Good for What Ails You: Herbal Teas

Good for What Ails You: Herbal Teas

Are you suffering from a cold in February, 2015? And that means runny nose, sore throat, sneezing, and coughing. You know it is 7-10 days to a normal life no matter what. You can be more comfortable: use herbal teas to sooth the symptoms. Scientists have found that hot liquids radically relieve cold symptoms better than warm or cold liquids. 

So drink one of many herbal teas to feel better:…

 

Mint Tea: Relief plus: this tastes good. It could be Spearmint (sweeter, milder), or Peppermint (bracing, enervating.) Some 50 plus chemicals are defined in Mint  that affect you. Catnip is also a  herb  of note.

Echinacea:  Tea is made from the roots---and the juice is used for prevention. The tea is called, as are all of these herbal concoctions, a tisane (pronounced (ti-SAYN), meaning  tea made of material other than black tea, usually without caffeine. Echinacea has been tested for efficacy by the NIH and found to be “moderately effective. What does that mean? It is better than “not effective.”

Try another root tea: ginger. Slice and pour hot water over it and steep. It has a hot, sharp taste, and is good with honey. You can try teas made from many culinary herbs that were once considered medicine: Rosemary, Sage, even Basil are held to have medicinal properties for colds. “Officinalis” in their botanical names means “used as medicine or in herbalism”.

If using Native American herbs is your interest, try You might also try Elderberry, Rose hips, or Goldenseal. Sample Mountain mint---and be prepared for a very strong taste, hopefully, so strong that you will forget about your cold. You will find it in the Midwest and Virginia, as well as in Anna Kurz's garden. Mountain mint is not of the Mentha family, as are Spearmint and Peppermint, but one can swear by its similar scent.

Ask me what that means another time.