Herbal Essentials

Useful Herbal Products

and Their Uses

Mulberry tea may help lower blood glucose levels due, in part, to its gallic acid content. This is a great drink for those with type 2 diabetes as long as blood glucose levels are monitored.

For those who are trying to lower high cholesterol, mulberries and by extension, mulberry tea may help lower the level of bad cholesterol or low density lipoprotein (LDL) that can lead to numerous health problems like heart disease among others.

Antioxidants that have been linked to cancer prevention and the prevention of cellular damage can be found in mulberry tea.

One of the traditional uses of mulberry leaves and mulberry leaf tea is to reduce inflammation. It appears that the mulberry leaf may actually inhibit inflammation that occurs due to high-fat induced obesity

The beta-carotene provided by mulberry tea may help in the prevention of cancer (specifically, thyroid cancer).

Mulberry tea contains deoxynojirimycin, a compound that may inhibit the body’s absorption of carbohydrates. Carbs are what can give us energy, but can lead to weight gain when absorbed too quickly. This means this tea could prove useful to those who are trying to lose weight.

Atherosclerosis occurs when the arteries narrow due to the build-up and hardening of plaque along the walls. Mulberry tea may help prevent that build-up due to the presence of astragalin and isoquercitrincompounds. Quercetin, a part of isoquercitrin is an antioxidant.

 Mulberry tea contains a vitamin A, which can help with a number of systems in the body but most importantly helps with vision care.

Mulberry tea could inhibit bacterial growth, which is great if you are dealing with something like strep throat.

Unlike many other teas and beverages, mulberry tea is caffeine free. Excess caffeine can lead to dehydration as well as affect gastrointestinal motility and gastric acid secretion. Your body can even come to become addicted to the stimulant. None of these issues occur with this tea.

Wound Healing

When you apply comfrey to your skin, it can have some benefits on rashes and irritations. The high content of antioxidants, as well as vitamin C, makes comfrey pastes and salves the ideal solution for speeding up the healing of wounds. Antioxidants also help eliminate foreign substances in the body and preventing cell death, while vitamin C’s importance in producing collagen means that it is necessary to produce new skin cells for healing.

Reduced Pain

If you’re suffering from any sort of chronic pain in your body or if you’re recovering from an injury or surgery, applying comfrey salves and lotions to those areas can quickly soothe that pain. Analgesic qualities in herbs are particularly valuable, and the organic compounds and antioxidants found in comfrey serve that purpose quite nicely for aches and pains.

Anti-inflammatory Activity

In a similar way as the analgesic substances in comfrey, the various organic compounds, like saponins and tannins, also serve as anti-inflammatory components of this powerful herb. If you suffer from arthritis, gout, or other inflammatory disorders, use comfrey salves as often as necessary. The lotion is so potent, however, that you can afford to be quite frugal with the oils and creams.

Boosted Immune System

As mentioned earlier, vitamin C is a major component of comfrey, and ascorbic acid’s primary role in the body is to stimulate the production of white blood cells, which is the first line of defense of the body’s immune system. By increasing the strength of your immune system, even from topical applications, you can improve conditions like jaundice and various vitamin and immune deficiencies.

Better Bone Growth

One of this herbal remedy’s nickname is knitbone because it can help speed up the healing process for broken bones, as well as other injuries. It is also rich in calcium, which is a key ingredient in bone growth. The unique combination of organic compounds found in comfrey can stimulate the regrowth of bone minerals, by facilitating more efficient uptake and use of these minerals within the body.

Improved Respiratory Health

Again, it must be stressed that comfrey should not be consumed, but even inhaling or rubbing it on the chest can work as an expectorant. If you are experiencing clogged sinuses or congestion in your respiratory tracts, this plant can help you cough that out and eliminate it from your system. Those phlegms and fluids can catch bacteria and other pathogens, thus, extending or worsening illnesses, but not if comfrey is administered!

Skin Care

If you are suffering from anything from a spider bite to a bad case of eczema, comfrey can help alleviate the symptoms and reduce irritation. A combination of vitamin C, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory compounds makes this the perfect solution for skin irritations of all kinds, from psoriasis to acne.

Hemlock Pine Tea, Herbal Steam Pouches and  Hemlock Pine Infused Honey

Hemlock also has a high vitamin C content like most species in the pine family ( Pinaceae ). With that in mind, I now think of hemlock tea as the Dimetapp of tree teas – it may taste bad, but it’s good for you. As always, make sure to identify the edible species correctly before picking.

It is used for breathing problems including bronchitis, whooping cough, and asthma; and for painful conditions including teething in children, swollen and painful joints, and cramps. Hemlock is also used for anxiety and mania.

Cedar Smudge Stick