Herbal Tea for Herbal Healing

Why would you want to brew your own teas at home when you can purchase a countless variety of teas that are already bagged? The reason is they are healthier than those that you can buy pre-made at the store. While you might laugh at this, teas have been used for centuries to treat a variety of health ailments and conditions. When you pour a cup of boiling water, add dried herbs to it and allow it to steep for fifteen minutes, you are providing many nutrients and vitamins to your body. Many of these are excellent in, not only in giving you a refreshing drink, but in helping your body in treating many health ailments and conditions and even preventing many from occurring. While it is true that the pre-package tea takes a lot shorter time to brew, they are not as effective as home-brewed teas. These teas are very potent and give you many medicinal benefits. When you brew your own teas, you can decide how much to use of a specific herb.

The first thing to do is to evaluate your health ailments and ask your doctor which herbs are best for your condition. It is best to do this because some herbs may interact with medications that you are already taking. If you are pregnant or nursing, some herbs may not be safe for your baby. Even if you do not have any ailments, you can do preventative maintenance for your body by trying different delicious herbal teas.

The next thing to do is to get your herbs. You can grow them in your garden, purchase them locally in grocery and health food stores or order them online. If you do decide you do not have the time to gather herbs to make a cup of healing tea, you can still made the pre-bagged teas at your local grocery store. However, make sure you purchase tea that has been organically grown. These are not grown with toxic pesticides or chemicals.

The final thing to do is pour boiling water into a cup. When you heat your water, make sure that you use cold water. While you can use tap water, it is a better idea to use bottled spring water. Use a teapot that is either made of stainless steel, enamel or glass. If you use copper or aluminum, the insides can rust, which causes contaminants which enter your healthy beverage.

Then you add your herbs. Allow it to steep for at least fifteen minutes; you may need to allow the tea to brew for a longer period of time if you are using hard parts such as roots and barks, The longer you allow your tea to brew, the stronger the flavor will be. Make sure to keep the cup covered while it is brewing so the medicinal properties do not escape with the steam. Sit down and enjoy your healing tea.

Besides being loaded with medicinal properties, home brewed teas are known for their freshness. Have you ever purchased pre-made teas and noticed that they sometimes had a stale taste. That is because the shelf life of herbs is a short time. This type of tea has been processed, prepared, shipped and stored on a shelf for who knows how long before somebody buys it.

When you use fresh herbs to make your own tea, you are taking advantage of the volatile oils which tend to get broken down when commercially made tea is processed. Also, when you decide to make your own teas, you are giving yourself the opportunity to learn about the medicinal properties of different herbs and come to understand which blends work best.

You can use herbal teas to treat many health ailments and conditions. They are easy to make and are not expensive at all. Most of what you need can be found in your backyard or in nearby wooded areas. You can experiment with different herb blends and adjust the amount of herbs to your taste.

There are many herbs which are native to different parts of the world. There are many healing properties and health benefits that are central to a specific herb. Some contain calming and relaxing properties; some contain anti-inflammatory properties; some are natural blood thinners; most are a major source of antioxidants. Since there are too many ones to list, some of the more common ones you would use in normal, everyday cooking are listed below along with what health ailments they are effective for.

Now that you know some of the herbs and the benefits that they do for your body, are you ready to start brewing? Before you begin, you are going to need some herbs that are either fresh or dried.. You can grow herbs in your backyard garden and harvest the leaves themselves. However, it may be easier to purchase herbs from your local grocery or health food store. (Note: If you purchase dried leaves that are in whole leaf form, avoid breaking them until you are ready to add it to a cup of hot water. If you break the leaves prior to this, some of the essential oils in the leaves may escape.)

Let’s say that you have an embarrassing problem with flatulence. You know that peppermint is excellent in treating this and have some growing in your backyard. Pick two to three leaves and wash them. Fill an eight ounce cup with boiling water. Put the leaves into the cup. Cover the cup. Wait ten to fifteen minutes for the tea to brew. Drink. Doesn’t that sound easy? The best thing about brewing this cup of tea, you know what you are putting into it. Whatever chemicals commercially made teas contain can do more harm than good to your body.

You can make tea ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to three days. Usually about 4 tablespoons of a dried herb makes up to a quart of tea. You can combine dried herbs to create your own blends and store it in a glass, such as a Mason, jar and have a tea that is ready to be made. The process of cultivating and drying herbs may take some time. However, once that process is done, it will take no time at all to make a cup of tea.

