Tips For Brewing Your Own Medicinal Teas.
 (Read 50+ times)
By Glory Lennon
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Legend has it a man traveling through China stopped for the night by a field of wild flowers and unfamiliar fragrant shrubs. He set up camp and set a pot of water to boil as he went to collect ingredients for his dinner. Upon his return he saw a few leaves from the bushes blew into the pot and created a dark drink. He tasted this, said the equivalent to "WOW" in Chinese and tea was created.
Whether this is true or not is hardly relevant. What is relevant is the fact that tea is extremely popular then and now and the medicinal kind all the more so, for obvious reasons. Herbal teas have been known to cure and/or prevent everything from anxiety, insomnia, colic, coughs, indigestion, chest congestion, morning sickness to migraine headaches. Why pop a pill when you could relax with a soothing tea and feel better for it?
So, how exactly does one brew a decent cup of medicinal tea? The method is quite simple and the same no matter what herbs you use. Heat fresh water to a nice rolling boil, place your herbs into the pot and allow them to steep for several minutes, five at least, more if you prefer a stronger taste. Fresh herbs are best, of course, but when dried properly they can still make a wonderful tea made the traditional way in a tea pot. Some prefer to simmer fresh herbs for better flavor and to extract all the goodness from the herbs. These are called infusions rather than teas if you want to get technical. Which herbs you use depends entirely on what ails you. Let’s go over some of the most common ailments and readily made teas to help these conditions.
Anxiety- Stress, nervousness, whatever you may call it, can easily be treated by soothing teas. Just the simple act of sitting down to slowly sip the warm liquid lowers the blood pressure, eases the mind, replenishes the soul, calms frazzled nerves. Add to these teas the calming effects of Chamomile, Manarda Bee Balm, Passion Flower, Catnip or Sweet Melissa and you have something to soothe any savage beast.
Insomnia- Valerian is the best known herb to induce a restful sleep without the morning grogginess usually associated with pills. It is rather nasty tasting but when added to other nice tasting teas with a nip of honey you’ll be sleeping soundly in no time. Other herbs you may want to use include Bee Balm, Hop, Passion Flower, Skullcap, Yarrow and Motherwort.
Menstrual discomfort- Antispasmodic herbs, those that relax muscles, come in all sorts, some more tasty than others. These include Valerian, Anise, Fennel, Feverfew, Red Clover and Black Cohash. Used alone or in combination a tea made with these herbs help reduce painful abdominal cramps both uterine and intestinal.
Morning sickness- Ginger is an all-around digestive helper. It calms the irritated belly and also helps with motion sickness and vertigo, that terrifying dizzy feeling. Use very little of the fresh Ginger at first and simmer gently for about twenty minutes until you get the hang of using it as it makes a rather strong tasting tea. Dilute with more water if necessary.
Food poisoning- Some may think it impossible but a tea made with Mint, Apple slices, Catnip, Cinnamon, Clove, Echinacea and/or Dill can be exactly what you need to soothe the tummy after eating something that did not agree with you. To prevent food poisoning you might consider a tea of Rosemary, Sage and/or Thyme or even a sprinkle of these onto your food.
Fever- To ease a fever White Willow, Parsley, Meadowsweet and/or Bayberry simmered slowly for ten to fifteen minutes makes a nice though perhaps bitter tasting tea. Use honey or sugar to pacify your taste-buds.
That non-descript, lack-luster feeling, better known as the Winter Blahs- We all get this in the winter time unless you live in the temperate or tropical areas of the world where sun is abundant. Mint is one of those herbs once planted you’ll have more than you’ll be able to use but as it is easily dried or frozen for later use it won’t go to waste. Mint makes an invigorating tea for those cold listless days of winter when all you want to do is huddle in a corner until spring comes. Brewing yourself a cup of mint tea will energize you like nothing else can. In summer stick several springs of mint in a glass container and set this out in the sun for your very own mint sun tea. Or add a few leaves to your regular brewed tea for a minty flavor burst.
Now, I must warn you of some herbs which can cause some problems for woman who wish to become pregnant or are having trouble with miscarriages. There are Estrogenic herbs known to cause powerful contractions and to bring on menstruation. These have been used during the time before reliable contraception was available for preventing pregnancy and should be avoided at all costs for those wishing to conceive. These include Celery, Fenugreek, Motherwort, Parsley, Rhubarb, Saffron and Shepherd’s Purse. I realize these aren’t likely candidates for adding to herbal teas but I thought I’d mention it just to be on the safe side. And as for the prevention of miscarriages raspberry teas are supposed to help.
I hope all this information will start you on your journey to taking your health into your own hands. I know it is so easy to “Just let the experts handle it” but you might want to reconsider when you learn about what happened to George Washington on what unnecessarily ended up being his deathbed. He suffered from a fever and a terrible sore throat which historians now think was strep throat. The Father of Our United States was bled of four pints of blood and forced to take laxatives and mercury. This treatment, from the most wise and learned of the time, made the first American president so weak and anemic that he died within 24 hours.
Had Mr. Washington been seen by an apothecary he most likely would have been told to take hot liquids in the form of soothing herbal teas, been given herbal remedies of natural antibiotics like garlic and onion and told to rest. Is there any wonder about the resurgence of interest in the old ways? Learning about the power of herbs puts the power of healing back in our own hands where it belongs.
So, set up the tea kettle, pick yourself some herbs and drink some nice medicinal tea. You’ll feel better for it, I promise. But please check with your doctor if you are taking traditional medication as there could be interaction even with gentle herbs.
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Author Bio Box: Glory Lennon
 visit http://www.helium.com/user/32782 for more amazing garden lessons, cute short stories and funny novel excerpts.
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