Tea, Yes; Sodas, No

Tea hasn't been called the "Wine of the South" without reason. Here in Texas (where we consider ourselves Southern when it suits us), tea has long been a staple in the kitchen. Usually, it's kept cold in the fridge, and served over ice in glasses. Lemon wedges on the side. And, the tea is sweet. Sweet tea is the general rule.

As for simple living, tea is a good idea. It's simple and smart. Filled with antioxidants, economical to make, and with stevia as the sweetener in lieu of granulated sugar, it's healthy for you and good on the budget. In competition with sodas, tea wins hands down. Green or black.

When the research is reviewed on the benefits of tea, and then compared to that compiled for sodas - which are rapidly becoming known as "liquid candy" - tea seems to be the optimal choice for home consumption.

My version: three big bags of decaffienated black tea combined with a three small bags of green tea (also, decaffienated) in a teapot, with a spoon or knife to take the heat; boiling water poured to the top and steeped for ten to twenty minutes; then, poured into a huge pitcher that has a lid, water added together with stevia to taste and some lemon juice, maybe a wedge or two. Lasts a couple of days.

'"Nuking" Food in Plastic Containers - Is It Dangerous?

While taking a "doggie-bagged" styrofoam container from the microwave, only to find a portion of the container has melded with the food, hopefully gives enough pause that this food isn't eaten, others argue no plastic containers should be trusted. Some argue that microwaves shouldn't be trusted, as well.

Microwave critics warn that the way that microwaves heat the food causes abnormalities at the food's cellular level, which lessens its nutritional value if not more. For more on this argument, visit mercola. com's collection of articles or read The Microwave News.

As for microwaving food in plastic, many criticize that the plastic containers contain chemicals such as dioxins (which are toxic) as well as others, like Bisphenol-A (which is a synthetic estrogen that may cause early menstruation in little girls). For more discussion on plastic containers, visit The Minnisota Daily's article, or dr.mercola's compilation of links.

What's the alternative? A toaster oven and a tea kettle work fine for me. I haven't noticed a loss of time since tossing my microwave, and I use glass instead of plastic whenever possible. I save the pickle jars, etc. and I find those one quart canning jars have 1000s of uses, in lieu of those disposable plastic storage options. I find the food tastes better coming from the toaster oven, and it's actually faster to boil water for tea in the kettle than it was to heat the mug in the 'wave.

Keeping Skin Elasticity As You Age

I've googled around and compiled a list of natural foods and/or supplements that help in keeping your skin taunt, or elastic, as you age.

They are: green tea; black tea; 100 mg/day of grape seed extract; cranberries; grapes; bilberry; and black current.

Why? Because they all contain proanthocyanidins, which help your body stabilize its collagen and keep two proteins critical to elasticity within connective tissue that support organs, joints, blood vessels, and muscle.

Sources: rxlist.com; vitacost.com; mothernature.com; wikipedia.com. Photo: Lon Chaney in costume, courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.