“Oh, hardy flower, disdained as weed,
Despised for head of feathery seed,
Your unsung virtues rate a ballad,
Choice roots for wine, crisp leaves for salad.”
Betty Gay

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is one of the most controversial plants. Considered by some a pesky weed, it is the bane of those gardeners who enjoy spotless, green lawns and of those people who suffer from allergies. However, this “weed” introduced to North America by the European settlers for its medicinal powers is everything but a weed. Not only is the plant edible in its entirety, it is also used as a potent herb for a variety of purposes.
The name dandelion derived from the French dent de lion or Lion’s tooth as its jagged leaves resemble teeth. While universally hated by gardeners, it is a delight to children, who enjoy blowing the seeds into the air, innocently helping spread the seeds that will allow more plants to grow.
Interestingly, many traditions deeply rooted in the folklore involve the dandelion and its seeds. For instance, while some believe that the dandelion seeds will carry their thoughts away to a loved one, the Victorians used the dandelion as a symbol of love. Some refer to the dandelion as a “shepherd’s clock” or a “fairy clock” because the flowers open with the first light of day and close at dusk. Others insist that they can predict the weather using dandelion seeds as reference, since the seeds will extend in good weather and remain closed when it rains.
Legends aside, dandelions are versatile plants whose leaves and flowers can be used as food in salads, stir fries and soups. The flowers are used to make dandelion wine and the roots can be roasted and ground to be used as a substitute for coffee.
Dandelions also have many medicinal virtues. The leaves contain vitamins like A, C, and K and minerals, like calcium, potassium, iron, and manganese. In Chinese medicine dandelion was used to purify the blood and boost the immune system.

Drinking dandelion tea has many health advantages. It is frequently used as a diuretic, as it allows the liver to eliminate toxins more efficiently and it helps reduce uric acid, and stimulate urination so that it can be used to fight urinary tract infections. It is also helpful for people who suffer from diabetes because it can stimulate the production of insulin, keeping the blood sugar level low. It can be used to aid digestion and support the liver and to improve calcium deficiency and promote bone health naturally, as it is rich in calcium. Because it is rich in antioxidants, dandelion can also be used to prevent cancer.
A word of caution: Be careful when gathering dandelions. Always gather wild dandelions, as those that grow in gardens and other urban areas are polluted with pesticides.
Finally, for those who are not convinced of the healing power of the dandelion, here is another reason to let it grow in the garden. The dandelion plant is beneficial for gardening because its deep root system helps bring up nutrients for plants with shallow roots, it adds minerals and nitrogen to the soil, and it attracts very important pollinating insects.
Love your dandelions!

Health Benefits of a Social Herbal Tea

Called “The Drink of the Gods” by the Guarani and many other indigenous South American cultures and “The Green Gold of the Indios” by the Spaniards who settled there, yerba mate (ilex paraguariensis) is made from the dried leaves of a perennial small tree native to Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The name derives from the Quechua words mati, which means gourd and yerba, meaning herb. Mate is an infusion traditionally made with yerba mate and warm water in an empty calabash gourd and drunk through a straining straw. It is a social drink usually shared with friends as well as a powerful herbal tea loaded with medicinal properties.

According to The Pasteur Institute and the Paris Scientific society in 1964 yerba mate contains “practically all of the vitamins necessary to sustain life.” Rich in vitamins (A, C, E, and several B vitamins), minerals (Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Selenium, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, and Zinc) and powerful antioxidants, yerba mate is a stimulant, much like coffee. However, unlike coffee, it contains matein, a natural substance that stimulates the nervous system, increasing energy levels and concentration and fighting physical and mental fatigue, without coffee’s side effects.

Yerba mate is also used as a digestive tonic used to treat constipation, diarrhea, and indigestion. It is said to reduce appetite, so it is widely used by people who want to lose weight. It is proven to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides and lower blood pressure. It has even been shown to fight cancer and other inflammatory diseases by boosting the immune system.

A Social Herbal Tea Tradition from Argentina
Lo mismo que en el ranchito,
en la mansión del magnate,
es rey y señor el mate,
nuestro brebaje exquisito.
Decir más no necesito
en esta ponderación
pues quien le tiene afición
comprende que yo no miento
pues hasta el abatimiento
quita nuestro cimarrón
From El mate by Evaristo Barrios

Whether filthy rich
Or poor in the extreme
Our delicious mate
In every house reigns supreme.
Enough is said of this libation
For further consideration
I do not lie when I say
As those who drink it do know
Our bitter mate has the power
To chase the blues away.

