Paraguayan Detox Tea
Aug25

Paraguayan Detox Tea

I was told that to really get a true understanding of natural healing here in Paraguay, you might have to talk to a native Guarani healer, an expert in all about the herbs and medicinals in this country. That sounded exciting, but before I have even had a chance to find one, I already found an amazing healing and cleansing plant myself. That is the healthy looking green, leafy Boldo plant, which grows as big as a bush.

My personal history with Boldo went back a few years while in Canada, and I had found a box of Boldo teabags which I gave to my step-mother with chronic constipation. Lo and behold, she asked me for more. Boldo really helped her stomach and aided in constipation for her.  There was no use looking for laxatives when this tea seemed to do the trick.  I searched but sadly was never able to find more in the entire country.

Fast forward to yesterday at dinnertime, one of our party had come down with extreme upset stomach similar to food poisoning. Eating at a curbside food stand sometimes has it’s downsides. Our local friends showed us a 6 inch sprig of the Boldo bush from the garden and asked if he would like to have Boldo tea, saying that it is a common stomach remedy here. In fact, he says it takes away acid stomach and helps with cleansing the body.

Of course, he went for the tea. It had a distinctive taste but was easy to take.  He began to feel the soothing effects in his sick stomach right away. He filled his water bottle with it, and continued drinking it the next day. 

Here are some of the great helpful benefits the Boldo plant:

Backyard Boldo Bush

  • helps with digestive problems, and unsettled stomach
  • helps with liver and kidney problems (balances uric acid levels)
  • aids in eliminating the production of bile
  • aids in eliminating intestinal parasites
  • helps with gallstones

I have found out that the essential oil is toxic and not recommended, but when the locals recommend the hot tea, it’s obviously tried and true, and likely going to be very helpful. Everywhere here in Paraguay you can find Boldo tea in fancy packaging, or dried leaves in packages sold at the local markets, with the words “Digestivo, Tranquilizante, Analgesico, Afeccion Hepatica” on the back, which gives me the idea that the local people know what it’s actually good for!

This morning I even had a cup of hot Boldo Tea to celebrate my final day here!  If you can get your hands on some, even for an addition to your herbal medicine chest, go for it.

Lyn

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Celery Seed Tea
Apr02

Celery Seed Tea

Apart from being a great tasting herb in potato salad and grandma’s relish, celery seeds are helpful for people suffering from kidney problems, and acts directly on the kidneys as a natural diuretic (eliminates water from the body) helping to eliminate toxic buildup in the joints.

Celery seeds are full of potassium and natural organic sodium, which help your body to cleanse wastes from areas such as the skin, bowels and kidneys. It helps the acid-alkaline balance in the body and is helpful for cleansing from excess uric acid. Do not drink this tea if you are pregnant.

Directions

1 tbsp celery seeds (ground or cut)

1 pint of boiling water

Steep and then let cool. Strain and drink. Best if made fresh.

Drink 3 cups a day for 3 days a week.


Celery Seed Healthful Properties:

  • Celery seed has been used for Urinary Tract disorders because of anti-bacterial properties
  • Diuretic – eliminates water from the body
  • Helpful for gout and eliminating uric acid from the body
  • Tea has been used for headaches
  • Best use is to make very tasty chicken soup and add to turkey dressing.

Recipes such as Celery Seed Tea are intended for your personal enjoyment, and are not intended as medical advice, treatment, or cure of any disease.  I believe that real food in its natural state is helpful for everybody, and everyone is entitled to eat and enjoy food as they wish.

Enjoy your Celery Seed Tea.

 

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9 Useful Cleansing Teas
Mar16

9 Useful Cleansing Teas

I have made prune tea where I placed 2 prunes in a mug of hot water, and enjoyed every drop.  I have made apple tea, where I put a few slices of apple in a cup of hot water with a dash of cinnamon.  The soft apple slices left at the bottom sure taste nice.  Cardamom tea is made with 3 cardamon pods in a cup of hot water.  Fennel tea is made with a teaspoon of fennel seeds in a mug of hot water.  Here are more teas with their stories and ways to make them.

