Tummy tea
If you are suffering digestive problems or diarrhea, try blackberry tea. As well as a fruit tea, you can buy black tea infused with blackberries. The tea is rich in iron as well as easing stomach aches and diarrhea and helping to control fevers.
Detox with lemon
Lemon juice is a great flavor enhancer and mixed with hot water is a really healthy (and detoxifying) alternative to heavily caffeinated hot drinks. Get twice as much juice out of your lemons by heating in the oven or hot water, or by rolling until slightly soft, before squeezing.
Try alfalfa tea for C
If you don’t like citrus fruit but want to boost your vitamin-C intake, try alfalfa leaf (medicago sativa), which is an excellent source of vitamin C a well as chlorophyll and other minerals when made into a refreshing tea or infusion.
Raspberry reproduction
Many pregnant women and those who are menstruating drink raspberry leaf tea, which is rich in nutrients, especially calcium, magnesium and iron, and is thought to help the regeneration of the reproductive system. But men can also benefit from its nutritious qualities, and often enjoy the tea-like flavor.
Make a mint
A great post-dinner choice instead of caffeine-rich coffee is a peppermint herbal infusion. Peppermint reduces the more extreme movements of the digestive system, helping to relieve feelings of fullness, nausea and flatulence. It also has antiseptic properties.
Drink yourself cool
If you want the cooling, calming properties of a peppermint tea but don’t like the slightly medicinal flavour, try spearmint instead. The flavour is milder but it still aids digestion, and also headaches, and has mild antiseptic properties. It also tastes great as an iced summer refresher.
Tame your tannins
For the taste of a good strong cuppa but without the caffeine of normal black tea, try drinking Rooibos, or red bush, a traditional South African plant infusion that tastes much like black tea but contains no caffeine and is low in tannins and high in vitamin C, minerals and antioxidants.
Make a new mate
A great alternative to caffeinated hot drinks is tea made from yerba mate, a member of the holly family, which is rich in vitamins C and B, calcium and iron, It also contains mateine, which is similar to caffeine but less likely to interfere with sleep, cause anxiety or be addictive.
Water your oats
A great alternative to dairy products for calcium intake is water infused with oat straw (Avena sativa), the young stem of the oat plant. The infusion has a pleasant, sweet flavour, is high in calcium and is thought to relieve depression, insomnia, and stress. Try making up a batch and drinking it straight or using in cooking.
Get a feel for finnel
Try adding fennel to roasted vegetable dishes or salads – a member of the parsley family, fennel helps stabilize blood-sugar levels, thus curbing appetite. It also works to relax the muscles of the digestive system, reducing indigestion and wind pains.
Infuse with flowers
Instead of fizzy drinks and sugar-filled fruit squashes, try an infusion of elderflowers. These tiny flowers have a delicate taste, can be drunk hot or cold and have the added benefit of helping control body temperature – making them great as winter warmers or summer coolers.
Cold cure
Any people recommend not drinking milk or eating dairy products if you have a cough or cold as it is thought to increase mucus production. A great alternative is tea made with lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), which has a calming, anti-anxiety effect as well as anti-viral properties – making it suitable for treating colds and flu in children as well as adults.
Zing with ginger
A great herbal infusion to choose for an after-lunch energy boost, without caffeine, is ginger root (Zingiber officinale), a pungent herb that’s not only good for digestion but also relieves nausea, improves circulation, warms the body, and has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Sip a summer cooler
For a fantastically effective summer cooling drink, try an iced infusion of hibiscus flowers, which have a tart, slightly sour flavour and are rich in vitamin C as well as working to help the body cool itself when served cold.
Camomile for calm
Next time you’re struggling to sleep, try brewing yourself a calming chamomile infusion, which has been shown to have a mild sedative effect. Or if you want something with more flavour, catnip has also been shown to aid sleep.
A winter lift
A great herbal tea to brew up if you’re feeling a little depressed, especially in the darker winter months, is an infusion of St. John’s Wort. This plant is thought to help depression y stimulating the production of the “happy” brain chemical serotonin. The standard way to make the infusion is to pour a cup of boiling water cover the leaves and flowers, leave it to stand for 5 minutes, then strain and drink. See your doctor if you suffer from severe or long-term depression.
Fight off infection
Help your body fight infection naturally by drinking tea made with the herb Echinacea, eating the edible flowers or taking a supplement. The herb is thought to fight colds and to boost immunity by stimulating the production of lymphocytes, but it has not been proven.
