Reaping the Benefits of Herbs through Tea

I've been brewing loose leaf tea for awhile now, mostly because I have this nifty cup that makes it way easier and cooler to do it:

See?  Isn't that fun?  I got it from iHerb.com, it's made by Just a Leaf tea.  I love it.  I made loose leaf tea once before with some red raspberry leaf tea I had gotten while I was pregnant with Harlee, and just made a whole big batch of it with the leaves in a strainer hanging in a pot of boiling water.  It was a struggle, but I made it work.  Then along comes this cup, and ta-da!  Easy tea brewing for me!  Now I can buy it in bulk for cheap instead of individual bags.

What's so great about tea, anyway?  Well, people have been drinking it both for pleasure and for medicinal purposes for over 4,000 years, if that says anything.  It started as a shrub in China - the black tea shrub.  When the leaves are fermented, it's called oolong or black tea.  When the leaves are brewed fresh, it's green tea, and green tea contains a strong antioxidant called catechin, which is a bioflavoniod with antibacterial and anticancer properties.  Sweet!

The black tea shrub isn't the only plant that can be brewed into tea - many herbs were used as well such as chamomile, raspberry leaves, and sage.  Through the years, tea has now become an umbrella term to cover any brew made from the leaves, flowers, berries, seeds, roots, or bark from a plant, steeped in hot water.

Herbs are plants with medicinal properties, and throughout history they have been used by people of all cultures for their healing benefits.  Over 3,000 herbs have been studied and recorded that have healing properties to the human system, and there are still more to be studied.  Interestingly enough, some of the best pharmaceutical drugs originated from herbs, such as digitalis - a heart medicine that was derived from the herb foxglove, and ephedrine - an asthma aid derived from the herb ephedra.  These drugs contained the herbs as ingredients for years up until World War II, which is when herb shortages in Europe limited drug production and forced scientists to design synthetic versions.  Unfortunately these synthetic versions came with harsh side effects, and even more unfortunately, the herbs never made their way back into the drugs and the synthetic versions stole the limelight.

Tea is a great way to get the healing benefits of herbs into your diet and into your system.  You can also take herbs in capsule form if you don't care to drink tea.  Through tea (or capsules) you can use herbs that strengthen your immune system and build up your own natural defenses, reduce stress, rebuild strength after illness or injury, sooth your nervous system and reduce anxiety, and some even contain antihistamines to help fight hay fever and allergies.  Different herbs are good for different organs, some better for a specific gender, and some good for your age.

Herbs don't have to only be ingested, though.  Herbal teas - herbs steeped in water - can be used as skin washes, compresses for wounds and inflammation, and added to your bath both for a soak and for aromatherapy.

Red Raspberry Leaf and Oatstraw tea with breakfast

So drink up!  Grab some chamomile tea to help you sleep at night, and enjoy the fact that it's also helping you fight off infections and providing healing benefits to your digestive system.  Or brew some peppermint for nasal congestion and enjoy knowing that you're helping to detox your liver or cool inflamed joints.  Or steep some rosemary, which increases circulation to your brain to help with alertness and memory.  Remember, there are over 3,000 herbs out there.  I also touched on some of them in my post about Essential Oils, which provide a whole different opportunity for you to experience the healing powers of herbs only in a more concentrated form (and void of any properties that could cause allergic reactions if you find you're allergic to certain herbs).  Nature is incredible.  And you know I'm not a religious person but I've said before that I do believe in a Higher Power, and I believe that that Higher Power has provided us with everything we need to heal ourselves of any ailment that may befall us in our lifetimes.  Why not take advantage of those amazing blessings?  Heal your body with nature, not dangerous chemicals produced to try to mimic nature that only end up hurting these amazing bodies we've been given.

And that's my spiel on herbs and tea.  A lot of this information came from the book 20,000 Secrets of Tea by Victoria Zak.  Check it out, it's got a great reference for the different healing benefits of a lot of different herbs that can be drank as teas to improve your health.  And they're quite yummy, especially with a splash of honey!