There are many tea traditions around the world. Indians enjoy Chai, a blend of black tea leaves and spices, at home and in the streets. Moroccans are famous for their Tuareg Tea, a blend of green tea leaves with mint which requires three servings, while Russians make zavarka, a black tea made in a metal container called samovar, which they enjoy with pastries.
Different cultures have different tea rituals, the most famous of which are perhaps the traditional Chinese tea ceremony, the English afternoon tea ritual and the Japanese matcha ceremony. Less known is the Argentine mate tradition.
Mate is the infusion of an herb called Yerba mate, Ilex paraguariensis, which grows in South America. Originally cultivated by the Guarani people of Paraguay, it became a drink of choice in parts of Brasil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina, where it is considered a national drink.
According to a Guarani legend, the Goddesses of the Moon and the Cloud came to the Earth one day to visit. They encountered a yaguareté (jaguar) that was going to attack them but were saved by an old man. In compensation, the goddesses gave the old man a new kind of plant, from which he could prepare a “drink of friendship”.
This “drink of friendship” is traditionally prepared in a calabash gourd to which hot (never boiling) water is added and drunk through a straining straw called bombilla. Although mate can be enjoyed alone, its beauty lies in the social aspects of sharing the infusion with others.
The cebador/a prepares the infusion and has the first drink to test the temperature of the water and the smoothness of the drink. This first mate is also the most bitter because the infusion gets milder as more water is poured. The cebador/a then refills the gourd with water and passes it in a counter-clockwise direction to the first person, who drinks the contents of the gourd and returns it to the cebador/a for a refill. The mate is then passed to the next person, continuing in a circle. The participants of the circle keep receiving the gourd until the say gracias (Thank you). This ritual can continue for a few rounds or a few hours, in which case more water is warmed and the contents of the gourd are renewed.
In Argentina tomar mate (drink mate) is a tradition that started with the gauchos (cowboys) and is now part of everybody’s daily routine. It is synonymous with friendship; it is inclusive and it invites intimate conversation. It is served to guests on social occasions regardless of social status and age. Children sometimes enjoy mate cocido, which is brewed as tea or mate de leche (milk), which is infused with warm water in a gourd or as regular tea. Although traditionally mate is drunk without sugar, it can also be enjoyed with some sugar, honey, or better still, stevia leaves.

And for the milonga lovers, here is a treat from Carlos Mayel’s AL MATE…….enjoy

Stevia (Stevia rabaudiana) is an herb natural to Brazil and Paraguay, where the native Guarani people have used it for thousands of years to sweeten their mate, an infusion of yerba mate leaves and hot water served in a hollowed calabash gourd and drank through a straw. They also used it in medicine and as a sweet treat. Stevia can be found now around the world, although the best stevia is still found in South America.
Since stevia is many times sweeter than sugar and it does not raise blood sugar levels, modern science has adopted it as a favourite sweetener, which is used in many industries. Unfortunately, the synthetic powder that can be found in supermarkets and is used to sweeten soft drinks, is detrimental to human health. It is far from “natural” as it is highly processed and bleached and it contains other man-made chemicals.
On the other hand, nature, as always, has the perfect solution. In fact, you can raise stevia plants from seeds every summer in pots that can be kept inside over the winter, like I do. You can use the fresh leaves or you can buy the dried leaves, grind them yourself and add them to your favourite herbal tea blend or other beverages, so that you can enjoy a sweet drink without the bitter aftertaste of the chemical stuff, but be careful with the amounts you use because just a tiny bit can be extremely sweet!
At home, I make my own stevia water, which can also be used in any recipe, by simply mixing some stevia leaves with hot water (but not boiling hot). I let it cool to room temperature, strain it, and store it in the fridge.
Natural stevia lets you enjoy the sweetness of nature without the side effects of sugar and other chemical sweeteners.

