Fortunately, in recent times there has been a resurgence in awareness and interest in natural remedies. Yet, setting aside all the appealing marketing promises brands usually convey, there are certain circumstances in which herbal remedies work.
Being properly informed about how herbal remedies work plays a vital role that can help you in making wiser decisions about your overall health and wellbeing.
Key factors to consider when consuming tea for medicinal uses.
⋄ Time - Expecting instant results is a common mistake (you’re not alone). But this is not about conventional modern medicine. It takes longer to notice improvements from herbs as they work on the root of the illness unlike many lab-drugs that treat shallow symptoms. The expectation of immediate effectiveness of herbal remedies can easily prevent any further attempts of giving plants a chance as an alternative medicine. This is why it is imperative to be consistent when consuming the brew. Moreover, some treatments may take weeks or even months.
Here is when you ask yourself (or a specialist if needed) how urgent is your particular case. Not everybody can allow that long for the desired results.
⋄ Dosage - Getting to know the amount of herbs and frequency you take them is as important as any other kind of medication administration. Alternative medicine has to be measured so results can be monitored and improved if needed. When it comes about complex health issues, the best option is to consult a professional herbalist or related certified specialist.
⋄ Ingredients - High quality. Fresh. Well conserved. Grown organically.
If all these features are met, it is more likely that favourable effects will occur.
Deteriorated teas that haven’t been properly harvested, processed or sorted won’t be as functional as teas in which high quality standards were kept on track at every process. Generally, poor herb quality contains plenty of small broken leaf or dust, - even polluted particles - which leads to over-oxidation among other undesirable qualities.
Old tea leaves and herbs that have been kept for long periods in air-exposed containers may no longer be bioactive, meaning that rich components - such as vitamins - will no longer be present in the brew.
And the last but not the least, teas or herbs that have been grown with the use of harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides and fungicides have shown to be not safe for prolonged consumption as these chemicals end up in the cup of tea. I strongly recommend here to get to know how your tea is grown and processed.
⋄ Preparation - Generally, water temperature is between 75C to 90C. Avoid pouring boiling water straight over the herbs or tea leaves as it may cause nutrients to get burnt and fade away, as well as impart undesired bitterness.
⋄ Blending techniques - Formulating blends goes beyond matching flavours and keeping up with trends. It’s about implementing a method in which selected ingredients complement each other to enhance the optimization of health benefits. Learning about how herbs combinations work better may take further research. But the good news is that there are plenty of resources (books, online scientific reports, herbalist professionals, etc.) that consumers easily have access to.
⋄ Synergy - Natural remedies are just one piece of the picture. They are not isolated as they work better when healthy habits are part of your every day life. Interaction and cooperation are inherent in nature. Therefore, being aware of your life-style and making daily improvements will give you greater results.
For chronic and complex issues, other forms of medicine may be needed, always ask a specialist.
The excitement and high expectation that promotional health benefit products generate in customers are very often followed by frustration and disappointment.
The reason is that the list of health benefits tends to be huge -and persuasive- when compared with the information provided about how to make them actually work.
Getting involved and informed when it comes about your health is a path worth walking. You will thank yourself later.