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People Flock to Saudi Arabia's First Int'l Tea Exhibition

People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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People Flock to Saudi Arabia's First Int'l Tea Exhibition

People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
People flock to Saudi Arabia's first tea exhibition. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Tea is one of the most consumed drinks globally after water, and it is one of the essential traditional drinks in many countries, including Saudi Arabia.

Saudis consider tea a part of their long-standing heritage after it was introduced into the Kingdom nearly a hundred years ago.

Alongside Saudi coffee, tea is a staple at all social occasions.

Saudis’ love for tea was reflected in the tremendous public turnout at the International Tea Colors, which coincides with International Tea Day.

The event was the first hosted by Saudi Arabia that celebrated tea and its baked goods.

The organizers were keen to ensure there were adequate spaces within the halls of the Riyadh International Fair to display the brands and tea products to the public.

Several events will be held on the sidelines of the exhibition, including a tasting and evaluation platform competing for the best dish of sweet and savory snacks accompanying tea.

Shivanka, a Sri Lankan who is an avid tea drinker, specializes in experimenting with tea crops of all kinds and determining their quality.

He said he has been working in this profession for nearly 20 years.

He drinks about 800 cups of tea a day to get used to its taste and distinguish between the different types to determine the best quality.

Shivanka has been working in Saudi Arabia with a company specializing in tea for nearly 15 years. He indicated that Saudis have a distinct palate in tea, so he works hard to ensure that his evaluation is accurate to provide the best possible quality.

Hamad al-Enzi stated that he has enjoyed drinking tea daily for nearly 30 years.

Enzi, touring the exhibition, said that he drinks tea daily and wanted to attend the show and learn more about tea and its types and production details.

He also wanted to learn about the different companies in Saudi Arabia that produce tea.

According to World Bank, Saudis consume eight billion cups of tea annually, and the per capita consumption of tea in the Kingdom in 2020 ranked first in the Arab world with 1.2 kilograms, exceeding consumption per capita globally by 0.2 kilograms.

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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)

For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of "The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching." He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is "the magic number" for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of 'stretching'

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it's traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, "Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that."

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

"You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing," Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don't do it if it hurts

After exercise, "light stretching is OK, as long as you don't reach a point where you're feeling pain," Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increase range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

"If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons," he said, "you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching."

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it's tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion? Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn't reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

"If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference," said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.