Abigails Herbs

The main ingredient in exotic chai tea is made from black tea which contains rich antioxidants. These antioxidants boost the immune system and prevent illness as they help to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Both Ayurvedic and Chinese cultures place a high value on the spices that make up a good cup of chai tea. Such spices include:

• cardamom
• cloves
• ginger
• pepper
• cinnamon

Some people put a mixture of milk and honey in their chai tea, which give it a very sweet taste. It is not recommended that anyone with ulcers drink chai tea as the sweet flavor could possibly irritate the ulcers. However, the ingredients in chai tea generally promote healthy digestion for the majority of tea drinkers.

Exotic chai tea takes the chai to a much higher level by adding even more spices to this delicious beverage. It has much less caffeine in it than coffee, thus making it safer to drink; you can consume a few more cups of exotic chai tea (than coffee) per day due to its lower caffeine content. It can be sipped as either a hot or cold drink.

As we age our skin gradually loses the  natural oils which keep our skin supple and soft.  To prevent dryness and promote healthy skin care, avoid using harsh soaps or chemical cleansers on your skin.

Instead, use avocado, olive or almond oil to cleanse the skin. Gently pat the oil on your skin and pat off with a soft cloth, using warm water. Use a loofah occasionally to exfoliate  outer layers of dry skin.

Use liquid creams or lotions instead of solid creams to keep your skin from becoming dry. These liquid creams should always contain natural  ingredients and nutrients. Stay away from cold creams, cleansing creams or solid moisturizing creams as these are made of saturated fats that rapidly become rancid and then create free radicals, which will then cause premature wrinkling of the skin.

Free radicals can create brown spots on the skin, sometimes referred to as age spots. Too much exposure to the sun also increases the existence of free radicals. To stop wrinkles and prevent them, use all natural sun block lotions or oils which contain nutrients and antioxidants.

Almond oil is less greasy than other oils and it absorps quickly and easily into skin. It is similar to the oil a baby’s skin excretes in order to give it such a soft smoothness. It protects the skin and lips against the harsh, cold elements of winter weather.

Do not use it if you have nut allergies. Always store almond oil in a cool, dark place and discard if more than one year old.

Hot and cold flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings and frequent  perspiration are the major symptoms of menopause. Most women will tell you that it is not fun.  At night, kicking the bed covers off during intense perspiration and hot flashes; then, waking up feeling cold and clammy only to pull the covers back up to keep from shivering is not the best way to experience growing older.

Over the long term, a women’s deteriorating estrogen supply increases her propensity toward heart disease, osteoporosis and vaginal atrophy (shrinkage and dryness). With a proper diet, exercise regimen and nutritional supplements, we are able to minimize and even eliminate most of the unpleasant side effects of menopause.

Eating foods high in the B vitamins, soybeans and raw fruits and vegetables will minimize these awful symptoms. Here are some herbal remedies which help address menopausal discomfort:

1. St. John’s wort helps with depression or anxiety.
2. Damiana enhances sexual desire and pleasure.
3. Siberian ginseng aids in relieving depression and in the production of estrogen.
4. A paste made from aloe vera gel and slippery elm powder when inserted into the vagina at night can relieve vaginal dryness.
5. Amaranth, chickweed, dandelion greens, nettle, seaweed and watercress are rich in calcium, which helps prevent osteoporosis.
6. Anise, block cohosh, rasberry, licorice, sage and wild yam root are natural estrogen promoters, just like soy.
7. Hops and valerian root helps to calm the body, promoting  a restful night’s sleep.
8. Gotu kola, red clover, black cohosh and dong quai relieve depression, hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

Warnings:  Never use sage if you have any type of seizure disorder.  Avoid taking Siberian ginseng if you have high blood pressure, hypoglycemia or a heart disorder. Lastly, do not use licorice for more than seven days in a row, and completely avoid it if you have elevated blood pressure.

I met some of my friends  in Chinatown a couple of weeks ago to eat lunch and  to see the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Convention Center. We ate at a Malaysian restaurant near the famous golden Chinatown arch to celebrate and to treat one of our mutual friends to a birthday lunch.

After finishing a plateful of delicious mango chicken served inside of  the  fresh mango, my friend Margie  had complained of sharp stomach pain, diarrhea and upset stomach. While Margie was still back in the restaurant’s restroom, we went looking for a CVS, Walgreen’s or a Riteaid, but in the heart of Chinatown there were no such traditional drug stores. Instead, we saw a sign for a pharmacy next door to the restaurant. It was called Long Life Chinese Herbal Health Store. We walked in to find Margie some help.

