Summer Heat and Pleasures

Each season has its pleasures and presents an opportunity to build health and enhance longevity. Enjoying sunshine and leisurely outdoor meals with family are great in summer. However intense heat and air pollution dry our throat, irritate eyes and aggravate feverish conditions and hot tempers. Rich eating and drinking provoke hangovers. 

We can balance these effects of inflammation with cooling, refreshing, detoxifying Chinese herbs. Some are familiar weeds such as dandelion, antibacterial honeysuckle flower and delicious Chinese chrysanthemum flower tea. 

Chinese Chrysanthemum Flower Tea

Enjoy Chrysanthemum Flower Tea to combat Summer’s heat, pollution and stress. This tasty tea is recommended for headaches, heat stroke, facial flushing, menopausal hot flashes, cloudy vision, tired “computer eyes” and hangover. It is a delightful refreshing, naturally sweet beverage. Enjoy it warm or iced. Watch the flowers open as you brew the tea in a glass tea pot and inhale the heavenly floral sweetness. 

Soothing ‘n Centering Tea 葛根汤 (Pueraria Root Soup)

Soothing ‘N Centering Tea is a natural medicinal herbal tea used to cool and detoxify the body. It is recommended for:

• Fever
• Aches and stiffness
• Dry irritated eyes 
• Hangover
• Dizziness
• Upset stomach

The herbal formula features a rejuvenating, moistening herb Pueraria lobata (ge gen). It grows wild throughout the southern United States and is known as kudzu root. Cooks chop kudzu leaves raw in salad or cook them like spinach. Kudzu root is starchy like potato. Medicinally, ge gen clears inflammation and relaxes tight muscles and stiffness in neck and upper back which makes it a useful herb for people spending time hunched over a computer. 

Soothing ‘n Centering formula reduces fever because it combines pueraria with aromatic herbs that increase sweating, including cinnamon, ginger and Chinese chrysanthemum flower. Soothing ‘n Centering may also improve mental focus because its balanced formula contains digestive herbs such as white peony root, angelica sinensis and tangerine peel which reduce bloating and enhance circulation in our digestive center. All in all Soothing ‘n Centering Tea makes a good companion for tired computer addicts who overheat from too much work or celebrating. 

Ingredients:

Pueraria root, cinnamon twig/cassia twig, white peony root, ginger, licorice root, jujube, honeysuckle flower, angelica, belamcanda rhizome, tangerine peel, ginseng root, chrysanthemum flower.

We suggest that you become acquainted with Chinese medicinal herbs gradually. Empty the package of herbs into 2-3 quarts of water and simmer them for up to 15-20 minutes. If possible use a ceramic coated or glass pot. The same herbs may be used again, the second cooking can be as long as 1 hour. Inhale the steam to help clear sinus congestion and head and throat discomforts. Allow the mixture to cool until it is comfortably warm to drink. 

For fever or hangover, drink a tea cup every hour or as needed. If necessary you might add a little fresh lemon juice or raw honey for flavor. Typically, cold/flu teas and detoxifying herbs are best used between meals so that they do not interfere with digestion. 

If diarrhea occurs after using detoxifying herbs, reduce the dosage. If weakness occurs after several day’s use, baring allergy, you might use a tonic herb such as reishi mushroom. Please see Fatigue Fighter in the selection of Herbal Rescue teas. 

Cautions: Avoid use with diarrhea or pregnancy