Vietnamese Health Tip #8: The Mindful Sip

My favorite question to ask locals here in Vietnam, "What do you do for fun?" And the overwhelming response, "Hang out at a cafe with my friends" (truly, every single person has responded to me with this activity, no matter which region of the country). Of course, this is an activity shared by many countries and cultures, but from what I've observed, the Vietnamese have mastered the cafe hopping skill and have, yet again, taught me something new about healthy, mindful living.

From left to right:

Mango and strawberry smoothies (Sinh tố xoài, Sinh tố dâu)

Yogurt smoothie with raspberry sorbet (Sữa chua, kem mâm xôi)

Chocolate smoothie (Sinh tố sôcôla)

A typical cafe (or "Quán Cà Phê") menu includes some combination of the following:

- Vietnamese coffee, iced or hot (Cà phê, đá or nóng)

- Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk, iced or hot (Cà phê sữa, đá or nóng)

- Tea, iced or hot (Trà, đá or nóng)

- Milk Tea, iced or hot (Trà sữa, đá or nóng)

- Chocolate drink, iced or hot (Sôcôla, đá or nóng)

- Fresh squeezed juices (Nước Ép)

- Smoothies (Sinh tố)

- And usually some food and/or dessert options

None of these quite qualify as "healthy" drinks, due to a substantial amount of sugar added. Even the Vietnamese coffee and tea usually contain a good dose of sugar. The fresh squeezed juices and the smoothies are not "unhealthy," per se, but are oftentimes sweetened, and unfortunately, the act of "juicing" can strip nutrients from the fruit.

From top left to right: Watermelon juice, Kudzu and kumquat juice, Aloe Vera juice,

From bottom left to right: Jelly juice, Kumquat and sugar cane juice, Cucumber/Beet/Carrot juices

So what's the deal? Locals are constantly drinking these sugary drinks but have somehow dodged weight gain, diabetes, and crashed energy levels. I don't claim to have the only answer (surely, genetics and other factors come into play), but without a doubt, a contributing explanation involves the art of the SIP.

That's right, sipping. Sounds easy, but let's expand. I've observed the typical cafe-goer here will take around one hour to drink one drink. That means, tiny sip, savor the taste, put it down, take a few breaths, have a conversation, look around, take a few more breaths, have some more conversation, then maybe, maybe, take another tiny sip. The secret in this - you've tricked/trained your brain and stomazch into having just one tasty beverage, and drinking one beverage over a lengthy period of time gives your metabolism a chance to do its job.

Only one drink may sound restrictive, but numerous silver linings exist in this practice. Prolonged sipping allows every one of your tastebuds to really enjoy the flavor. And it gives the ice in your cold drinks a chance to melt a bit (which is nice in that cà phê sữa đá because, wow, that coffee is STRONG and likely very sweet). Drinking hot coffee? Try out the cà phê phin - takes some time for the coffee to filter through, and it's fun to watch and smells heavenly. Icing on the cake - this "mindful sipping," as we'll call it, keeps the purpose of the moment in perspective: hanging out with friends or having some alone time, enjoying the ambiance, living the moment. I like it.

From left to right:

Vietnamese hot coffee (Cà phê nóng),

Egg coffee (cà phê trứng), [Vietnomnomnom's favorite]

Iced chocolate (Sôcôla đá),

Iced green milk tea with jelly and flan (Trà sữa đá)

Try it out. That next coffee, Frappucino, Coke, or even that beer or wine - try to take 3o minutes to one hour to drink it (that is, SIP it). If you don't have the time, then just drink water or some herbal tea, because what's the point of a tasty beverage if you can't enjoy every sip?

#HealthTip #Sipping