I never saw anything like it !  Hundreds and hundreds of wooden drawers carved into the walls just filled with fresh herbs, plants, and bark of all sizes, shapes and forms.  Customers of the Asian culture were coming into the shop;so many people, coming in and out of the shop, picking up their orders of herbal remedies. It was amazing!

Underneath the clear glass counter tops were packets and bottles of prepared  herbal prescriptions. We asked the man behind the counter for something that would help our friend alleviate the  symptoms of her gastric troubles. He reached down and handed us some bottles of herbal pills and said, “Take one tablet three times per day.”  We said, “no,she needs instant  relief.” He then handed us a box with packets of powdered herbs in it. He gave instructions to mix in hot water and drink  immediately.We asked him if it really would work, and of course, he exclaimed “yes,” that it would help right away. We bought the medication for only $4.00.

Margie walked into the shop,after nearly choking on some immodium tablets our other friend had given her, back inside the restaurant.  Well, the man working behind that  counter filled a cup with hot water, emptied the package of herbal powder into the cup, handed it to Margie and she proceeded to drink it. She smiled brightly and exclaimed, “Wow, this tastes really good!” We each took a sip of the liquid herbal blend and we all agreed that it did taste delightful, much to our surprise. We all thought that it was going to taste horrible, however, it was pleasantly sweet and fragrantly flowery.

The back of the packet was written mostly in Chinese and we were curious to know what the ingredients were that tasted so great. The main ingredients consisted of  jasmine, peony root, wei-tai granules, unripened fruit of evodia, unprocessed Rehmannia root tuber and a little bit of sugar. It tasted similar to the  jasmine tea in the restaurant,but better. The herbal mixture smelled and tasted  like sweetened flowers, only much better.

We walked on to the flower show and Margie exclaimed that she felt much better and that her stomach troubles had just about disappeared. An hour later, she reported that the symptoms were no longer bothering her.

The very next day, when I was talking with my Chinese friends, they informed me that the herbal pharmacist in that shop studied for many long  years in order to be so knowledgeable about how to mix and blend varieties of herbs together. The name of the apothecary was Long Life. All the herbs and preparations were imported directly from China. The main pharmacist looked like he was very wise and he appeared to be up in age, but very healthy, mentally alert and sharp. I felt a deep respect and sense of honor for this man who was schooled in the art of herbal healing. He was a highly trained specialist and an expert in herbal prescriptions. It was clear that he was enjoying his work and that the organic herbs had given him the gift of a very satisfying  long life!

It was Super Bowl night and instead of having chicken wings and beer, I was out looking for tea and sushi as I had promised my teenage daughter. She had her driver’s permit, so I figured that she could get practice driving in center city Philadelphia. I knew that the streets would be empty as everyone would be home or inside watching the football game.

My daughter’s love for sushi runs deep, but as for myself, I only eat the cooked version. We drove and we drove; rather, she drove looking and looking for legitimate Japanese sushi. Finally, I saw a lit -up sign that said “SUSHI” in bright red letters. “Pull over” I said, so  she practiced her parallel parking and we joyfully entered the little Japanese restaurant, happy to have found one that was still open.  

We were the only people in the restaurant. It was small and quaint and quite empty. The man and his wife were happy to serve us. They poured us tea which was light and aromatic. It smelled like “flowers,” I remarked. The woman told us that it was jasmine tea. I did not need any sweetener in it; the fragrance was delicious and sweetly fragrant. We went home that night very pleased and intensely calm – the sushi was fresh and the jasmine tea was soothing.

The jasmine flowers grow in tropical and sub tropical environments. In Florida, it blooms at night. The smell is sweet and like a pleasant perfume. You can see the brilliant white flowers blooming in the dark of night. In fact, the flowers are picked and made into a tea with the green leaves of the plant. The tea is light -colored and tasty. It gives one a sense of peace and tranquility just to smell the aroma of the tea before drinking it.

The Chinese have used the jasmine flowers for more than 700 years as a drink. Reasearch shows that jasmine has many health benefits. The Kyoto University in Japan has published research which shows that the beautifully scented jasmine flower has sedating and relaxing qualities.

In fact, it is one of the healthiest herbs on the planet. It has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, thereby fighting and preventing the flu and other bacterial infections. It fights free radicals, preventing cancer and slowing down the aging process significantly. It aids the circulatory system, thus blocking strokes, heart attacks and thromboses.

Research also reveals that jasmine fights fat by speeding up the body’s  metabolism and decreasing the buildup of fat  

Caution:  Pregnant women should consume jasmine in small quantities.

cells through  substances known as catechins. Gargling with jasmine tea fights gum disease and protects teeth against cavities by blocking the growth of bacteria in the mouth. It has many more health and wellness benefits too numerous to mention in one article.