The Gingko, that Eastern tree,
In my garden plot now grows.
In its leaf there seems to be
A secret that the wise man knows.
Is that leaf one and lonely?
In itself in two divided?
Is it two that have decided
To be seen as one leaf only?
To such questions I reply:
Do not my love songs say to you–
Should you ever wonder why I sing, that I am one yet two?
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (trans. Anthea Bell)

One of the oldest tree species in the world, ginkgo biloba, also known as maidenhair tree, is native to China, but nowadays it can be found all around the world. This deciduous conifer can live up to a millennium and reach heights of 40 meters. Its leaves are composed of two or more fan-shaped lobes, hence the Latin name biloba (“two lobes”).
The fruit of the ginkgo tree has been used, together with the leaves, in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years to treat digestive ailments, circulatory problems, and memory loss, among others.
In Western medicine, ginkgo is mainly used as a concentrated extract made from the dried green leaves of the tree. The leaves contain flavonoids and terpenoids, which are antioxidants that help fight free radicals in the body. Emerging modern day research shows that ginkgo is beneficial in the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer disease. I is also used to improve concentration and blood circulation. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, research suggests that ginkgo may protect damaged nerve cells and have a positive effect on memory, and the Mayo Clinic states that ginkgo extract is beneficial in the treatment of symptoms related to insufficient blood flow to the brain, general anxiety disorder and schizophrenia. Although more scientific research is needed, gingko appears to be also beneficial in the treatment of a wide variety of ailments and diseases, such as asthma, ADHD, depression, autism, claudication, fibromyalgia, erectile dysfunction, glaucoma, and many more.
You can also enjoy ginkgo dry leaves in the form of herbal tea and consume about three cups a day (with or without a teaspoon of homemade stevia water to sweeten it), but in order to fully enjoy ginkgo’s benefits, you can take it as a tincture. At Herbalitea we offer both, the loose leaf tea and the tincture, as well as a variety of other medicinal teas.

Here is a recipe to make your own tincture:
Place 150 grams of dried ginkgo leaves in a glass jar and add 500 ml of vodka. Store it in a dark place for a month, shaking the jar daily. After a month, strain the leaves and store in a glass container. Take one teaspoon a day.

A word of advice: Although ginkgo is considered a safe herb, always consult with a medical practitioner or herbalist before taking it (or any herbal remedy), especially if you are taking other medication, such as blood-thinning drugs, have epilepsy, are scheduled to have surgery, or if you are pregnant.

When you think about treating your skin, you should think about witch hazel. It contains strong antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and astringent properties, which helps the organs, in this case the skin, contract and stop bleeding after the antioxidants kill the bacteria. From treating simple skin issues like acne to more complicated ones like helping varicose veins heal faster, or treating eczema and hemorrhoids, witch hazel can come to the rescue. We recommend to use a combination of the dry bark and leaves for the preparation of the remedy, although the fresh leaves can also be used.
To prepare a decoction, we recommend that you boil the dry bark and the leaves in water for about 30 minutes and simmer the substance for another 30 minutes covered with the lid. This method will allow the constituents of the plant to be released to the water and not to evaporate. Then you can add a few drops of tea tree oil and you can keep it in the refrigerator for a few months. Using a small cotton pad, you can apply the substance to your skin every night before bed.
Another method to create a soothing topical application is to extract the constituents of the plant in oil. There are many oils that can penetrate your skin to get deep into your tissue. A few of these oils are coconut, avocado, jojoba, olive and more. At Herbalitea we will be happy to help you prepare your own cream. Just send us an email.
In case of internal bleeding, witch hazel can be used as a tea due to its properties that help stop bleeding and contract the internal injury. The taste is a bit bitter so to make it more palatable, we recommend to use stevia leaves as a natural sweetener. Due to its powerful astringent characteristics, witch hazel as a tea can be very useful in diarrhea cases, dysentery and mucous discharges.

Let’s not forget the basics: Our body communicates with us on a daily basis. Unless you suffer from mechanical cuts or lesion to your skin, the symptoms that you see on the skin are a consequence of some internal organ illness that is being reflected on the skin. There are many natural remedies made out of plants that can help you cure your skin symptoms, but as a rule of thumb, if your skin condition keeps recurring despite succeeding with your natural herbal treatment, we recommend that you seek treatment from a qualified medical doctor or homeopath. You can contact us for homeopathic treatment appointments at 647-990-1787 or send us an email to [email protected]