Having the stomach flu can be a harrowing experience. While stomach bugs are normally a twenty-four hour thing, it normally takes at least one-two days after you finally take your head out of the toilet before you are finally recovered. For a tea add half a teaspoon each of chamomile and ginger and a quarter of a teaspoon of ground licorice root, ground fennel, ground coriander and a spearmint leaf into a tea ball and place that into a cup of boiling water. Add a pinch of cardamom seed and cinnamon. Cover the cup and allow to steep for ten minutes. If you know the stomach bug is going around, you can combine the herbs ahead of time using equal parts of the ginger and chamomile and half of that of the ground fennel, coriander and licorice root. Drinking the tea during this season may prevent you from catching the stomach bug.

When cold season is upon us, you may fall victim to a sore throat. For a soothing blend, add equal parts each of lemon, lemon grass, thyme and mint to a tea ball. Place the ball in a cup of boiling water. Cover the cup and allow it to steep for at least ten minutes. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Okay, you might think this is crazy, since this pepper is very hot. As a matter of fact, cayenne pepper-as well as the other herbs-is both natural pain killers and infection fighters. If you are a bit leery about this, you can skip the cayenne pepper. To give this tea an enhanced flavor, add some honey and lemon for taste-both of these are infection fighters as well. (Note: If your sore throat pain does not go away or it gets worse, see your doctor. You might have strep throat, which can only be treated using antibiotics.

Speaking of cold and flu season, many people who do get sick have a weakened immune system. Drinking the next tea, will help you body fight the symptoms and help you recover quicker. This tea may even prevent you from getting sick in the first place. Add equal parts of rose hips, elder flowers and lemon peel and half parts of ground ginger and Echinacea root to a tea ball. Place the ball in a cup of boiling water. Cover the cup and allow it to steep for at least ten minutes. Add some honey and lemon for taste.

The next time you have a headache, instead of reaching for the nearest bottle of aspirin, try some natural pain-killing herbs. For the tea, mix equal amounts of nettle, hawthorn berries licorice root and a half amount of peppermint in a tea ball. Place the ball in a cup of boiling water. Cover the cup and allow it to steep for at least ten minutes. Since you are not going to run to the store to get these herbs the next time you have a headache, you can make a larger blend of herbs and keep it stores in a glass jar. If your headache is due to allergies or sinus problems, use this blend instead: Mix equal amounts of Rose hips, elder flowers and half of that amount of peppermint and nettle and add a quarter amount of mullein leaf.

There are times when it seems that you brain is going every which way it can. You might have a hectic day planning out several projects for work. Then you have to plan family activities and even plan what you are going to cook for dinner. When you are faced with too many activities, you mind feels boggled and you are high strung. Another way your mind can be out of focus is when you do not have a good night sleep. When you do not get the required sleep, you have a difficult time focusing and remembering things. You also may be a college student during finals week. You have been spending the last few days cramming for exams and are worried that you are going to forget everything you have read. The good news is, you can make a delicious memory tea. To make this tea, add equal amounts of lemon verbena, ginkgo biloba leaf and ginseng to a tea ball. Place the ball in a cup of boiling water. Cover the cup and allow it to steep for at least ten minutes. Add two-three fresh peppermint leaves. All these herbs contain calming and relaxing properties.

If you have trouble falling asleep, try this tea just before you go to bed. Add equal amounts of rose hips, chamomile, passion flower to a quarter amount of lavender and put it in a tea ball. Put the tea ball in a cup of boiling water. Cover the cup and allow it to steep for at least ten minutes. Top the tea off with 2-3 fresh spearmint leaves.

Most of these herbs can be purchased at your local grocery and food store. Some herbs may be sold as supplements. If you are unable to find a specific herb, look for capsules that contain the herb. You can simply break the capsule apart and put the contents into a cup of boiling water. However, since these are concentrated, follow the recommended usage of the bottle. For example, if the bottle tells you to take one capsule three times a day, only use one for your tea. If you are unable to find a herb that is mentioned in any of the above blends, use a different herb that contains similar properties.

There are so many individual teas and tea blends that you can use with herbs. You can possibly make a tea with each different herb. They contain many vitamins and minerals, have healing properties and have medical benefits for many health ailments. Since “there are thousands of herbs with thousands of different uses” (unh.edu), it will be impossible to list them all. If you want to understand the healing powers of herbs and spices, visit your local bookstore or library. You can also do some online research or even take a herbology course. Using herbs, in place of your store-bought tea, is leading you down the healthy road. Just make sure you talk to your doctor to make sure any herbs you are considering using will not interact with medications that you are already taking.

There are many health benefits when you prepare your own tea. Even if you are not feeling under the weather, it is enjoyable to sit down with a cup of your favorite herbal blend. You get the chance to relax, breath in the fragrant aromas of the tea and sip a delicious beverage. It is even good to make enough tea and share your creation with family and friends.

Reference

http://unh.edu