HERBS & HERBAL TEAS

I’m a great believer in herbal teas. You don’t try to cure cancer or mend a broken leg with them but for many minor things they are as good as sachet of Lemsip or few Tylenols out of the bottle. But! If you decide to try, be careful - many herbs are poisonous or might be poisonous as some herbs do react with certain medication. Therefore it is advisable to contact your doctor/herbalist before consumption of any herb.

I’m quite healthy overall but occasional cold in winter is the time when I reach for my tea bags. Generally 1 teaspoon of dried herbs for a 250ml cup of water is sufficient amount, taken two or three times daily. If busy, the amount for the day can be prepared the prior evening (2-3 cups at one time), allowed to continue to soak while it cools overnight to ensure maximum potency. 

Usually it is quite hard to take an overdose but again – definitely learn about your local herbs before you try anything and make sure that you properly identify each plant prior to using. 

Yes, I mean – local herbs. I’m great believer that you are supposed to use what’s around you instead of ordering on internet some ‘miracle herb’ from China. Picking your own is much more fun and nearly as healthy as drinking the tea. It’s like a placebo effect – when you search for plants, pick them and dry, you put some time, energy and thought in them and when the time comes, it all comes back to you in a good way.

General tips on picking your plants:

a)      go as remote as you can away from traffic and intensive farming – you do not want you tea full of pesticides and heavy metals;

b)      dry plants in airy, shady place – attic is nearly ideal if you do not have dangerous dust from insulation materials floating around there;

c)       never ever try to cure serious things with herbal teas on your own! Teas are not a replacement for professional medical help! Consult your doctor, especially if you have any chronic conditions or are on medications or pregnant! 

I’m spending my time high up in Pyrenees right now, away from heavy traffic and intense farming, in alpine meadows surrounded by pine forests... An ideal place to collect some wild herbs for the winter ahead to be added to the usual pinch of camomile and mint.

So I start with some very simple ones who are like old friends in my world of herbs.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

It grows nearly everywhere in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is even mentioned in Homer's Iliad as a cure for wounds. Indeed, it is an herb for accelerating healing of cuts and bruises. It is also often used in herbal remedies to treat heavy menstrual bleeding. This herb also relieves pain associated with gynaecologic and digestive disorders. 

Yarrow has antiseptic action against bacteria. The bitter constituents and fatty acids in yarrow are credited with promoting bile flow from the gallbladder, an action known as a cholagogue effect. Free-flowing bile enhances digestion and elimination and helps prevent gallstone formation. Because of these anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and cholagogue actions, yarrow is useful for gallbladder complaints and is considered a digestive tonic.

But most of all, it fights well with sinus infections and coughs with sputum production, especially when combined with goldenseal, elderflower and peppermint. Yarrow promotes sweating in cases of colds, flu, and fevers, thus it an effective tea for soothing cold symptoms. 

Yarrow's astringent action might be helpful in some cases of allergy, in which watery eyes and nasal secretions are triggered by pollen, dust, moulds and animal dander. 

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

Mullein is a common weedy plant, easy to find, and it is known to possess anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, expectorant, and analgesic properties – nearly everything! Thus in my country it is called “The strength of nine men”. 

Mullein tea is a traditional treatment for respiratory problems, such as chest colds, bronchitis and asthma. Mullein contains mucilage, which is soothing to irritated membranes, and saponins, which make coughs more productive. 

Mullein flower oil (made by steeping the flowers in warm olive oil) also has been used for treating haemorrhoids, as well as earaches.

 

The yellow dye extracted from the flowers has been used also since Roman times as a hair rinse as well as to dye cloth.

But! Being as good as this herb is, it is not entirely benign. Some will find the plant’s hairs irritating to skin and mucous membranes. It’s a good idea to check how you react to mullein before start consuming it. It is recommended to strain the tea through fine-weave cloth or a coffee filter to remove any stray hairs.