 TAHEEBO TEA,  ESSIAC TEA, GREEN TEA,  GINGER TEA, PEPPERMINT TEA, CELERY TEA,  DANDELION ROOT TEA,  MARIGOLD TEA, WATERMELON SEED TEA

Pau d’Arco or Taheebo Tea

Pau d’Arco is the name of the bark that comes from the Taheebo tree, which grows in Argentina and Brazil.  Most health food stores carry the loose prepackaged bark.  In folklore, taheebo tea has been believed to have anti-microbial properties that act as strengthening and cleansing agents.

Refreshing tea, slightly bitter, but add maple syrup or honey if necessary. Great for controlling candida, boosting the immune system, as a general body detoxifier and as a general body tonic. Drink hot, or cold with ice cubes and a lemon slice.

  • 3 heaping tablespoons of dried bark
  • 10 cups water

Boil for 5-15 minutes and let cool.
Pour the tea (with bark) into a large glass container and store in the fridge.
Drink a cup of this tea two to eight times a day.

Essiac Tea

Blood cleansing Tea – See the Full Recipe Here

Rene Caisse, a very caring nurse from the town of Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada was one of the very first freedom fighters in the field of alternative healing. It was in the 1920’s. She fought the medical establishment, believing that there should be no suppression of non-toxic alternative therapies when established medicine’s toxic procedures have failed.

She never divulged her secret formula to the researchers and medical establishment, but tirelessly worked with patients in her own home including those that were referred to her by doctors. One MD said to her “Miss Caisse, I will not say you have a cure for cancer. But you have more evidence of a beneficial treatment for cancer than anyone in the world.”

She faced opposition, threatened with arrest and imprisonment. She said “I never dreamed of the opposition and persecution that would be my lot in trying to help suffering humanity with no thought of personal gain.”

Renee Caisse died in September, 1978 at the age of 90 years old. Her recipe has been handed down and this is a generally accepted version of it.  Essiac Tea Recipe Here.

Green Tea

A great Chinese tradition, as well as a highly acclaimed cleansing tea, used for disease prevention, anti-aging and longevity.

Some of the health benefits of this all-round cleansing Green Tea are:  antioxidant called EGCG (EpiGalloCatechin Gallate) which is more effective than Vitamin C and E and has been found to aid in reducing cancers of the bladder, colon, pancreas, esophagus, rectum and stomach as well as chronic lymphocytic leukemia,  lowers bad (LDL) cholesterol and improves the good cholesterol (HDL), reduces high blood pressure, lowers blood sugar, helps protect the liver, aids in dental health, and boosts immune function.

Here is how to brew a perfect cup of green tea.  The goal is to get the best flavor at the same time as retaining the maximum health benefits of the Green Tea.

  • Use 1-2 teaspoons of good quality green tea leaves
  • Fill the kettle (or pot) with cold water and bring to a boil
  • After turning off the kettle (or pot), allow it to stand for up to 3 minutes to lower the temperature a little
  • Pour the heated water over the tea bag or tea leaves, and allow to steep for up to 3 minutes.  If using a tea bag, remove the bag.
  • Allow the tea to cool for 3 more minutes.  Drink the tea.  You can drink 2-5 cups per day.

Tips on making cleansing Green Tea:

  1. Do not over brew the leaves
  2. You may make 2-3 more pots of tea from one batch of leaves.
  3. Do not pour boiling water on the leaves directly as the tea will be bitter
  4. For variety, add honey, sliced ginger, fresh lemon or mint.
  5. Try iced tea with honey and ice cubes.
  6. Best green tea is made with the dried leaf tea.  Avoid green tea bags if possible.

