Herbal Tea Recipes To Relieve A Cold

Some of nature's best natural remedies to keep the winter bugs at bay
are herbal teas that are made from common herbs that you may use in
cooking every day. Sage, thyme, oregano, and rosemary are herbs that
have all been used traditionally by herbalists in herbal tea recipes to
treat the symptoms of colds & flu.

These herbs contain strong essential oils that can potentially fight
against colds and flu. They are powerful antioxidants as well. So
instead of rushing out to buy expensive over the counter cold remedies
look in your garden or kitchen cupboard for the herbal cold cures.

Here are some herbal tea recipes:

Sage

Sage, whose Latin name salvia means to heal, was considered to be one of
four sacred plants by Native Americans . For irritations or inflammation
of the throat try gargling with a mixture of sage and apple cider
vinegar sweetened, if you must, with a little good quality honey or sip
a soothing hot infusion.

Recipe for a herbal tea infusion:

Pour a pint of boiling water onto 1oz of dried sage leaves or 1 tbsp of
fresh and leave for 5 - 10 minutes. Drink a small glassful of the
strained tea throughout the day. Sage can help to restore appetite as well.

Thyme

There are many varieties of thyme but common garden thyme will be
effective for helping you fight off sore throats and colds. Try it when
you have a cough or to clear mucus from your chest. It was once used on
bandages to prevent infection and is even reputed to be a hangover cure
and can lift your spirits.

Thymol the active ingredient in thyme is one of the strongest
antiseptics known. It has also been used to treat fungal problems such
as athletes' foot and is reputed to be a hangover cure.

Thyme herbal tea recipe:

Use 1 tsp of dried leaves or a couple of sprigs of fresh leaves for each
cup of boiling water. The time you leave it to infuse is a matter of
personal taste and can be from 5 - 15 minutes. Strain and slowly sip 3
cups a day inhaling the vapors until your symptoms improve. You can also
crush some fresh leaves gently in your hands and inhale the vapors.

Oregano

Oregano also known as pot marjoram has a high thymol content too. It is
one of Nature's most powerful natural health remedies against bacteria,
viruses, yeast and fungi and has been used as a natural herbal remedy
since ancient times. It can be used to treat sore throat, coughs and
colds as as well as loosening phlegm in the bronchial tubes.

Oregano is used extensively in cooking throughout the Mediterranean
especially as an ingredient of pizza and combines well with thyme and
rosemary.

Oregano herbal tea recipe:

Infuse 1 tsp dried oregano or 3 tbsp fresh leaves in 8 oz boiling water
for 10 minutes, strain and sweeten with a little good quality honey if
wanted.

Rosemary

Rosemary or Rosmarinus officinalis is related to the mint family of
plants and is one of the oldest Mediterranean aromatic shrubs in
cultivation. With it's attractive leaves and pretty blue flowers it is a
favorite for kitchen gardens.

Rosemary tea can help bring relief for colds, catarrh, wheezing and
bronchitis clearing phlegm from the chest. good as a gargle for a sore
throat. Infuse sage with rosemary and use as a gargle for a sore throat.

Rosemary herbal tea recipe:

Use 2 tsp of dried rosemary to a cup of boiling water. The addition of
fresh ginger root and lemon peel makes this a delicious healthy herbal
drink.

Here is the recipe:

1 small bunch of rosemary, leaves gently bruised with a spoon.
1 inch thumb of ginger, sliced into rounds
The peel of two unwaxed or organic lemons
6-8 cups of boiling water

Place the rosemary, ginger and lemon peel in a large teapot. Add the
boiling water and leave to infuse for approximately five minutes. Strain
and sip slowly. You can add a little good quality honey or stevia if you
need to sweeten.

While modern medicine is still searching for a cure for a cold the
history of healing herbs goes back thousands of years. Give these herbal
tea recipes a try next time you are trying to shake off the winter bugs.

