【推荐2】Tea is an important part of Chinese tradition. With the development of Chinese society and economy, the scale of tea production has been increasing.     1     In turn, tea production promotes economic development and tea culture promotes social progress.

Tea has an extremely close relationship to Chinese culture. And its study covers a wide field and has very rich content.     2     There is no doubt that it is beneficial to improve people’s social quality and artistic taste.

The original idea is credited to the legendary Emperor Shennong. He is said to have lived 5.000 years ago.     3     He required that all drinking water be boiled as a health precaution. A story goes that one summer day, while visiting a distant part of his kingdom, he and the court stopped to rest. According to his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from a nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown substance was injected into the water. As a scientist, the Emperor was interested in the new liquid, drank some, and found it very refreshing.     4    

Drinking tea offers numerous benefits. It refreshes the mind, clears heat within the human body and helps people lose weight. As you add a cup of tea to your daily routine, it is suggested that you drink while it is hot to get the best out of tea. Its nutrients decrease over time.     5     Do not drink tea soon after or before meals. Otherwise, when your stomach is empty, it may hold back appetite, or when your stomach is full, it may cause indigestion (消化不良).

【推荐2】I do my best to educate my kids to eat healthy food. I teach them how to read labels, what to look for on packaging, and how certain foods affect their growing bodies. But my kids are also like most other children—they love junk food.

My ten-year-old son Zack is very aware of his body and how food affects him. This past summer Zack was invited to a camping trip. He left on Friday and came home on Sunday morning. On Saturday night, Zack ate a lot of food...and junk food...and who knows what else. He went to bed at 11:00 p.m. and at around 1:30 a.m. Zack threw up in the tent. It was his body telling him that it didn’t like what he ate that day.

Recently, Zack and I were asked to speak to an audience of more than 200. I spoke about Unjunk Your Junk Food and Zack spoke about his appreciation of our book and how it has impacted his life as a ten-year-old child.

I asked Zack to write his own speech because I wanted what he said to come straight from his heart.

Here’s his speech:

“Today I’m going to talk to you about my mom’s book, Unjunk Your Junk Food. It’s a great book, but I’m a little disappointed that my favorite type of candy is in it, Twizzlers. I realized that it’s bad after reading the book, so I don’t eat it anymore.

I saw the movie Super Size Me and I realized that junk food, especially fast food, is really unhealthy, and I won’t ever go to McDonald’s.

I brought my mom’s book to school, and my mom even gave presentations to many classes, including mine. Well you guys can do the same thing and show people the book at your work and schools, and give them tips on eating healthy food.

Thanks for listening.”

While not all children have as much reaction to junk food as Zack, it’s clear that the human body doesn’t work as its prime(全盛时期) when we give it this type of food. It’s important to me that my children eat a healthy diet and limit their exposure to the food that isn’t good for them, and the best way for them to do that is for me to teach them about making healthy choices. While I fill my home with healthy options, it’s wonderful to see my son now come to realize, on his own, that the choices he makes affect the way he feels.

【推荐3】What we consume has a direct impact on our physical and mental well-being. Food is, after all, fuel, so it makes sense to eat foods that will nourish us and keep us slim.If you want to lose weight, here are some recommendations.

This is everyone’s favorite vegetable. Broccoli is high in fiber and calcium, making it an excellent weight-loss veggie. Broccoli is high in Vitamin C, which helps to speed up the fat-burning process and lower stress, making weight loss a breeze.

When we wish to add something high in fiber and beta carotene to our diet, carrots and weight loss go hand in hand. Carrots can be found in salads, sandwiches, soups, and even fresh carrot juice.

The high fiber content aids bile secretion, which aids weight loss. It is a low-calorie vegetable that can be prepared in a variety of ways.

Have you ever tried all of the different colored bell peppers?If not, now is the time to start and improve your weight-loss routine. These vibrant meals are low-calorie vegetables high in vitamin C, which helps to regulate stress hormones.

Stress hinders weight loss by accumulating fat, but by including bell peppers in your diet, you can keep your hormones in check.

“When you lose weight, you don't eat potatoes.” For a long time, we believed in a myth.

When fried, potatoes are unhealthy, but when boiled or chilled, they are fat cutters and aid in the reduction of obstinate belly fat!

As vegetables that are low in calories but high in nutrients,potatoes are high in magnesium, which helps to avoid bloating and balance sodium levels in the body.