Ginger Tea (also a cold-cleansing tea)

Ginger tea has a spicy, invigorating taste, yet it is soothing and calming to the stomach.

Ginger has been used as a home remedy for flu and cold, to help with travel and motion sickness, indigestion, nausea, and also to ward off a sore throat. Ginger is also used in cleansing the kidneys.

Some other benefits of ginger is that it increases circulation, improves digestion, helps with the nervous system, and is a general immune booster. Teas that bring a host of health benefits like this are what we call cleansing teas.

The benefit of drinking Cleansing teas is that it helps to cleanse out the toxic residue from your system and aid the body in healing itself.

Ginger Tea Recipe

Ingredients:  Water – 4 cups
2 inch piece of fresh ginger root
Optional:  honey and lemon slice

Peel the ginger root and slice into thin slices.
Bring the water to a boil in a pot.  Add the ginger.
Cover and reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Strain the tea.
Add honey and lemon to taste.
Note:  If you are making ginger tea as a home remedy during cold and flu season, sweeteners are not recommended.

Peppermint Tea

Peppermint has a fresh, lively taste. The dried leaves from your own herb garden make a wonderful tea.

Peppermint is naturally caffeine-free. Someone has called Peppermint  “The Ultimate Internal Body Workout”!!  The cleansing benefits are usually in the following areas:  improving digestion, soothing the stomach, helping diarrhea and intestinal colic, for a sore throat, heartburn, as well as antioxidant properties.  Here are some more areas that are reported to be helped:  toning of the internal organs such as the liver, intestines and nervous system, help with halitosis (bad breath, a sign of toxicity), dermatitis and itching associated with eczema, menstrual cramps, anti-viral (including herpes) and headaches.  No wonder drinking the tea is a great cleansing idea.

I personally drink peppermint tea as an after-dinner digestive aid, for stomach gas, as a breath freshener, and as a relaxer.

Peppermint Cleansing Tea

  • Place ¼ cup mint leaves in a pot
  • Pour boiling water over the leaves
  • Steep for 10 minutes
  • Strain out the leaves when you pour your peppermint tea.

Optional: add honey or maple syrup as a sweetener.

Celery Seed Tea (Kidney Cleansing Tea)

Celery Seeds are best known for being a great tasting herb in potato salad or grandma’s relish.  Celery Seeds have also been helpful for people suffering from kidney problems and acts directly on the kidneys as a natural diuretic (eliminates water from the body) and helps to eliminate toxic buildup in the joints.  Celery seeds have been used for Urinary Tract disorders because of its anti-bacterial properties, for headaches, and for gout.

Celery seeds are full of potassium and natural organic sodium, which help the body to cleanse wastes from areas such as the skin, bowels and kidneys.  It helps the acid-alkaline balance in the body and is helpful for cleansing from excess uric acid.  Do not drink this tea if you are pregnant.

Directions:
1 tbsp celery seeds (ground or cut)
1 pint of boiling water

Steep and then let cool.
Strain and drink.
Drink 3 cups a day for 3 days a week.
Best if made fresh.

Dandelion Root Tea: Get your Cleansing Dandelion Tea recipe here

Marigold Tea (Calendula Tea)

Calendulais used externally in salves and oils, for conditions like inflammation, burns & cuts, eczema and other skin conditions.  Calendula tea is used internally as a healthy tonic to aid in digestion, help with stomach ulcers, cleanse the body, reduce fevers and infections, and even help menstrual cramps. The flavonoids in the marigold petals are the active ingredients in this remedy.

This is a perfect tea for the Do-It-Yourself person.  Marigolds grow easily in the garden, and you can pick the petals fresh for tea, or use petals you have dried yourself.  Make sure your marigolds are not sprayed.

Method:

  • Place 2 teaspoons of fresh petals, or 1 teaspoon of dried petals per cup of water.
  • Place the petals in a cup and pour boiling water over.  Cover and let steep for 15 minutes.  Adjust the strength for your taste – add more petals if you like it stronger.
  • Strain and press the petals to drain the tea.  Add honey to taste and enjoy.  Drink 1 or 2 cups each day.

