What is the Four Hour Body?
The Four Hour Body is a book written by Tim Ferriss that uses the data from hundreds of athletes, MD’s and his own experimentation to develop a comprehensive book that incorporates physical health, fitness, nutrition, and self-improvement.
What are the diet and nutrition aspects of the Four Hour Body?
The dietary recommendations have been discussed by others and aren't new, but a lot of it is confirmed by other respected scientists.
Broadly speaking, the diet portion of this plan follows a Slow Carb Diet which discourages or limits the consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates such as bread, rice, pasta, sugar, and most dairy. It focuses on lean proteins, beans, legumes and cruciferous vegetables like spinach and broccoli. Fruit is limited with the exception of tomatoes, citrus and some avocados.
Another important aspect is setting schedules of when and how often you should eat. Additional segments go over balancing your gut bacteria and lowering blood sugar.
While the diet mainly focuses on eating whole foods, there are some supplement recommendations.
Knowing the dietary guidelines may be challenging, which is why it incorporates a mandatory ‘cheat day’ to splurge on ANYTHING.
Four Hour Body Hydration
Now we get to the liquid part of the book - hydration. Your fluids should be as simple as possible. Water, unsweetened coffee, unsweetened tea and perhaps a glass of wine. NOTHING ELSE.
The good news is that there are plenty of specific teas that can be incorporated into the four-hour body. Tea is a great way to get proper hydration along with numerous additional benefits that tea brings.
Because green tea is not oxidized, it has higher concentration of certain anti-oxidants known at catechins, the most powerful being EGCG. Green tea also is a natural metabolism booster. Green tea also stimulates T-cell production, making it an ideal immune booster.
Black tea is often considered the go-to drink for energy because of the higher levels of caffeine versus green. But there are some other options. Yerba Mate and Guayusa are caffeinated herbal teas that can provide as much energy as coffee.
A fermented tea from Yunnan, China and a favorite of Tim Ferriss, it has long been associated with improved digestion and lowering of cholesterol. Recent studies also shows that Pu-erh tea helps control blood sugar levels. Pu-erh has less caffeine than black tea and has a unique earthy character. Even though Pu-erh tea is fermented, it is not a “live” probiotic tea, unlike Kombucha.
KOMBUCHA
Kombucha is a beverage created from tea leaves and allowed to ferment just like beer or sauerkraut. It is hen bottled and consumed fresh, providing you with beneficial active bacteria. One key thing to be aware of is to make sure the brand you purchase does not put in lots of added sugar (sometimes in the way of fruit juice).
Hibiscus is known for its ability to control blood sugar, and there are numerous teas which contain hibiscus.
Known to lower the glycemic response by up to 29%, there are many teas that contain cinnamon pieces.
Four Hour Body Tea Recommendations
Any green tea will be beneficial, but if you are just starting out, Apple Ginger and Goji Berry Blueberry Pomegranate offer great taste and forgiving brewing.
ENERGY TEAS – Happy / Trugrit / Sharp Mind
These teas all contain either Guayusa or Yerba Mate. Trugrit and Sharp Mind were based on Tim Ferriss’ Titanium tea recipe which is a variety of different teas along with other beneficial ingredients to provide a balanced tea-centric natural energy beverage.
Like green tea, we recommend crowd favorites like Scottish Caramel, Superfruit and Java Bean to get you on the Pu-erh journey. While they look black to the eye, there is no bitterness or astringency found in black teas.
We like Raspberry Lemon Verbena or any of our Fruit Tisanes, such as Casablanca. Unlike fruit juice, you aren’t consuming any of the fruit sugars when you have a fruit tisane.
Herbal teas that are heavy on cinnamon include Anti-Strain, Comfort Chaga and Honeybush Cider.