Good pickings
Don’t eat flower florists, nurseries or garden centres or those picked from the side of roads. If they’re not being sold for consumption, the flowers may be high in toxic pesticides and not labeled as is required for food crops. Stick to those properly identified and sold as foods – such as nasturtiums, dandelion and angelica. Always remember to use flowers sparingly in your recipes, as digestive complications can occur for those with sensitivities.
Super foods
Garlic Crush
Garlic is great because it reduces the risk of stomach and colon cancer, helps lower blood cholesterol and reduces garlic pressure. The ideal amount is 2-3 cloves a day. Crushed garlic has the strongest flavour, then chopped – roast is mildest.
A saucy tomato
Tomatoes contain high levels of lycopene and betacrotine and have been shown to reduce the incidence of prostate cancer in men if eaten ten times a week. The beste way to get your dose is to eat a mix of cooked and raw to maximize nutrient absorption.
Sprinkle some seeds
Seeds are packed with nutrients and beneficial oils and won’t add too many calories to your diet. Sprinkle seed son cereal salad, or, if you don’t like their hard texture, grind a mixture of pumpkin, sunflower, sesame and linseed in a coffee grinder, and use whenever you can.
Seeds of health
If you can, choose ground flaxseeds over flax seed oil as although the oil contains just as many health-giving omerga-3s, the ground seeds contain much more fibre, which is also good for health – giving you a double benefit for the price of one!
Stick with salmon
Salmon is a great protein source because it contains fewer calories than many other protein sources, and it’s rich in omega oils that help the development of the brain, heart, skin and joints. For the greatest health benefits, though, it’s best to go for wild or organic versions.
Eat up some sea veg
Sea vegetables such as arame and kelp are virtually fat-free, low calorie and one of the richest sources of minerals in the vegetable kingdom – they contain high amounts of calcium and phosphorous and are extremely high in magnesium, iron, iodine and sodium.
Sip and iced green tea
Home-made iced tea is a great summertime drink because it has flavour but no sugar and it contains antioxidants. Keep a jug in the fridge so you’ve got it on hand, or experiment with other herbal or black teas.
Tomatoes sauced
Tomatoes are high in vitamin C and also betacarotene, which is converted into essential vitamin A in the body. They also have high levels of the antioxidant lycopene, which the body absorbs better when tomatoes are cooked.
Cast a spelt
If you find wheat hard to digest and are worried about food intolerance, try replacing it with its ancient cousin, spelt. This tasty grain cooks in the same way as wheat but contains slightly more protein and is usually well tolerated by people with wheat allergies.
Spreading germs
Sprinkling a couple of tablespoons of wheatgerm on top of cereals, casseroles or yogurts is a good health-giving habit to get into because it boosts the fibre content by nearly two grams but adds a paltry 54 calories. For a nuttier flavour, use toasted wheatgerm instead of plain.
Cleanse with seaweed
One of seaweed’s most prominent health benefits is its ability to remove radioactive strontium and other heavy metals form our bodies. Whole brown seaweeds such as kelp contain alginic acid, which binds with toxins in the intestines (rendering them indigestible) an carries them out of the system. They are also sources of fibre.
Choose nori for tiredness
Nori is a cultivated seaweed used to wrap sushi. It is exceptionally high in vitamin A and protein and a great source of selenium and iodine. It has anti-cancer effects and provides soluble fibre and omega-3 fats, as well as regulating the thyroid gland y balancing iodine levels.
Be berry healthy
Blueberries are a great source of the antioxidant anthocycanin, which improves blood circulation, skin and the immune system and has also been reported to improve balance, coordination and short-term memory.
Gobble a healthy feast
Turkey is a great source of protein because it’s very low in fat. It’s also high in B vitamins, which help boost your body’s health, and in the amino acid tryptophan, which aids restful sleep – making it a great late-night snack.
Buy broccoli
Broccoli is one of the richest sources of antioxidants and vitamin C known, as the fresher the better. If you can’t get it really fresh, choose frozen as it keeps its goodness for longer.
Do like popeye
Eat spinach – it’s rich in vitamin C, calcium and beta carotene, boosts folic acid and helps keep blood and bones healthy. Steam lightly and add to sauces or wash and use instead of lettuce in salads.
Swallow some soy
If you’re worried about cholesterol, and some soy to your diet. It’s been shown in some tests to boost omega-3 fatty acids and strengthen the immune system as well as
A yogurt boost
Live yogurts contain high levels of bone-boosting calcium and also probiotics, which improve balance in the digestive system. Low fat, natural yogurt is best.,