Posted Dec 20 2008 6:50pm on
http://www.wellsphere.com/complementary-alternative-medicine-article/herbal-tea-recipes-to-cure-a-cold/537003

Preliminary Study Shows Fish Oil Favourably Affects Prostate Cancer Cells

From Nutri Newsletter, Jan 3 2011

A new study, published in Cancer Prevention Research has found that a low fat diet supplemented with fish oil may help to slow the growth of prostate cancer cells compared to a traditional high-fat Western diet.

In the study, 48 men undergoing prostatectomy were randomly assigned to receive either a low fat diet with 5g fish oil daily – a dietary omega 6: omega 3 ratio of 2:1, or a control Western diet, with an omega 6: omega 3 ratio of 15:1, for 4 – 6 weeks prior to the operation.

The researchers found that:

• Although serum markers of prostate cancer were unaltered, the fish oil supplementation reduced benign and malignant prostate tissue omega 6: omega 3 ratios and was shown to reduce and slow cell growth proliferation in vivo.
  
  
• Results also showed that blood from patients receiving fish oil slowed the growth of prostate cancer cells in vivo when compared to blood from men assigned to the Western diet, which did not slow cancer growth.
  

Study author, Dr William Aronson commented, “The finding that the low-fat, fish oil diet reduced the number of rapidly dividing cells in the prostate cancer tissue is important because the rate at which the cells are dividing can be predictive of future cancer progression.”

“The lower the rate of proliferation, the lesser the chances that the cancer will spread outside the prostate, where it is much harder to treat.”

He added, “You truly are what you eat, we are extremely pleased about our findings, which suggest that by altering the diet, we may favourably affect the biology of prostate cancer.”

The researchers added that because of the short duration and small sample size of the study, further research was needed before dietary changes could be fully recommended.  A larger study following 100 men over the course of a year is now planned.

by Rachel Bartholomew Dip ION MBANT

 

References:

Cancer Prevention Research
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-11-0298
Aronson, W.J. Kobayashi, N. et al. Phase II Prospective Randomised Trial of a Low-Fat Diet with Fish Oil Supplementation in Men Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy

Prevent a Heart Attack: Know Your Triglyceride/HDL Ratio

The published evidence is quite clear in documenting that the actual total cholesterol level itself is not the most important risk factor of cardiovascular disease.

 

It is the ratio between the level of HDL-"good" cholesterol and total cholesterol that we need to be concerned about.

 

Therefore, in adults, the HDL-"good" cholesterol/total cholesterol ratio should be higher than 0.24 (just divide your HDL level by your cholesterol).

 

Or more precisely, the HDL/total cholesterol ratio:

• 0.24 or higher is considered ideal
• under 0.24 - low
• less than 0.10 - very dangerous.

Generally speaking, the higher the ratio, the better (the lower your risk of a heart attack).

 

However, HDL is closely related to triglycerides. 

 

It appears common for people with high triglycerides to have low HDL's, and these same people also tend to have high levels of clotting factors in their blood stream, which is unhealthy in protecting against heart disease.

Therefore, in adults, the triglyceride/HDL-"good" cholesterol ratio should be below 2  (just divide your triglycerides level by your HDL).

 

Or more precisely, the triglyceride/HDL ratio:

• 2 or less is considered ideal
• 4 - high
• 6 - much too high

And, since HDL (high density lipoprotein) is protective against heart disease, the lower the ratio, the better. In other words, the lower your triglycerides, or the higher your HDL, the smaller this ratio becomes.

 

It is now believed that the triglycerides/HDL ratio is one of the most potent predictors of heart disease. 

 

A Harvard-lead study author reported:

 

"High triglycerides alone increased the risk of heart attack nearly three-fold.

And people with the highest ratio of triglycerides to HDL -- the "good" cholesterol -- had 16 times the risk of heart attack as those with the lowest ratio of triglycerides to HDL in the study of 340 heart attack patients and 340 of their healthy, same age counterparts.

The ratio of triglycerides to HDL was the strongest predictor of a heart attack, even more accurate than the LDL/HDL ratio (Circulation 1997;96:2520-2525)."

 

 

Taken from http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/public/796.cfm on Jan 3 2011.