Note:  You could be allergic to this tea if you are allergic to daisies or ragweed.

Watermelon Seed Tea

(Recipe by Cayce)
Who could have thought that watermelon seed tea would be a great cleansing tea for cleansing and purifying the kidneys and bladder?  Now is the time to collect all those seeds and get ready to make your cleansing tea.

Cayce, a health enthusiast, recommended Watermelon seed tea for kidney stones, to stimulate under-active kidneys, and to help with circulation.

Instructions:
1 Tablespoon Watermelon seeds, ground or chopped up.  (Buy large watermelons and harvest the seeds)
1 pint of boiling water

Directions:
Steep.  Let it cool.
Strain and drink.

  • Make this tea fresh each time
  • Drink once a day, 3 days per week.
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Cleansing Juice Recipes
Mar15

Cleansing Juice Recipes

Vegetable and Fruit juices provide complete nutrition in a natural food form.

Your body can absorb the food and go to work using the nutrients for repair, rejuvenation, and rebuilding of any part of the body that needs help.  Whenever I drink freshly juiced vegetable juice, I feel an instant surge of energy and feel that cleansing action in my body immediately.

Steve Meyerowitz has said: “Condensing pounds of valuable foods into a single glass, while simultaneously maximizing assimilation, is what makes drinking juice so beneficial to health”.  I agree.

We have used the Champion Juicer for over 20 years and find it does a wonderful job.  You will need a heavy-duty juicer like a Champion, or a Breville juicer to give you good extraction of juice from the dry pulp.

“When the vegetable juices are raw and fresh, the water they contain is actually Distilled Water, distilled by Nature, and they contain exactly what the body needs, the finest quality of nourishment”.  Water Can Undermine Your Health, 1996 Edition, by Dr. Norman Walker, p.4

Try out some of these great juices.  Every one of them will be good for you.  Have some fun and enjoy God’s great gift of health as you drink them.

1.  Kidney Cleansing Juice
by Dr. Norman Walker

Juice and drink three times a day
Carrots
Beets
Cucumber

2.  Kidney Stone Cleansing Juice
Adapted from Healing Juices by L.A. Justice

Parsnip juice mixed with Carrot, Celery, Zucchini or Beet juice.
Note:  Avoid alcohol, coffee and soda drinks.

3.  Energy Boosting Cleansing Juice

Juice and drink twice a day.

1 bunch parsley
1 stalk celery
1/2 cup spinach juice
1 kale leaf
3 beet greens
1-2 apples
Add 1 cup pure water

4.  Regularity Cleansing Juice

Juice and drink twice a day:

3 apples with skin – contain pectin which triggers contractions of the colon
1 pear
1 cup spinach leaves
1/4 lemon
1/4 inch of fresh ginger

Juice and drink twice a day
Note:  Limit constipation foods like cheese (and milk), fried foods and beef.

5.  Blood Regulator Cleansing Juice
from Juicing for Life by Cherie Calbom and Maureen Keane

Juice and drink:
1 handful spinach
4 lettuce leaves
4 sprigs parsley
6 carrots, greens removed
1/4 turnip

6.  Cleansing Tonic

1/2 inch wedge green cabbage
2 green apples, seeded
6 carrots, greens removed

7.  Spring Cleansing Tonic
from Juicing for Life by Cherie Calbom and Maureen Keane

Handful parsley
4 carrots, greens removed
1 garlic clove
2 stalks celery

8.  Our Personal Usual Healthy Juice Blend
I am trying to follow Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s nutrient-dense, low glycemic index chart.  Also, I am trying to use as many “above-ground” vegetables as possible.  Here is a typical juice blend that we make at our house.  We try to go to the local vegetable market where people sell their organic produce, to get locally grown healthy nutrition.

