Since grandma’s day herbs have been known for their healing properties. You can take them in the form of supplements in high therapeutic doses to help with illnesses but if you want to practice prevention, or just have a touch of an ailment, an herbal tea may help you increase your immunity enough to give it the flick. Often they are dismissed as ‘just a tea’ by people who are not as aware of their health properties as they could be. Here is a list of teas and their benefit for you to print out. Of course there are many more than are on this list but just keeping a few in your cupboard is a start and a good alternative to coffee, coke or other drinks. Even if you just start slowly with maintaining your health remember that every little bit you do makes for less inflammation in the body, a higher immune system and better health now and when you are older. It’s never too late to start.
Here are some herbal tea suggestions to help you with some common ailments:
Brahmi is so good for improving the memory and tastes delicious
Chamomile soothes the nervous system and helps with sleep. It also aids in digestion. It is ideal as a nightcap just before bed
Dandelion is a diuretic which means it gets rid of puffiness and fluid in the body. It helps with liver function but if it makes you feel squeamish I suggest you go to your naturopath ASAP because it means something is definitely not in sync with your liver.
Fennel is an appetite suppressant. It has a liquorice flavour so it may satisfy you for a while when you go for the sweets.
Green tea is an anti-oxidant so it’s good to boost your immunity. A twist of lemon will make it more palatable if you are not used to it and you can also get lemon green tea.
Ginger is good for the stomach and nausea. It’s also good for flu and colds as well as sore throats.
Lemon grass is good for fever and digestion. It also tones your skin
Peppermint stimulates so it’s good to replace the morning coffee with it. It’s good for digestion, bad breath and congestion as well as fluid buildup in the body.
Rosehip is full of Vitamin C so good when you have a cold or just to raise your immunity.
Raspberry leaf tea is good if you have morning sickness or the other end of your pregnancy if the baby is due in a few weeks. It will make for an easier delivery.
Spearmint is a pleasant alternative to peppermint if you don’t like the taste of peppermint. Why not mix the two together for a refreshing taste or put the spearmint with chamomile.
So now you can’t give the excuse that you don’t have anything to drink except plain black tea or coffee. Both of these drinks contain caffeine and are not good for your whole body. Some black tea’s can be low in caffeine if you really like black tea but sometimes it’s good to include a few herbals to clean and detox your system.
