a rooibus (red tea) instead? It tastes almost like tea but has no caffeine.

2. Aim to cut your overall intake by half. You don’t have to give up coffee entirely (thank goodness), just enough to reduce the side effects, depending on your sensitivity.

3. Switch to lower caffeine options:
Soft drink instead of energy drink
Tea or rooibus instead of coffee (tea, both green and black, has around half to one-third the caffeine of coffee – a good lower caffeine option)
Try a coffee substitute (made from roasted barley, chicory or dandelion root eg Caro, Ecco, Dandelion tea)

4. Don’t overlook guarana. It’s just another plant that’s a source of caffeine. Yes, it’s natural but then so are coffee beans and tea leaves. Yerba mate is another drink high in caffeine.

Catherine Saxelby is an accredited nutritionist and author of 9 books including Nutrition for Life. For more tips and ideas, go to her website at www.foodwatch.com.au

Energy and Water

by Tom Buckley

Energy is our currency to alertness and better performance, but what exactly is energy? Energy is defined as the body’s ability to perform work. Human energy is measured as Kilojoules (or kilocalories) and may be scientifically defined as the ability to raise the temperature of one litre of water by 1 degree. Another way to think of energy is the ability to “do”.

The human body is a mass of living cells suspended in a medium of water. Each of these cells requires energy to carry out (or do) their designated roles within the body. For example, the heart cells job is to beat and push oxygen to needy organs and the brain cells main job is to transmit impulses while awake and importantly while sleeping.

In order for cells to function optimally, a stable internal environment is required. This stable internal environment is known as homeostasis. Haemostatic balance is maintained by adequate ventilation and perfusion of blood to bodily organs that is partially related to our hydration status. The chain of reactions involving energy production and usage is known as energy metabolism. In order for energy metabolism and homeostasis to be maintained cells require a stable body temperature (around 37oC), adequate fuel (approximately 1 k/calories per Kg/hour under normal conditions) and adequate hydration (approximately 1-2 mls/kg/hour). All of these factors have been scientifically linked to better energy, health and wellbeing and cannot be ignored.

Keeping a balance between catabolism (breaking down molecules) and building up molecules (anabolism) is important in the pursuant of daily performance. Energy balance can be summarized as follows: Input + production = utilization and output. In other words, your output is directly related to your dietary intake and your ability to produce energy. This does not come naturally to most and we have to work at training our bodies to be able to maximally use the nutrition we consume to reach our maximal alertness and energy levels. Monitoring our daily energy levels and stepping on the scales regularly are simple ways to help keep a check on the input: output side of things. However, knowing how much fluid to take daily, something that is so dependent on not just your activity, but environmental factors such as the temperature not to mention individual requirements.

Here are a few simple tips to help you keep on top of fluids through out the day:
• Pay attention: thirst begins when the concentration of blood, an indicator of our state of hydration, rises by less than two percent. To prevent dehydration, do not ignore thirst – it’s your cue to “fluid up”. Also remember, feelings of thirst can be interpreted as feelings of hunger.
• Watch your urine colour: the darker the urine – the more likely it is that your heading towards dehydration. Also, notice how often you need to pass urine. In the absence of any medical conditions, once a day is very little where as ten times a day is a bit much.
• Don’t let hydration be accidental: be conscious about how much you drink. Left to chance – chances are your not drinking enough.
• Remember it doesn’t have to be water: fluid is fluid, whether it’s in soup, tea or soaked up in a rice dish, once it gets absorbed…its still fluid.

So drink up and recharge!

Tom Buckley a University lecturer and researcher in the field or Health Sciences whose doctoral studies focused on physiological responses to stress. Author of several peer reviewed publications and supporting author of Flip the Switch, his current research interests are in human factors related to performance and wellbeing

By Catherine Saxelby

When you’re busy and feel overloaded, nothing picks you as quickly as a quick cup of tea. Now there’s new research to prove that tea out-guns coffee when it comes to lifting your mental performance and overcoming fatigue throughout the day.

Your grandmother would have told you what I’m about to say - there’s something about tea that refreshes and helps you relax and revive!

Honestly whenever I feel a little ‘worn out’ or in need of a break, I love a cup of good old-fashioned tea. English Breakfast with a shot of milk is the favourite brew but I’m also partial to a delicate Ceylon and most things herbal like lemon and ginger or anything with a little peppermint.

For years, scientists have been puzzling on what it is about tea that recharges your batteries. They knew tea contained modest levels of caffeine - around half or a third of what’s in coffee - but the lift you get was not simply a caffeine effect, as powerful a brain stimulant as caffeine is (and one of the key reasons we love our java).

One experiment in the 90s had volunteers consume three hot beverages and then take a maths test requiring concentration, memory and focus (something all of us would dearly love each morning!). Those who drank hot water with added pure caffeine fared better than those who just drank a cup of hot water (the control group). But those who sipped the tea outperformed the rest. So the researchers concluded - there was something else in tea apart from its caffeine.

New findings about tea

Now researchers believe they have found the answer. It’s a natural amino acid called theanine (pronouced thee-ah-neen) that virtually unique to tea. It works on our brain to enable us to stay alert yet relaxed. It’s a different feeling to that jolt of adrenalin we get from a strong coffee. It lets you pay attention to the task in front yet still take in what else is happening around you without overstimulation.

A recent Australian review, conducted by Dr Janet Bryan from the University of South Australia, has analysed the findings from 15 peer-reviewed studies on the benefits of theanine and caffeine in tea and how they work together.

It reveals that tea, consumed regularly throughout the day, can help maintain alertness, attention and accuracy, and soften the more acute negative effects of higher doses of caffeine.

The caffeine-theanine combo

It seems that tea’s combination of a low level of caffeine and the theanine is the key.

Tea has caffeine, but in low doses, and the combination of that with the theanine, has an effect on the performance of complex tasks such as switching attention and being able to ignore distraction – tasks that may be hindered by overstimulation and which are important tasks for today’s hectic lifestyle.

In contrast, a high dose of caffeine, like the spike you get from coffee, actually appears to hinder alertness in the long run.

The report indicated that tea is significantly associated with lower perceived fatigue than coffee. The theanine in tea exerts slow and constant effects resulting in a relaxed yet alert state of mind.

More health benefits from tea

The advantages of tea don’t just stop at brain power. Don’t forget that tea, both green and black, is a healthy way to stay hydrated. Tea has 4 top health benefits. It:

1. is a great source of antioxidants known as flavonoids. Antioxidants help maintain healthy cells and tissues by reinforcing our body’s natural defence system and may slow the ageing process and ward off cancer.

2. contains virtually no kilojoules or calories when drunk on its own (without milk or sugar).

3. keeps your heart and blood healthy - there is a link between regular tea consumption and heart health. Drinking three cups of tea per day may decrease the risk of heart problems by 11 per cent.

4. helps you cut back on caffeine overall so you get a good night’s sleep and avoid the “coffee jitters” (irritability and shakiness if you overdo the caffeine).

Catherine Saxelby is an accredited nutritionist and tea lover. She has worked for the tea industry and Liptons over the past 10 years. For more tips and ideas, go to her website at www.foodwatch.com.au