1 bunch of parsley
1/2 bunch of cilantro
3 carrots
1/2 bunch of celery
1 cucumber
5 kale leaves
2 inch piece of ginger (use less if this is too strong)
1/2 lemon
2-3 medium size beets with greens
1 lettuce, endive, spinach or combination of whatever you have
3 organic apples

TIPS from “Make your Juicer Your Drug Store” by Dr. L. Newman

  • Raw carrot juice is excellent for babies and growing children, as it contains the minerals and vitamins necessary for health and growth.
  • Diabetes/Pancreas support juice:  A combination of carrot, celery and parsley juice with the juice of either string bean, cabbage or brussels sprouts (using carrot and celery in about equal proportions, or even one-third carrot and two-thirds celery).  Start with one glassful and increase over time until you take two quarts per day.
  • Beet juice improves both the quality of the blood and also the circulation.  Take 1/3 beet juice along with 2/3 carrot and celery juice.
  • Carrot juice, rich in Vitamin. A, is good for the eyesight.  Make carrot and parsley juice for the eyes.
  • Carrot juice supports the body with any place that is lined or covered with mucous membrane i.e. lungs
  • Dandelion juice is a blood builder and purifier, liver cleanser, gall bladder and spleen.  It increases the flow of bile and saliva so it is an aid to digestion.  It has also been used for such conditions as diabetes, liver and kidney troubles.  (I suggest that you add it to carrot juice).
  • Bathe in the morning sun.  A sun bath and air bath is a great purifier.
  • Most health problems begin with constipation.
  • Two to three hot Epsom salts baths weekly will help to promote better circulation and also rid the body of waste matter through the skin pores.

TIPS from “Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices” by N.W. Walker

  • Cucumber juice is a good natural diuretic, promoting the flow of urine.  Also it promotes hair growth due to its high silicon and sulfur content.
  • Parsley juice is potent and should be taken along with carrot juice.
  • Spinach juice helps to cleanse and heal the lower bowels and the intestinal tract, plus it supports the teeth and gums preventing pyorrhea.
  • Turnip leaves contain the highest percentage of calcium of any vegetable.  Combine turnip leaf juice with carrot and dandelion juice to support the bones and teeth.  Turnip leaves are also a strong alkalizer, especially when combined with celery and carrot juices
  • Watercress juice added to carrot, parsley and potato juices has been helpful for emphysema.
  • Beet juice has been helpful for menstrual disturbances and during menopause.  Take 2-3 ounces two or three times a day.
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Hulda Clark Kidney Cleanse Recipe
Jan31

Hulda Clark Kidney Cleanse Recipe

Dr. Hulda Clark’s approach to DIY “cleaning up” the body organs in an attempt to relieve the stress of toxicity and initiate healing is brilliant.   The Clean-Ups are not even difficult, and the results are worth all the time it takes.   Dr. Clark’s Liver Cleanse Recipe and this Kidney Cleanse Recipe one are two of the most important cleanses in beginning the Hulda Clark protocol.

“Killing parasites, removing pollutants and clearing gallstones and kidney stones from your body is a powerful combination of treatments. It is so powerful you can change yourself into a new person in half a year and then go on improving for years more.

Dr. Hulda R. Clark, from “The Cure for All Diseases”

KIDNEY CLEANSE RECIPE

from “The Cure for All Diseases” by Dr. Hulda Clark

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup dried Hydrangea root
  • 1/2 cup Gravel root
  • 1/2 cup Marshmallow root
  • 4 bunches of fresh parsley
  • Goldenrod tincture (leave this out of the recipe if you are allergic to it)
  • Ginger capsules
  • Uva Ursi capsules
  • Vegetable glycerin
  • Black Cherry Concentrate, 8 oz
  • vitamin B6, 250 mg
  • Magnesium oxide tablets, 300 mg.