"First and foremost I am not a tea aficionado. I was given a brown betty and tea samples as a thank you from someone whom I greatly respect. I bought a water kettle with all the bells and whistles to brew correctly. I am a fan of biohacking (Dave Asprey, Tim Ferris). I came across info regarding the benefits of Kenyan purple tea and began looking into it. I know distance athlete that espouses drinking yerba mate. So when I came across this site through the web search, I thought I would try Sharp Mind. Excellent flavor, no crash, cannot say enough good things. TRY IT." -William W.
Teas to Avoid
#1 - Southern Sweet Tea
We've been advocates for reduced sugar intake and southern sweet tea is probably the worst tea you can possibly drink. Why? Because it has jaw dropping amounts of sugar. Southern Sweet tea recipes call for 2-3 cups of sugar to be added to 3-4 cups of water prior to brewing tea. A serving of this tea can easily reach 80-100 grams of sugar. With daily added sugars recommended to be no more than 25-36 grams (depending on if you are a man or a woman) this tea exceeds that amount and then some.
#2 - Bottled, Sweetened Iced Tea
While there are more options than ever, beware of any pre-sweetened iced tea, Why? Sugar is often a main component and exceeds the daily recommended amounts.
#3 - Instant Tea
Found in ready to drink iced tea mixes, but also used in some bottled beverages, these teas are the bottom of the barrel in terms of quality, and often come from regions of the world with high levels of pollution. Sugar is also a problem in many of these products. There are so many better ways to make good iced tea using a dedicated iced tea maker.
#4 - Teas treated with BC30
BC30 is a probiotic product added to foods that allow the components to survive under high heat conditions. The science of eating probiotics this way is unproven, and the cost is much higher. There are more effective and cheaper ways to improve gut health.
#5 - Big brand/store brand teas
The problem with any over the counter big brand tea is that they are often produced in such large quantities, that identifying the source of the tea is not easy. For something that has such potential health benefits, it's better to buy tea from a reputable tea vendor that has close contacts with their sources.
#6 - Mega online merchants
It's easy and convenient to buy anything from the big super sites, but there are certain areas we would recommend buying directly from a smaller vendor versus a big website like Amazon. In some cases, you won’t be sure who the vendor is exactly. Additionally, merchants who sell both through their online store and a big retailer will have BETTER pricing on their home websites because they don't pay the fees with big name sites.
Buying direct will also usually provide you with superior customer service and have more details on the ingredients and tea sourcing.
#7 - Gimmicky teas on Instagram or Facebook
Let's face it, there are so many ways companies need to market things. If you see a tea or tea product being advertised on social media, be very careful. Is this just a marketing company using models and celebrity endorsements? Or is it an actual tea company that has some credibility?
#8 Green Tea Extract / Green Tea Pills
Some people see this as a short cut to get all the health benefits of green tea without even drinking it. Green tea extract is a highly refined, industrialized product. However, it is so concentrated that it can potentially cause severe side effects. We recommend drinking tea on its own, or drink Matcha.
#9 - Cheap Decaf Tea
Quality decaf tea or coffee usually costs 40% more than its caffeine containing counterpart. This is because they use the CO2 or water process to remove the caffeine, which doesn't alter the taste profile and keeps all the health benefits. If you see decaf tea or coffee that is priced very close to its caffeine containing cousin, beware as it uses the direct process, involving methyl chloride. It takes less time and is much cheaper to do it this way but requires an industrial chemical. We recommend avoiding this.
#10 - Bubble Tea
Bubble Tea, or Boba Tea, has gained popularity in the US in recent years. It is easy to see why; the milky-sweet nectar that you are handed is either loaded with popping boba or tapioca boba. The experience is one that offers different flavors, different textures, and a novel experience that cannot be understood unless tried.
However, despite these points, there is mounting evidence that the sugar content of this beverage can often be almost as high as that of the sweet tea. This does not even count the sugar added from the popping boba (flavored sugary syrup) or the tapioca boba (cornstarch, tapioca extract, and sugar), nor does it count the fat added from the whole milk that is normally used. In fact, this tea is often far more milk than it is tea! Many places that serve this also add an orange coloring to it, further increasing the health concerns associated with this beverage.