Oregano (Origanum vulgare)

Oregano (or Spanish Thyme, or Wild Marjoram), whose name means "delight of the mountains" in Greek, is native to the mountainous parts of Mediterranean region and warm-temperate regions of Eurasia. Oregano displays anti-oxidant, anti-fungal and antibiotic properties - it contains rosmarinic acid, linalool, thymol, carvacrol, tannins, flavonoids, triterpenes, and the Greeks already used it extensively, both internally and externally.
Oregano is used to promote perspiration as a treatment for colds, flu, and fevers. A tea of oregano is often used to bring on menses and relieve associated menstrual discomfort. It is also used in baths and inhalations to clear lungs and bronchial passages. Oregano can also be used for sour stomachs, headaches, toothaches, and to increase flow of urine.
Used externally, Oregano is successful in treatments of rheumatism, muscle and joint pain, sores and swellings. Oregano oil can help combat toothache.
The flowering tops yield a dye, formerly used in the country to dye woollen cloth purple, and linen a reddish brown, but the tint is neither brilliant nor really durable.
Oregano is a wonderful culinary as well as medicinal herb. It has long been recognized as one of the "functional foods" for its nutritional, anti-oxidants and disease preventing properties. This herb is one of the foundation bases of healthy Mediterranean diet in addition to olive oil, fish and lots of greens, herbs and vegetables.

St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum)

St John's wort (also known as perforate or common St. John's wort), is popular as fighting depression, a liver tonic as well as an antiviral. For me it is one of the best herbs to take away the winter blues or even depression, so I add it to nearly every tea I mix in winter. 
St. Johns has been well known for centuries. It is effective as a compress for dressing wounds and in the Middle Ages it was commonly used to heal deep sword cuts. According to Nicholas Culpeper ( 1653!), boiled in wine and drank, it heals inward hurts or bruises; made into an ointment, it open obstructions, dissolves swellings, and closes up the lips of wounds.
 It works like a tonic for the entire nervous system and acts as an antidepressant in cases of mild depression and anxiety. This action is most strongly linked to two phytochemicals, hyperforin and hypericin.
Its name Hypericum is derived from the Greek that means 'over an apparition', a reference to the belief that the herb was so obnoxious to evil spirits that a whiff of it would cause them to fly.
Drinking a cup of St Johns tea before bedtime can help children and adults troubled by incontinece. St. John's is also effective in the treatment of herpes lesions. Compresses soaked in a strong tea, the infused oil or a tincture can be applied to active lesions.
At the same time St John's Wort is not recommended if must be combined with oral contraceptives, warfarin, digoxin, anticonvulsants, theophylline, SSRI's (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors), triptans, cyclosporin as well as various anti-virals). 

LAVENDER OR LAVANDEN?

When you open a wrapping of some upmarket handmade lavender soap and savour the perfume, it’s not lavender actually. When you drive through the Provence and admire the beauty of purple fields along the roads, most likely it’s not lavender you are looking at. It’s lavanden – a natural hybrid making lavender business possible.  The difference in production is enormous. While lavanden is farmable and harvestable by machinery, the real lavender – the one you find up high in mountains – is hard enough to pick by hand so... thank goods for lavanden! 

But still – I prefer the milder, gentile bouquet of the old mountain lavender.

Actually there are three kinds of lavender – true lavender (Lavandula angustifolia, officinalis, vera), spike lavender (Lavandula spica, latifolia) and lavandin (L. x intermedia), the result of a natural cross-pollination of true lavender and spike lavender.

True lavender (also known as common lavender or English lavender) features narrow leaves, short, crooked stems, and barrel-shaped (rather than spiked) flowers.

Spike lavender is a coarser plant, with broader leaves than true lavender. It yields up to three times the amount of essential oil as true lavender but its scent is harsher – like a combination of lavender and eucalyptus.

Lavandin has larger leaves, longer stems, and larger flowers that are pointed at the tip. Lavandin, like spike lavender, also yields more oil than true lavender, but it also imparts a woody, spicy-green, camphor aroma quite different from true lavender. The scent is strong, stronger than true lavender, but it doesn’t last long.  

Anyway, like lavender, lavandin offers some aromatherapeutic benefits. But evens so - lavandin is not a legitimate substitute for true lavender and its aromaterapy properties.

Lavander is especially beneficial to the respiratory tract in particular coughs, colds, influenza. Certainly eases breathing when lungs and sinuses are choked with phlegm. It defends system against airborne viruses.

The essence is well known as one of strongest natural remedies for anxiety and stress.
It is also good for aches and pains and muscle stiffness and may also help with rheumatic discomfort and joint stiffness.