Bites

Shoppers at some farmers markets are reportedly purchasing large quantities of the poppy seeds to brew tea — a drink that can offer a narcotic, possibly hallucinogenic, high.
Buyers have traditionally purchased poppy seeds for use on bakery products such as bagels and cakes, or for craft projects like dried flower arrangements.
When boiled in water, however, [...]

excerpted from Good Food From the Near East by Joan Rowland:

The pleasant custom of afternoon tea is one Western habit popular in Iraq. Water for tea is usually boiled in a brass or copper samovar. The fuel used is charcoal. The drink is served in wasp-waist glasses, or istikhans. A thick layer of sugar is [...]

Drinking hibiscus tea lowered blood pressure in pre-hypertensive and mildly hypertensive adults in a clinical trial at the Antioxidants Research Laboratory of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Mass.
The clinical trial tested 65 volunteers, aged 30 to 70 years, whose systolic blood pressure was 120 to [...]

A powerful antioxidant in green tea may prevent or delay the onset of type 1 diabetes, according to Medical College of Georgia researchers.
The discovery was made during tests of EGCG, green tea’s predominant antioxidant, in a laboratory mouse with type 1 diabetes and primary Sjogren’s syndrome, which damages moisture-producing glands, causing dry mouth and eyes.
“Our [...]

Why do drunks get belligerent. What is it about the brain-on-alcohol that makes fighting seem like a good idea? And do all intoxicated people get more aggressive? Or does it depend on the circumstances? University of Kentucky psychologists explored these questions on a group of young Kentucky men. They had Some of the [...]