Measure 1/4 cup of each root and set them to soak, together in 10 cups of cold tap water, using a non-metal container and a non-metal lid (a dinner plate will do). After four hours (or overnight) add 8 oz black cherry concentrate. Heat to boiling and simmer for 20 minutes. Drink 1/4 cup as soon as it is cool enough. Pour the rest through a bamboo strainer into a sterile pint jar (glass) and several freezable containers. Refrigerate the glass jar.

Boil the fresh parsley, after rinsing, in 1 quart of water for 3 minutes. Drink 1/4 cup when cool enough. Refrigerate a pint and freeze 1 pint. Throw away the parsley.

Dosage: Each morning, pour together 3/4 cup of the root mixture and 1/2 cup parsley water, filling a large mug. Add 20 drops of goldenrod tincture and 1 tablespoon of glycerin. Drink this mixture in divided doses throughout the day. Keep it cold. Do not drink it all at once or you will get a stomachache and feel pressure in your bladder. If your stomach is very sensitive, start on half this dose.

Save the roots after the first boiling, storing them in the freezer. After 13 days when your supply runs low, boil the same roots a second time, but add only 6 cups water and simmer only 10 minutes. This will last another 8 days, for a total of three weeks. You may cook the roots a third time if you wish, but the recipe gets less potent. If your problem is severe, only cook them twice.

After three weeks, repeat with fresh herbs. You need to do the Kidney Cleanse for six weeks to get good results, longer for severe problems.

Also take:

  • Ginger capsules: one with each meal (3/day)
  • Uva Ursi capcules: one with breakfast and two with supper
  • Vitamin B6 (250 mg): one a day
  • Magnesium oxide (300 mg): one a day

Take these supplements just before your meal to avoid burping.

Some notes on this recipe:

  • this herbal tea, as well as the parsley, can easily spoil. Heat it to boiling every fourth day if it is being stored in the refrigerator; this re-sterilizes it. If you sterilize it in the morning you may take it to work without refrigerating it (use a glass container).
  • When you order the herbs, be careful! Herb companies are not all the same! These roots should have a strong fragrance. If the ones you buy are barely fragrant, they have lost their active ingredients; switch to a different supplier. Fresh roots can be used. Do not use powder.
  • Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) is a common flowering bush.
  • Gravel root (Eupatorium purpureum) is a wild flower.
  • Marshmallow root (Althea officinalis) is mucilaginous and kills pain.
  • Fresh parsley can be bought at a grocery store. Parsley flakes and dried parsley herb do not work.
  • Goldenrod herb works as well the tincture but you may get an allergic reaction from smelling the herb. If you know you are allergic to this, leave this one out of your recipe.
  • Ginger from the grocery store works fine; you may put it into capsules for yourself (size 0, 1 or 00).

There are probably dozens of herbs that can dissolve kidney crystals and stones. If you can only find several of those in the recipe, make the recipe anyway; it will just take longer to get results. Remember that vitamin B6 and magnesium, taken daily, can prevent oxalate stones from forming, but only if you stop drinking tea. Tea has 15.6 mg oxalic acid per cup. A tall glass of iced tea could give you over 20 mg oxalic acid.

Switch to herbal teas. Cocoa and chocolate, also, have too much oxalic acid to be used as beverages.

Remember that phosphate crystals are made when you eat too much phosphate. Phosphate levels are high in meats, breads, cereals, pastas, and carbonated drinks. Eat less of these, and increase your milk (2%), fruits and vegetables. Drink at least 2 pints of water a day.

Cleanse your kidneys at least twice a year.

You can dissolve all your kidney stones in 3 weeks, but make new ones in 3 days if you are drinking tea and cocoa and phosphated (carbonated) beverages. None of the beverage recipes in this chapter are conducive to stone formation. 

P.S. If you have trouble finding the ingredients for the Kidney Cleanse, go over to Dr. Clark Tools where you can order the exact herbs you need.

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