If you are interested in traditional Chinese medicine, there are several terms that are used that you might not have heard of before. One term that is important to understand is the word “adaptogen.” As it relates to traditional medicine, adaptogens are dried herbs that may help the body to resist fatigue, anxiety, stress and trauma. Essentially, they may help the body adapt to stress.

Bulk herbs and dried herbs offer a cost-effective way to add these herbs to your daily life, but only on the advice of your health care practitioner. There are many dried herbs that claim to be adaptogens:

Eleuthero Root – This root may help to enhance the immune system and decrease inflammation. It also may help to improve endurance and memory.

Licorice Root – Licorice root may help as an expectorant, and is commonly found as an ingredient in contemporary cough syrups. It may also help as an adaptogen for the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands.

Jiaogulan Powder – Jiaogulan may help to lower cholesterol, and may also be of help to combat jet lag and altitude sickness.

Maca Root Powder – Maca may help with energy, fertility and impotence, as well as with memory issues and menopause.

Ginseng – Ginseng is a common adaptogen that may offer antioxidant and anticarcinogenic effects. These may be of help to relieve stress in the body.

Ashwagandha Root – This root may help to bring into balance the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal axis and the neuroendocrine system. It may also help to reduce inflammation and to boost the immune system.

Red Reishi Mushrooms – This mushroom is considered in traditional Chinese medicine to be an adaptogen that may help with insomnia, relieving stress, flu, allergies and asthma.

With the help of your health care practitioner, you may want to see if adaptogens are right for you.

Chai tea is a wildly popular drink, and deservedly so. Chai is typically made by combining black tea with selected spices and milk. This mix of tea, spices, milk and sweetener, makes a delectable drink during and after meals. Although the word “chai” refers simply to “tea” in many different languages and cultures, in North America, chai tends to be thought of as what is known in India as Masala chai. No matter what is called, chai tea is well known for its wonderfully unique taste and you’ll be glad to know it’s easy to make with a simple chai tea recipe.

Chai tea recipes vary, but if you like spiced chai tea you will likely enjoy them all. The easiest chai tea recipes consist of heating water and milk together with the tea. Adding sweetener, which could be stevia, honey, or sugar while the liquid is hot ensures that it melts and combines thoroughly in the liquid. Simply strain out the Chai tea leaves, pour into a warm cup, and you have a wonderful comforting drink beloved around the world.

Spiced chai tea can be made from black and green teas, or even using yerba mate and rooibos. Starwest Botanicals has delicious blends of mate chai, green chai and rooibos chai ready for brewing. Chai teas can vary quite a bit in terms of the spices used. Combining cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and other spices in unique ways make for delicious variations.

Here is an easy recipe for how to make chai tea:

Masala Chai
1-1/2 cups water
1 inch stick of cinnamon
8 cardamom pods
8 whole cloves
2/3 cup milk
6 tsp. sugar (to taste) – can be substituted for stevia or other sweetener
3 teaspoons any unperfumed loose black tea

Put 1-1/2 cups water in saucepan. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the milk and sugar and bring to a simmer again. Throw in the tea leaves, cover, and turn off the heat. After 2 minutes, strain the tea into two cups and serve immediately.

From Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cooking, Barron’s, New York, p. 196 (1983).

Enjoy!

This refreshing variation of Socata, a traditional Romanian lemonade drink, fermented with elder flowers, was shared with us from Ruxi at Lost in America

The recipe for Elder Berry Lemonade Socata:
You will need:

• 3 lemons
• 450-500 g sugar (2 1/2 cups approximately)
• 1 gallon (or 4 liters) water
• 2.5 hands of elder flowers – which means you basically dig your hand in the elder flower bag and fill it two times and a half.

Starwest carries select organic elder flowers as part of their bulk herbs.

Instructions:

In a big jar (or pot if you don’t have a big jar) add the water, squeeze the lemons and put the rest of the lemons in, add the sugar and the elder flowers. Mix it and then cover the jar with a plate or something (it should not be perfectly tight). Leave it outside in a warm place. The whole trick is to have the lemonade ferment. Mix it every night. The socata will be ready when the drink looks naturally fizzy.

Enjoy!

Before the Industrial Age, spices were a commodity more valuable than gold. Over the centuries, wars have been fought over them; even a substance as simple as salt contributed to the downfall of the British Empire’s power in what is today India and Pakistan. In ancient times, Roman soldiers were paid with salt; this was called their salarium, or “salt allowance,” from which our modern English word salary is derived.

The fact is that many of the roots, herbs, leaves and other substances that are used as seasonings in cooking also have beneficial health effects. This in fact is one of the primary differences between herbal medicine and mainstream medicine; whereas the latter seeks cures for disease, herbalists seek to prevent disease from developing in the first place.

You may be surprised at the many spices used as seasonings for food are also therapeutic! Today, we’ll discuss just a few of these tasty spices that do double duty as medicinal herbs.

Alliuim Sativum

You probably know this one better as garlic. While some people shy away from it because of its strong odor and the danger of (oh, horrors!) garlic breath, the fact is that garlic is almost as basic as salt and pepper. It is a central ingredient in Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern cuisine as well as that of India, Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan. Garlic is a primary ingredient in several native African cuisines, including African Peanut and Chicken Stew. Roasted garlic is extensively in Mexican dishes such as tomato and chile salsa and guacamole. Wild garlic is even used in the national dish of Scotland, haggis!

Garlic has been scientifically proven to work as an antibiotic, helping the body to fight infection1. It is believed to aid circulation and promote cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure, however scientific studies on this are as of yet inconclusive.

The Mint Family

Mints include herbs used to flavor desserts and drinks as well as savory dishes; on the sweet side, peppermint and spearmint are a common ingredient in iced teas and candy as well as chewing gum and other desserts. Other mints include oregano and basil, which are staples of Italian and Greek cooking.

As medicinal herbs, members of the mint family are among the oldest, having been used for treating illness as long as 10,000 years ago. Traditionally, mints – particularly peppermint – are used to treat gastro-intestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome. An Italian medical study published last year showed that a majority of such patients experienced relief from such symptoms when treated with peppermint oils.

Another interesting aspect of mints in general and peppermint in particular is that their essential oils act as an insect repellent, making them an environmentally-friendly alternative to chemical pesticides.

Licorice

This is actually a legume, related to peas and beans. The dried licorice root is a popular flavoring in candy, tea, gum and sasparilla (known today as “root beer”) and is a main ingredient in the Greek liqueur ouzo. Licorice is traditionally used as an expectorant, and may help in the treatment of peptic ulcers. The boiled root is an ingredient in some Chinese dishes and is chewed in Mediterranean countries as a breath freshener.

Cinnamon

This is the ground bark of a species of laurel native to South Asia. In Western kitchens, it is most often used to flavor sweet pastries and quickbreads, but in Greek, Middle Eastern and Persian cuisine, it is often used in savory dishes as well. Cinnamon is an excellent breath freshener; in addition, some Russian studies suggest that it may be useful in treating Type II diabetes and insulin resistance.

–
1. Nicole Johnston “Garlic: A Natural Antibiotic”. Modern Drug Discovery, April 2002.

2. Cappello, G.; et al. “Peppermint oil In The Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.” Digestive and Liver Disease, 2007.