In Defense of Tea.

I like being LDS. There are a lot of great things about being LDS. I got to marry my sweetheart in the temple for time and all eternity, so how could I NOT like being LDS?

The one thing I dislike about being LDS, is not being able to drink tea. I struggle with it almost daily. In our religion, we have something called the Word of Wisdom, which is basically a set of dietary strictures... i.e., no smoking, no alcohol, no coffee, and no tea.

I LOOOOOOOOOVE TEA. I've always had herbal tea on hand, but around high school I started drinking the legitimate stuff. Black tea, green tea, and chai. Chai is my no. one weakness.

Here's the thing (and I sure hope this isn't blasphemy): I feel like the Word of Wisdom is maybe a little outdated when it comes to caffeinated drinks (RedBull and Monster, anyone?). I find sodas much more offensive than teas. I am not a morning person by a mile, and I would love to drink a cup of coffee or a cup of tea to give my brain cells a little jumpstart. No one in their right mind wants to drink Coke or Pepsi with their morning toast.

And, for the record, sodas are much more unhealthy than any tea. High fructose corn syrup, preservatives, chemicals that you could dissolve a dead body in...yep, you're putting that into your body. As opposed to antioxidants, vitamins, and a plethora of good things (that are at least found in tea, I'm not 100% sure about coffee)!

I do drink Coke, and I drink it a lot more frequently now than I used to. I don't like it. I don't like the way it makes my body feel, I don't like the burn that crawls up my spinal cord into my brain from the carbonation, but I'm so caffeine deprived that I just drink it anyway. And I've actually started to enjoy it, which tells me I'm drinking too much of it.

Nothing makes me feel better than a good iced chai in the summer; or a nice warm green tea in the winter. I only survived last May Term with two classes back to back (6 hours of death) because my friend would bring me strong, Armenian black tea. I'll fess up, I didn't feel like I was committing a major sin by drinking tea (maybe I am, I guess I'll find out someday). I felt a lot better when I drank tea than when I drink soda, especially afterward.

My husband in particular discourages the tea-drinking. I have a stash of red tea up in my cupboard, though, and probably some chamomile (both teas have no caffeine and no tannins, so that is my defense). I still do drink chai made from red tea, but I do miss the blunt spiciness of the black tea chai.

I believe in tea. At least, I believe that compared to Coke, it's the smarter option. Heck, it even tastes better than coke (especially the green tea that has spearmint in it--YUM). As for the Word of Wisdom, well, hope springs eternal in my heart. Tea > Other caffeinated drinks like pop.

& That is elementary.