Louis van den Berg
Herbalife Instant Herbal Beverage (Tea)

What is in it?
What are the benefits?
How to use it and what does it taste like?
What is in it?
Herbalife's Instant Herbal Beverage or Tea as I like to call it seeing that it mostly contains Green and Black tea. But here is the full breakdown of what is in this amazing powder.
Orange Pekoe Tea - This has nothing to do with oranges it is a classification of black tea. Pekoe means that it is the youngest leaves before any oxidation can occur.
Benefits:
The major benefits of Orange Pekoe tea are that it contains a substance called Rutin which has antioxidants properties that counteract free-radicals that damages body tissue. This slows down ageing and research has shown that it decreases the chance of a heart attack and increases circulation. It also speeds up your metabolism which is great for weight loss.
Green Tea - Green Tea has some major advantages and contains a myriad of compounds like:
Polyphenols - Which reduces inflammation.
EGCG - This is the compound that gives Green Tea it's medicinal quality. It prevents free radicals from forming which damages body tissue. This compound has been researched and tested for years and is being used in treating a number of lifestyle diseases.
Caffeine - Unlike with most coffees the caffeine in green tea does not make you jittery, but research has found that it increases brain function like improving mood, vigilance, reaction time and memory.
L-theanine - It increases dopamine which reduces anxiety and increases the production of alpha waves.
Benefits:
Improves Brain Function - Research has found that there is a synergetic effect when combining L-theanine and Caffeine.
More energy for longer - The caffeine in green tea has a much milder effect than in coffee which gives you energy and improved brain function for longer and milder.
Fat Burning - Green tea not only helps with fat burning but research has found that it has a particular effect on belly fat. The research has found that it improves fat burning in men by up to 17%.
May help prevents Type 2 diabetes - A study done in Japan has found that Green Tea drinkers had a 42% lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
May prevent heart disease - A study has found that the antioxidants in green tea protect the LDL particles from oxidation. It also found that those who drink green tea regularly have a 31% lower risk of dying from heart disease.
Malva Flower - It is also more commonly known as the Common Mallow and has been used throughout the ages for its healing properties. This flower has a lot of other benefits too, but here are some of the main ones.
Benefits:
Immune system protection - Boost the immune system by preventing bacterial infections and other foreign agents to affect those wounded areas. This can also be achieved through the consumption of Malva sylvestris leaves, seeds, and supplements.
Anti-inflammatory Action - If you have experienced any insect bites, large bruises, sunburn, or rashes on your skin, a gel or poultice made of Common Mallow can be very effective for reducing inflammation and swelling, while also stimulating more rapid healing. When using the essential oil or ingested varieties of Common Mallow, you can also apply it to joints and aches.
Sleep Problems - Mallow plant extract can be found in a variety of numbing, insomnia, anxiety and stress medications, and even in the anaesthetics that dentists use. Various components of the plant help calm the nervous system and promote a sense of peace and relaxation. Research also demonstrated the effectiveness of mallow extract in the treatment of sleep disorders compared to the use of a drug similar to valium. If you suffer from sleep disorders and find it difficult to fall asleep at night, it is time to go out outdoors and pick some mallow to solve the problem. You can drink mallow tea before bedtime, or use the oil extracted from the plant.
Hibiscus flower - Tea made from Hibiscus flower has a slight tart tase but has some benefits with lower blood pressure, fight bacteria and weight loss.
Benefits:
Lower Blood pressure - Research has found in a study involving 65 participants with high blood pressure that it decreases blood pressure on average by 7.58 mmHg Systolic and 3.53 mmHg diastolic.
Fight bacteria - Test tube studies have found that compounds in Hybiscus flower fight 8 strains of bacteria including E.coli and was as effective as the main medications used today.
Weight loss - Studies were done on 36 obese patients have found that hibiscus flower has reduced their body fat and hip-to-waist ration significantly over the placebo group. A similar study in obese mice had the same outcome.
Cardamom Seeds - This seed is used as a spice and has an intense flavour that is lightly sweet some people compare it to mint.
Benefits:
May prevent cancer - The spice may also enhance the ability of natural killer cells to attack tumours. In one study, researchers exposed two groups of mice to a compound that causes skin cancer and fed one group 500 mg of ground cardamom per kg (227 mg per pound) of weight per day. After 12 weeks, only 29% of the group who ate the cardamom developed cancer, compared to over 90% of the control group.
May protect from Chronic disease - Inflammation occurs when your body is exposed to foreign substances. Acute inflammation is necessary and beneficial, but long-term inflammation can lead to chronic diseases. A study in rats showed that eating cardamom powder decreased liver inflammation induced by eating a diet high in carbs and fat. Though there are not as many studies on the anti-inflammatory effects of cardamom in humans, research shows that supplements may increase antioxidant status by up to 90%.
May treat bad breathe and Prevent Cavities - The reason why cardamom can lead to minty fresh breath may have to do with its ability to fight common mouth bacteria. Research shows that cardamom extract can reduce the number of bacteria in saliva samples by 54%.
What are the benefits?
Now that you know all the details and benefits of each of the compounds that Herbalife's Instant Herbal beverage contains, here are the benefits I have experienced.
More Energy and Focus- It has defeintly made me feel more energetic. I get up at 02:00 in the morning and have the Instant Herbal Beverage first thing. By 02:30 I feel alert, focussed and ready. It is not that immediate spike you get from an energy drink or even coffee. It is more gradual, but it also lasts longer. I can go till about 09:00 at night and then start all over again.
Belly Fat reduction - Over the holiday season I did not really pay attention to healthy and clean eating, however despite that I have still lost 3cm around my belly.
How to use it and what does it taste like?
There are 4 flavours, Original, Raspberry, Lemon and Peach. I am a fan of the peach. The recommendation is that you drink it twice a day, once in the morning and once after lunch.
I only drink it in the morning and it does wonders for me. You make it by mixing half a teaspoon with 200ml water. It can be consumed hot or cold, for me cold works best. If you stir it in very cold water it can be a challenge to get it completely dissolved. I found that stirring it one way for about 40 seconds let it stand to 20 seconds and then stir it the other way works best. Alternatively, you can mix it in a hand shaker, which works well, but it does make some froth. My wife has a hard time drinking the tea on its own so for her, I mix the Instant Herbal beverage with the Formula 1 Shake in a hand shaker and that works very well for her.
I hope this review has helped if you are interested in getting the instant Herbal Beverage just click here and we will make sure you get it. It gets dispatched locally in over 90 countries so you don't have to wait long or pay excessive delivery fees.