Terrific Teas, Tinctures and Tonics

The 2015 Great NEWS posts share Healthy Habits to enhance our quality of life. Today’s post is on the many benefits of using Terrific Teas, Tinctures and Tonics. Once we discover the many advantages of utilizing herbal teas, tinctures and tonics we can use them to help us be even more happy, healthy and holistic. The excellent health benefits and low cost of DIY #herbal teas, tinctures and tonics definitely helps people get excited about making them. My goal is to educate, empower and excite health enthusiasts about the many benefits of using herbal plants to enhance our health and well being. Why spend more money for commercial herbal teas when you can enjoy even more benefits and fun preparing them yourself? This post will share some helpful hints and simple steps to make Terrific Teas, Tinctures and Tonics.

Many people make comments about being bored or not liking to drink plain water. Therefore it seemed like a great time to share techniques and tips to make great tasting teas, tinctures and tonics that are great for you and offers lots of variety. Why should we learn to make our own teas, tinctures and tonics? Do DIY herbal teas resonate with you for great taste, health benefits, herbal health, medicinal properties, sustainability, organic options, saving money, self sufficiency and super foods sound great to you? Then read on to learn how easy it is to make your own healthy herbal teas.

Whether you have tried herbal teas before or not, now is the perfect time to discover valuable information that could shift the way you think about using plants for teas, tinctures and tonics.

Many people do not know or understand that the majority of all pharmaceutical prescriptions and Over The Counter (OTC) medicines originated from herbal and holistic preparations derived from bark, flowers, fruits, herbs, leaves, mushrooms, roots, seeds, spices, stalks, stems and woods. Over time indigenous people learned that different parts of plants were able to impact different aspects of our health and well being. Most people are not educated and fully informed regarding the side effects of synthetic chemical compounds versus using the natural plants from which the benefits were originally derived. Therefore it is important to learn some basic distinctions and principles to build a strong foundation regarding the use of various plants to make teas, tinctures and tonics.

Any one and every one can benefit and learn how to make DIY plant potions by reading this short post. For extensive details read the books listed below. There is a abundance of herbal history and whole wide world of written information going back over 5,000-years explaining how plants provide both medicine and nutrition. Both Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offer a vast wealth of information on healthy herbal plants for medicine and nutrition. Hippocrates, the father of medicine is quoted as saying “Let Food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

Whether you have tried herbal teas before or not, now is the perfect time to discover valuable information that could shift the way you think about using plants for teas, tinctures and tonics. Imagine how valuable it will be for you to learn profound principles about herbal plants and their beneficial influence on our health and well being? While most people may lack the full appreciation and awareness regarding our amazing green pharmacy and herbal drugstore provided by plants it is exciting to learn the key roles they play for our health, immunity and nutrition to avoid disease.

Black and Green Teas

Most people are familiar with common variety of teas that are derived from brewing leaves of the Camellia sinensis shrub. This form of tea has a long history of use as a hot and more recently cold beverage.  People from countries around the world enjoy this beverage for its taste and the bonus health benefits derived from antioxidants, caffeine and polyphenols. The quest for more beneficial and better tasting teas has created a massive movement for tea drinkers. Teas have influenced the habits of humans around the world. Teas are used for beverages, ceremonies, disease prevention, first aid, health issues, immune function, medicinal value, social connection and well being. Teas have evolved into an almost universally accepted beverage and refreshing drink.

Herbal teas in particular have many holistic health properties to help maintain and sustain our health and well being.

What if you were to discover that herbal teas, tinctures and tonics have also evolved to a point of helping us with many aspects of disease, health and wellness? Whether you are using basic teas or advanced herbal teas this post offers valuable insights to help you learn how to utilize a wide range of DIY herbal potions for better health and well being.

With basic imagination and information we can learn how to make a wide variety of teas, tinctures and tonics to enhance our long term happiness and health. Once we understand the basics the next step is to develop a mastery action plan to incorporate plant based teas into our daily routines to help insure our long term health.

While teas may not be considered essential for life, many of the compounds in them are definitely life enhancing and supporting. Herbal teas in particular have many holistic health properties to help maintain and sustain our health and well being. This post will provide basic background information on preparing herbal teas, tinctures and tonics to help alkalize and energize our body.

Yes herbal teas are excellent ways to help alkalize and energize our cells and tissues. They can provide our bodies with a wide range of antioxidants, enzymes, minerals, phyto-nutrients, trace elements and vitamins. When we consume herbal teas on a regular basis we supply beneficial compounds to help deal with damaging free radicals and pathogens. The key is to consume a wide variety of natural teas that are non irradiated, properly prepared and organic. Drinking herbal teas is also great way to avoid dehydration.

Tasty Teas Tinctures and Tonics

Many green drinks, herbal teas, tinctures and tonics are made by combining various plant products with water to provide valuable antioxidants, enzymes, minerals, phyto-nutrients, trace elements and vitamins.

Teas are common drinks made by boiling, brewing, heating, infusing, simmering or steeping plant products to infuse the natural aroma, coloring, compounds, flavors and nutrients into the water.

Tinctures are solutions made by dissolving, infusing or suspending compounds from parts of plant into a liquid elixir or remedy that is typically preserved and stabilized with alcohol.

Tonics are powerful elixirs, liquids or potions derived from individual or combinations of medicinal herbs, mushrooms and plants that are consumed to offer medicinal benefits to support our health.

