Hi lovely people! I hope everyone is having good week!

I am starting my day with searching for more tips to improve healthy living. Today I am looking for more herbs I can add to my ‘healthy cupboard’.

It’s a good time to go back to basics and consider the therapeutic potential of a simple cup of tea. It may seem simple, but it is natural, richer, complex, powerful and sustainable intervention and prevention. Today I would like to share with you my recent researches about medical potential of a simple cup of herbal tea. The consumption of tea has a long history of over 2000 years. Currently, tea is one of the most popular beverages worldwide. In recent years the subject of tea has attracted a great deal of attention. As well as the use of tea in traditional medicine, modern biochemical research has shown the potential application of tea and tea products to disease prevention and therapy.

Searching for an effective herbal teas to lower blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar level I have discovered very powerful plant which is not very popular, but according to the Pharmaceutical Biology scientists is very powerful and effective. I would like to introduce you to ‘Sweet Annie’ – Artemisia annua!

Artemisia annua, also known as wormwood, wermut or Hia leaves, has the latin name Artemisia absinthium L. Wormwood is native to Europe, growing in bushes, and now can be found easily in USA. In ancient time the known health benefits of wormwood extracts was mostly to purge intestinal worms. Wormwood is used in many traditional medicines in Europe, North and South America, Pakistan, China, Japan and Korea. Wormwood extracts are also fermented to make wine; wormwood wine is banned in USA but still allowed in Europe. Just like fennel leaves, wormwood leaves are known as 1 of 9 sacred medicinal plants in Anglo-Saxon. Wormwood leaves are made into tea. Although it was popular as traditional medicine. Today not many people know the health benefits of wormwood tea. Recent studies found that wormwood leaves are high in antioxidants and contain artemisinin, which was used as anti-malaria drugs.

Wormwood also contains thymol and carvacrol, and other phenolic compounds which are known as strong antioxidants and have the effect of catching free radicals. The potential of this herb is used for prevention and therapy from leukemia, to breast, colon, ovarian, liver, and pancreatic cancers.

It is also helpful in:

Treatment of Crohn Disease

According to a study held in Germany, the intake of herbal mixture (3 x 500 mg / day) of wormwood to the crohn disease patients showed that the patients were freed from physical and psychological symptoms of the disease, and there was no serious side effects.

Reduces the Onset of Epilepsy

Consuming wormwood tea or wormwood root decoction can reduce the onset of epilepsy, and increase the productivity of epilepsy patients. There are 2 ways of preparing the wormwood:

1 handful of wormwood roots, thumb-size ginger and thumb-size palm sugar are cleaned and cut into small pieces. These mixtures are boiled in 4 glasses of water, until only 2 glasses of water left. After cooled down, strain the decoction and drink it 2 times a day, 1 cup each time.

Treatment of Sore Throat, Coughs, and Pneumonia

Fresh wormwood leaves are pounded until pulverized, wring and strain it until half cup of extract is collected. Drink this extract 2 times a day until the symptoms disappear. To mask the bitter taste, we can add honey or palm sugar.

Treatment of Hemorrhoids

Fresh wormwood leaves are cleaned and pounded, then heat it on low heat until warm. Put it around anal area until it cools down (about 10 minutes).

Treatment of Rheumatism and Arthritis

Fresh wormwood leaves are pounded, and steamed. Then put it on the skin of affected areas (usually joints) until it cools down.

Treatment of Dysmenorrhea (Pain during Menstruation)

One of heatlh benefits of wormwood tea is to ease  dysmenorrhea. 15 grams of fresh wormwood leaves are cut thinly and infused in 3 glasses of boiling water. Drink it like tea.

How to Make Wormwood Tea

Other than the ways described above, we can make wormwood tea as daily beverages.

1 teaspoon of thinly cut fresh woodworm leaves (or ½ teaspoon of dried leaves) is infused in 1 cup of hot water, let it cool down, and add honey to mask the bitter taste. Drink it 3-4 times a day,  2 teaspoons of the tea each time. However, since wormwood has side effects too, it is not advised to consume the tea more than the recommended dose. Do not be shy! Always ask doctor for advice.

So… it is time to order new product to my ‘Herbal Remedies Cupboard’…! I can’t wait to see my Family making ‘funny faces’ when I introduce them to a new remedy! The good thing is they also have implemented a habit of drinking their favourite herbal tea! 🙂

I hope you have found this post useful. Thank you for reading!