Rooibos Tea as a Sports Drink - from Royal-T

  • Royal Rooibos Tea for Sports

Recently the people at Royal T wanted us to know that Rooibos tea is an effective upgrade to commercial sports drink.
Their original article is here ルイボスティーは天然のスポーツドリンク in Japanese .

However to understand the article they've provided this English version....

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Rooibos Tea the Natural Sports Drink

Do you know anyone still drinking Pocari Sweat, Aquarius and other popular sports drinks?
If so you might want to tell them about Rooibos, an amazing thirst quencher, mineral rich and natural sports drink. Popular sports drinks are mostly made with sugars to support the muscles with energy, artificially added electrolytes, flavourings, colourings and other chemicals. They aren’t exactly healthy. Rooibos tea however is already known as a health drink, but more recently athletes and sports teams are recognising its use in sports performance and recovery.

Here’s a few reasons why:

Antioxidants
Full of antioxidants Rooibos Tea is already known as an anti-cancer drink as it protects our cells from damage caused by stress. When we exercise these same antioxidants protect our cells from damage caused to muscles and cell waste created by energy burned.

Ion/Mineral Rich Electrolytes
In addition to being a refreshing drink with a rich flavour (no need for artificial flavourings),  Rooibos is naturally packed with minerals including the same key electrolytes which are added to sports drinks, and are lost when exercising. It is the loss of these electrolytes that some believe is the cause of muscle cramps. Often promoted as ‘ions’ this marketing term simply means the electrolytes which the body uses in exercise. And it is the minerals in Rooibos which makes it such a superior sports drink. Rooibos provides and replenishes the same essential nutrients required for, and used up in exercise and more.

Below are the significant minerals in Rooibos for sports and how they help the body:

  • Iron - Necessary for transporting oxygen in the blood.
  • Potassium - Essential in the generation of the electrical impulses that allow muscles and the brain to function.
  • Calcium - Necessary for strong teeth and bones.
  • Copper - Prevents aging and important in energy production.
  • Zinc - Essential for cell growth, a strong immune system and wound healing.
  • Magnesium - Necessary for nerve and muscle function.
  • Manganese - Necessary for healthy cells and bones.
  • Sodium - Necessary for fluid balance.

Most Sports drink only concentrate on sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. But Manganese, copper and zinc are also known to have significant roles in body function and performance. Iron is already known as important for general health with many people not regularly getting enough. As athletes use more iron by exercising anyway, it’s an important mineral to have more of.

Anti-Inflammatory
Previous research has shown that rooibos possesses anti-inflammatory properties. Studies are currently underway to investigate the anti-inflammatory benefits of rooibos in aiding recovery from exercise. This is great for relieving the muscle soreness after exercise and getting your body recovered in time for the next work out.

Versatility
The great thing with Rooibos as a sports drink is it can be taken as a hydrating drink for lighter workouts when the body doesn’t require additional sugar to power the muscles, or with added natural sugars, such as honey, for heavy and high intensity exercise.
 

Great value and easy to make
With all these great benefits Rooibos Tea does more than any popular sports drink, is entirely natural and significantly cheaper to brew and make yourself. The amount of Rooibos Tea you can brew vs a regular sports drink is significant.

For example, with organic Royal-T, you can make 1 litre of tea with only 2 tea bags. Ice tea is best because you can store it in the fridge for when you need it.

Simply:

  • Fill up a jug with boiling water, add two tea bags and brew for more than 5 minutes. Rooibos is generally better when brewed longer anyway so you can’t go far wrong leaving the bags in a bit longer.
  • Remove the bags, and let the tea cool.
  • When cool, transfer to a bottle or container and store it in the fridge until needed.
  • Drink it straight or add honey or a simple sugar when you need it for energy supply.

With 160 bags of Royal T available at around ¥1000 in Costco or online at Amazon, and a popular Sports Drinks selling at ¥600 as Powder for 10 liters of drink the price difference is huge.

1 x ¥600 pack of sports drink powder makes 10 liters = ¥60 per 1 liter.
1 x ¥1000 pack of Rooibos makes 80 liters = ¥12.5 per 1 litre.

More than worth the trouble to brew it yourself, plus you can drink it all through the day anyway as a normal delicious and healthy drink. And with Royal T Rooibos Tea you are guaranteed 100% organic, chemical and pesticide free rooibos powering your body!

So now knowing all this it won’t come as a surprise when you hear Rooibos not only as a health drink but also sports teams and athletes switching over to using Rooibos to increase performance and success.

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You can find out more from their brand website or seems if you google 'rooibos tea sports drink' there are plenty of other articles on the subject.

For the special offer from Royal-T for BEFC Members here's the article on our site:
http://www.britishembassyfootballclub.jp/news/general/special-offer-befc...