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Last month, I wrote about Rewilding the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala, where rural villagers collect the ramón seed, an essential ingredient to Teeccino’s dark roasted blends. Wild forest conservation, along with rewilding areas that have been deforested by wildfire or illegal logging, is of great importance to Teeccino. Our wild ingredients depend upon intact wild ecosystems for their very existence.
The concept of rewilding the body comes from the realization that wild ingredients play a unique and vital role in our bodies. It’s the phytonutrients – compounds produced by plants that protect and nourish them so they can grow healthily despite often stressful or less-than-optimal conditions – that make wild ingredients so unique.
As our ancestors ate wild plants, our bodies and cells evolved to also use these phytonutrients for protection, nourishment and revitalization. Phytonutrients actually interact with our cellular metabolism, supporting a wide diversity of organisms that inhabit our microbiome and are responsible for many aspects of our health.
Since wild plants have to fight all kinds of adverse conditions to survive, they concentrate these phytonutrients in their cells for defense. Compared to cultivated plants, wild plants provide both higher levels and a greater diversity of these desirable nutrients. When we consume them, our health benefits from the extraordinary mechanisms that nature has designed to create optimal health.
Learn more about the wild-harvested ingredients in Teeccino and the role they play in your health.
Talking to our genes
An exciting revelation at the beginning of this century was that our health is not determined exclusively by our genes. As it turns out, only 30% of our health is determined by our genes but 70% is determined by how we live and what we eat. Lifestyle choices impact how our genes are expressed and this has been proven by studying people from the same genetic backgrounds who have vastly different outcomes in chronic diseases due to what they eat and how much they exercise.
The nutrients and phytonutrients in the food and beverages you consume talk to your genes. How can that be?
Dr. Jeffrey Bland, the scientist known as the father of functional medicine, explains in his book, The Disease Delusion, that this is the most significant scientific discovery in his career. He writes that “(Phytonutrients) bind to specific receptors on the cell’s surface, then translate their message into the cell via the kinase network, which takes specific information in the message to the appropriate specific regions in your genome to be read and expressed by your genes. Since different plants have different phytonutrients, they influence the kinase network in different ways.”
He goes on to explain that “…botanical medicines derived from plants can influence cellular function in different ways…and thus we humans eating those plant foods can reap the benefits of a range of protective capabilities built into the plants through evolution.”
Our ancestors ate a wide variety of wild plants and thus received numerous phytonutrients that were uniquely developed by each plant species. Our cells and microbiome await such a diverse group of phytonutrients to message them and direct their gene expression. Instead, however, the typical modern diet feeds us a limited variety of antioxidants, flavonoids, polysaccharides and other such phytonutrients that are coming from only the plant species that have been commercialized for agriculture.
Herbal beverages are the best source of wild plants for our consumption!
Unless you’re a forager, it’s likely that the only source of wild plants in your diet is coming from the herbal beverages you drink like Teeccino. You may be unaware of which herbs are cultivated and which are still wild. It actually surprised me when I delved into this subject to realize just how dependent we still are on wild herbs!
Here are some of the important wild herbs in Teeccino:
Carob pods
Wild harvested in the mountains surrounding the Mediterranean, carob tree pods are one of the main energy-boosting components in Teeccino. One of their rare phytonutrients called pinitol interacts with our cells to help them produce more energy. Carob pods are also high in various types of antioxidants including the same family of antioxidants that are found in green tea. All Teeccino blends contain roasted carob.
Ramon seeds
Falling from the upper canopy of the rainforest in Guatemala, these trees were once planted by the Maya around their cities because they used the seeds as a raw flour to blend with their corn flour. The Maya also drank a brew of the roasted seeds which they considered a nutritious beverage for pregnant women. Science has validated this traditional knowledge proving that they are high in many nutrients as well as antioxidants. Teeccino has pioneered the harvest of these seeds which brings income to families and especially women living in rural villages in the Maya Biosphere Reserve.
Dandelion root
Rich in minerals and digestion-stimulating bitters, dandelion roots are renowned for their detoxifying effects on the liver, kidneys and digestive tract. Although many companies buy cultivated dandelion roots from China, which are comparatively inexpensive, we buy the wild roots still harvested by collectors in certified organic forest meadows of Eastern Europe because we believe they have the most potent phytonutrients. Shop our Dandelion Collection
Cinnamon bark
Sustainably harvested from wild trees in the forests of Vietnam, this species of cinnamon is hot, spicy and sweet. Although the bark of the tree is removed during the harvest, the wood is then used for lumber. Groves of these trees are carefully managed and each season new ones are planted to be sure of a continual annual supply of trees ready for harvest. You can find this delicious ingredient in Teeccino Cordyceps Schisandra Cinnamon Berry.
Eleuthero root
Growing abundantly in the wilderness of Siberia, eleuthero roots come from a shrub that is a relative of ginseng and has similar adaptogenic health benefits. Both herbs promote strength and vitality while protecting the body from the effects of stress. Eleuthero is the original herb for which the term “adaptogen” was created, and it is valued by indigenous peoples as well as Russian and Chinese scientists alike. Shop Teeccino Reishi Eleuthero French Roast.
Rhodiola root
Another wild herb from Siberia, rhodiola roots are rarer than eleuthero and are now being protected from over-harvesting. Valued as an adaptogenic herb that helps balance the mood and support cognitive processing, Rhodiola also contains antioxidants that have been shown to speed recovery post exercise. Rhodiola rosea gets its botanical name from the scent of roses that its wild roots emit. This scent is the best way to make sure that the true rhodiola is being harvested. Shop Teeccino Lion’s Mane Rhodiola Rose
Ready to rewild your body?
Teeccino’s blend with the highest content of wild ingredients is Dandelion Dark Roast, featuring wild carob pods, dandelion root, and ramón seeds. Enjoy intense coffee notes without any sweetness, perfect for the coffee purist!