A long time ago while visiting my native city, Buenos Aires, I was talking to my uncle Alberto about immigration and the separation from the loved ones. He gave me a souvenir: two leaves from a tree. He explained to me that if we learn how to live like it, we will have a better life and we will overcome many obstacles we encounter in our daily routines.
This tree he called The Bearer of Hope and the history behind this amazing tree is that in Japan, after the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima, all the infrastructure collapsed, as well as all the trees and plants but not this tree.
This tree is very flexible and has the ability to bend. It is this ability that enabled it to withstand the blast and to stand straight up to continue with life. The original tree still lives in Japan and is treasured by all the citizens.
As we move along through life, the stress, the rush to accomplish our goals, separations from loved ones, saying good bye to our young kids that start their own lives, may make us feel down, upset and tired.
If we are rigid in front of all these unexpected events that occur to us, at some point we might break. Our system will collapse and shut down and it will be very difficult to recover.
But if we learn to be flexible like our tree, we will have good chances to stand up straight and firm to continue and accomplish our dreams.
I present to you GINKGO BILOBA: Please go to this link to see more pictures of the tree in Hiroshima.

About two years ago, I started suffering from what my optometrist and my MD diagnosed as dry eye syndrome. Among the symptoms were redness and irritation, a feeling that something like sand was present in the eyes, and sometimes itchiness and a teary discharge. In my case, the eyes produce tears, but they dry up very quickly, causing a lack of lubrication. The culprit, according to the practitioners, is the natural aging process. In other words, some of my organs are getting old and tired and stopped functioning properly.

What to do to alleviate the symptoms? Well, the only recommendations the practitioners recommended were apply warm compresses, take frequent breaks from the computer and use artificial tears or ointments.

Not trusting the long term effects that these chemical solutions may have on my general health, I started looking for a natural remedy. From euphrasia drops, tea, and compresses, to sea buckthorn oil nothing seemed to help.

Then an herbalist suggested one drop of castor oil in each eye before sleep. Castor oil is extracted by pressing the seeds of the castor plant, also known as Ricinus communis. It is most commonly used as a laxative and in a variety of beauty care products and it has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. It contains mostly ricinoleic acid, which helps prevent and treat skin ailments, such as acne, inflammation, and abrasions. It is also used to help hair grow.

So I bought a bottle of very inexpensive cold-pressed organic castor oil at the local health food store, applied one drop to each eye, and lo and behold, my symptoms disappeared almost immediately. I discovered that the effect lasts longer if I apply one drop with my fingertip inside the eye and around it as soon as I wake up. Not only do the symptoms disappear for most of the day, but as an added benefit, my eyelashes seem to be longer and the skin around my eyes is less wrinkly.

At Herbalitea, we believe in the healing power of nature. Although we don’t sell castor oil, we use it to prepare custom made creams for a variety of skin conditions. Please contact us if you are interested in our creams.

 

Pull or stab or cut or burn,

She will ever yet return.

Marigolds by Robert Graves

Calendula officinalis, most widely known as marigold, is a magnificent and powerful plant. Native of the Mediterranean area, it has been cultivated and revered by many cultures for centuries. The name calendula derives from the Latin calends, because the Romans believed that it flowered on the first day of every month. The Romans enjoyed the simple, yellow-orange beauty of the marigold in their gardens all year round. They also used the flowers for cooking and healing, hence the name officinalis, which refers to plants that are employed for medicinal purposes. It is also referred to as “pot marigold” because it can be used for culinary purposes.

Internal Uses of Calendula

A few millennia later, calendula grows all around the world and it is still used for the same purposes. It can be added to salads and stews to add taste and colour. It can also be taken internally as a medicinal herbal tea to manage indigestion and digestive irritation.

Calendula Tea

• Pour about 250 ml of boiling water over a tablespoon of dried calendula flowers and let it steep for about 20 minutes.
• Strain the infusion and enjoy. You may also want to add some stevia for sweetness.
• Keep refrigerated for up to 48 hours

External Uses of Calendula

Nowadays, calendula is mostly used topically. At Herbalitea we use calendula to make creams, tinctures, and poultices, due to its anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. It is rich in flavonoids, anti-oxidants that protect cells from free radicals.  Its healing powers can be applied to cuts, wounds, stings, burns, and ulcers because it helps increase blood flow and oxygen to wounds, helping them grow new tissue and promote faster healing. Calendula is also a powerful hydrating agent for the skin and it is therefore used to prevent dermatitis and diaper rash and to treat hemorrhoids.

Herbalitea Calendula Cream Ingredients

• Calendula
• Rose petals
• Lavender
• Shea butter
• Vitamin E
• Non pasteurized honey
• Various oils

For more information regarding the creams please email us at [email protected]