While Asia is a huge land mass that contains a wide variety of people, cultures, and cuisines, the Healthy Traditional Asian Diet Pyramid was ‘inspired by the cuisines of South and East Asia, including such countries as China, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and other related Pacific Rim areas.’

Undeniably, though, these healthy traditional dietary patterns have been disappearing due to the proliferation of fast food business establishments in the region.

The traditional Asian diet has plant food at its fundamental base. ‘Plant-based foods commonly consumed in Asia include rice and other grains, noodles, flatbreads, potatoes, fruits and vegetables (including sea vegetables), nuts, seeds, beans, various soy foods, other legumes, vegetable and nut oils, herbs and spices, and plant-based beverages including tea, wine and beer.’

Benchmarked on minimal processing and freshness of foods, the traditional Asian diet assures dietary fiber, antioxidants, and a host of micronutrients including vitamins and minerals.

Asian diet is ‘characteristically low in both saturated and total fat.’ It is also marked by the very minimal use of dairy products. Contrary to the concern that lack of dairy may lead to calcium deficiency, ‘the plant-based, dairy-free diets of much of Asia are associated with low incidence of osteoporosis.’

Additionally, new researches on black and green tea reveal the tea’s various antioxidant content. The drinking of these teas, a widely accepted Asian tradition, may ‘have contributed to the low rates of certain chronic diseases in the region.’

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Via Chet Day

If there is something that is common between people of all generations in Britain, it should be the act of dunking biscuits in tea before eating, though few would like to admit. The idea may seem inviting enough but it just isn’t chic enough to dunk your biscuit in to the tea cup though that is exactly what we all want to do.

Here is a way you can somehow add a little style and chic to the particular act. Dominic Skinner has designed the Dunk Mug which comes with space to keep your biscuits and you would not need a separate plate to keep all the biscuits. The mug may however make you like you are a habitual dunker and that you only drink tea with biscuits and by dunking them in.

These mugs are available in right and left handed versions and also in several colors. There is no information about the price but you could try getting it here. I am sure you would not regret the act of buying this wonderful mug.

In this fast moving world, everybody needs a break to pamper oneself once in a while. One thing that attracts me the most at the moment is Hitoma. It is a gigantic portable tea room and it has the ability to transform any ordinary room into the perfect tea or meditation retreat. We often neglect to focus on medication as we are too occupied with our daily routines.

Hitoma is originally dispatched from the Japan Brand Pop Up Shop and is currently available at NYC’s Felissimo till 30 May 2009. Besides the latest fashion accessories, kitchen props and home decor, which come straight from Japan, Hitoma is the centre of attraction. Hitoma literally signifies a room that is used to promote a time and place for relaxation. It is built using Kishu timber. It is a high quality cedar from the city of Gobo.

It is known for its extraordinary grain patterns and long life span. The sliding doors are covered in bamboo paper display calligraphy. The floor is covered by tatami mats. This tea room is developed by the Gobo Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It is retailed for $18,000. This is not a bad deal considering the serene features it has.

Via: CoolHunting\Hitoma

How would it be if you were to drink your morning tea with a shark in your tea cup? Well, I do not mean it literally but it’s very much possible to at least find a sharky tea-infuser in it (I am talking about the shape of the tea infuser!). This sharky tea infuser was invented by Pablo Matteoda. Apparently it won the 3rd prize at the Beyond Silver competition back at Noquedanblogs.

Although the shape looks good, it is rather skeptical that people would really appreciate it. After all it’s just a tea infuser and there is really nothing very special about this product. Your tea will still taste the same with or without this sharky tea infuser. There is nothing much in this product that it would generate copious attention from people. May be its shape will be able to draw attention from few people. I really do not understand the rationale behind this product. It appears to be very lame and uninteresting.

I doubt if you would be really bothered about having your tea with this sharky tea infuser. At least I cannot be bothered about it.

Via: DesignZen

Simple solutions seem to be the latest thing with our designer community. Well, didn’t we tell you about the Big Eye Needle yesterday, which is indeed a simplistic approach to a day to day problem for the past many many years. And now we have some wise fella take care of the half finished cup of coffe on your work desk. Confused? OK, let’s begin from the beginning.

With the winter already set in, we are surrounded by the characteristic joys as well as the expected troubles too. Many people talk about the former, which is why we choose to discuss the latter. So, don’t we just hate being disturbed when in a coffee or tea session because the beverage gets cold in a jiffy. A small problem that can really bring down your mood.

Not anymore. We just heard of the USB Gas Stove Cup Warmer that can be attached to the USB port of your PC, and voila…you still have that steaming cup of beverage. So no matter how busy you get with work, your coffee will be just as hot as you like it.

Like a regular gas stove, this one too comes in a compact size, with power button, flame-like LED and weighs just 154 g. By the way, make it yours at just $15.

Via geekalerts

We have all known how good it is to make sure we get our daily quota of tea. It is known to fight free radicals and has been proven to be a rich source anti-oxidants. A particular antioxidant in green tea called the EGCG has now been found to delay the onset of type 1 diabetes. The research was conducted by the Medical College of Georgia. Researchers studied green tea’s effect on Sjogren’s syndrome which damages moisture producing glands and results in dry eyes and mouth.

This helped researchers conclude that EGCG has a restraining power on type 1 diabetes too. The good thing about green tea is that EGCG is naturally available in it and does not cause any side-effects or harm bodily functioning and instead delays the onset of diabetes type 1.

Perhaps this would disappoint all the coffee lovers out there who continue to drink mug-loads of caffeine and ruin the system. Tea lovers and the ones that don’t like, can go ahead and drink that much needed cup of green tea everyday and help EGCG fight diabetes and other disorders.

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Via: ScienceDaily