Friday, November 13, 2009

For all the Sickies Out There

I fully believe that tea (with additions) can help you when you're sick. Tea isn't a medicine, and I'm not a doctor, naturopath or a practitioner of Ayurveda. But these are some of my recommendations:

For those suffering from H1N1, stomach flu, dysentery, Montezuma's Revenge, Delhi Belly, or basic indigestion: Add ginger to your tea. Lots of it. As much as you can stomach. I found this wonderful recipe at the Chai Pilgrimage website and tried it today. Not because I'm having any tummy problems, but rather because I had a large chunk of ginger waiting for something fabulous to happen to it. Good call. It was so gingery that it gave the impression the tea was hot even when the liquid was tepid. Very tasty, and I'm sure my stomach will love me for it.

For those with sinus colds, congestion: White tea with lemon and honey. Drink it all day long. The caffeine will keep you going too. A nice thing about loose leaf tea is that you can usually infuse it many times. Good bang for your buck, and it'll shorten your cold. Yay!

Also for your sinuses (colds, allergies, sinusitis) - this doesn't have anything to do with tea, except that the apparatus looks like a teapot, and that can only be a good thing in my books - use a Neti Pot.

For sore throats, I like Honeybush, or a green tea with lemon and honey.

I also like the "usual" tisanes, like echinacea, chamomile or mint for soothing purposes.

For general good health (I believe this will rejuvenate your arteries, and possibly fight cancer too!): Mix some turmeric, black pepper and sweetener (I like black molasses) into your black tea. It's not for everyone. My friend Rebecca said it was like a curry broth. Admittedly, it's an acquired taste. But there are good stories coming out of the scientific community about the excellent effects of turmeric, and I'm going to take that to heart.

Like I said, I don't really think these will cure you of anything, but they certainly can't hurt to drink (well, except the Neti Pot. Don't drink from that. Snort it up your nose instead!) And besides, a cup of something warm usually makes you feel better anyway. So if you're feeling a little something coming on, don't panic. Just put the kettle on, get your favorite blanket and hot- water bottle and sip something wonderful.

And get better soon, 'cause personally I'm getting sick of toting the Purell around. :)

Photo courtesy of Auzigog @ Flickr.com

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a ginger story! I had the flu and asked my honey to make some ginger tea. Off he went to buy some ginger root and soon proudly presented a steaming cup. I took my first eager sip and recoiled! He had bought horseradish root! Needless to say the tea didn't help but laughing did me wonders :)

Christa said...

Ha! That's hilarious! Reminds me of the time I'd bought a bunch of radishes thinking they were beetroots. Some borscht that would have made!