All three sound very similar and in fact they are. Many green drinks, herbal teas, tinctures and tonics are made by combining various plant products with water to provide valuable antioxidants, enzymes, minerals, phyto-nutrients, trace elements and vitamins. Teas are typically the simplest to make by heating water and steeping the tea ingredients. Tinctures are usually more of a concentrated compound from a particular plant or multiple plants and stored in an alcohol base to preserve it for longer term shelf life and stability. Tonics are  often thought of as the most potent of derivatives from plants that have stronger tonic effects to help prevent possible disease, protect us from damaging compounds and potentially encourage rapid recovery. Different plants and even different plant parts are known to have different health properties and propensities.

Teas can be consumed to help us feel energized, invigorated and stimulated or refreshed, rejuvenated, relaxed and revitalized. Adding some coconut sugar, honey or stevia can enhance and sweeten the taste to be even more agreeable. Some people are known to add a few drops of high quality essential oils like clove, cinnamon, oregano or peppermint to enhance the benefits and taste further. Others add fresh ginger, ginseng, lemon, lime, mint or orange to the water for a little extra tang and taste.

Medicinal mushrooms are a special class unto themselves and have been used for thousands of years to help provide medicinal and nutritional teas, tinctures and tonics. Some of the top medicinal mushrooms are chaga, cordyceps, kawaratake, maitake, reishi, shitake and turkey tail. Kombucha is technically not a form of mushroom but is made from using a yeast that is a single cell fungus. Look for excellent articles and videos on medicinal mushrooms by Paul Stamets who  is a top medicinal mushroom expert.

Recipes and Remedies

There are so many different ideas, methods, opinions and recipes on how to brew a great tea, tincture or tonic that you will be well served to find an article, book or video that interests you. However most people will agree that making tea basically requires boiling or heating water to a point that will allow the plant products to steep and release the natural compounds previously mentioned.  This will impart  some of the aroma, color, flavor and nutritional properties into the water.

It is very beneficial to drink warm teas and water which helps the body absorb water more easily.

Some people feel making a sun tea is the optimal method since it does not consume carbon based or fossil fuel energy and keeps the temperature more moderate to avoid destroying the more delicate compounds in plants to maximize their medicinal benefits. Sun tea is often made by placing various tea ingredients into a jar with water and placing it in full sun shine for one or two days to allow the sun to heat the water and make the infusion or tea. Ingredients can be put in a stainless steel or ceramic ball designed for tea making or filtered out with a strainer.

If you use commercial tea bags be sure to research the supplier to ensure they use organic paper and plants that are free of chemicals and harmful treatments like bleaching. Many commercial teas today are irradiated or treated with harmful compounds to be antibacterial and kill bugs. This can conflict with our outcome for improving our health. This is a great reason to learn DIY herbal teas and buy organic ingredients in bulk. Some of the top herbal and medicinal ingredients are: Dandelion, Pau d Arco, Cats Claw, Rooibos, Rehmannia, Fo ti, Turmeric, Reishi, Milk thistle, Nettle, Ashwaganda, Rodiola rosea, Astragalus, Horny Goat, Hibiscus, Holy Basil, Moringa, Neem leaf, Olive leaf, Oregano, Plantain leaf, Red clover, Sassafras, Sarsaparilla, Saw palmetto, Schizandra, Sheep sorrel, Wheatgrass powder

It is very beneficial to drink warm teas and water which helps the body absorb water more easily. This helps us stay better hydrated and increases the assimilation of water into our cells which will increase our energy, metabolism and the removal of toxins and waste products.

See my related post on Healthy Herbal Teas and Infusions for additional techniques and tips.

Healthy Habits

The Healthy Habits 2015 series shares simple suggestions to help maintain our health and well being. Consuming treas, tinctures and tonics are great ways to help alkalize, energize and protect our cells to help maintain optimal long term health. Enjoying a regular routine of various teas encourages us to drink more water while also receiving the natural health compounds in various plants.  Consuming beverages made with natural herbs, mushrooms and plant parts are important aspects for our health mastery action plan to help protect our long term health and vitality. Consuming, growing and making our own herbal libations are excellent ways to impact our emotional, financial, mental and physical health and well being long term. Herbs (often called weeds) are some of the most important plants to discover and use as a natural health supplement.

This Great NEWS post on Healthy Habits shared some simple steps for making teas, tinctures and tonics to help insure our holistic happiness and health. Consuming them on a regular basis is easy to begin since it only takes two minutes to put ingredients into a vessel and heat to make a healthy cup of tea.

What is your current Gap?

Are you consuming harmful alcohols, caffeine drinks, coffees, colas, energy drinks, fruit drinks, soda waters and sports drinks that are harming your health instead of healthy teas that are known to help our health? What if we could help alkalize and energize our body with teas as we help eliminate the harmful effects of acidic drinks and enervation that are known to lead to disease and illness?

Mastery Action Plan (MAP)

How easy would it be to learn about the benefits of various teas, tinctures and tonics and implement a mastery action plan to consume them on a daily basis? This short post provides enough information to start making them now to help protect our health and well being. What research, resources and role models will help make these potent plant potions a part of your health routine? Read the Herbal Pharmacy by Jerry Baker – America’s Master Gardener for growing and using herbal remedies.

Call to Action

What comments, commitments or concerns come to mind regarding the benefits of teas, tinctures and tonics for improving our health and well being? What other ideas and inspiration will help motivate us towards better behaviors, beliefs and biology for a better 2015 and beyond?

Next week the Great NEWS blog will share:

Organic Gardening for Body, Mind and Spirit

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