Lots of really good stuff is on sale. I got 2 oolongs, a green and an herbal! Enter the code: 5OFF30 and you will save $5 when you spend $30! We have a store where I live, but ordering online provided me with the opportunity to save even more. This is my favorite tea sale of the year and I look forward to it! I’ve had a gift card that I’ve been saving just for this sale!
Tag Archives: Health
Enjoy Herbal Tea…but Learn Before you Drink!
Blogs are great. Anyone with half a brain and a keyboard now has access to a publisher and an audience. But — there is some very irresponsible journalism floating around the internet blog scene. Case in point: As I was researching some information on a possible herbal tea post for my own blog, I came across an internet blog with a big, scary headline that read, “Herbal Tea Kills Babies.” Really? Seriously? You’ve got to be kidding me!?! I’m not talking about the dangers of herbal tea, but instead the dangers of misinforming people with this horribly dramatic and not entirely true slug (that’s news-writer talk for “headline”). While I am not the absolute authority on tea, I do know a bit about journalistic integrity (college degree in this stuff, and I worked in the biz for a brief time). A slug like that is only good for one thing: driving traffic to your site as a result of instilling fear in anyone who comes across that phrase in a search. While there are in fact some herbs that pregnant and nursing women should stay away from, this slug blows it entirely out of proportion! Since we are on the subject of “bad” herbs…I’ve decided to post a list of questionable ones. They won’t ruin your existence, but if you have special circumstances — you should just use common sense and a lot of caution! By special circumstances, I mean – pregnancy, breastfeeding, or taking additional drug or herbal supplements that might interact negatively with herbal teas. The following information contains a listing of herbs unsafe for women to consume during pregnancy and is from the American Pregnancy website.
- Saw Palmetto – when used orally, has hormonal activity
- Goldenseal - when used orally, may cross the placenta
- Dong Quai – when used orally, due to uterine stimulant and relaxant effects
- Ephedra - when used orally
- Yohimbe - when used orally
- Pay D’ Arco – when used orally in large doses; contraindicated
- Passion Flower - when used orally
- Black Cohosh – when used orally in pregnant women who are not at term
- Blue Cohosh – when used orally; uterine stimulant and can induce labor
- Roman Chamomile – when used orally in medicinal amounts
- Pennyroyal – when used orally or topically
Certain herbs can also negatively react with both prescription and over the counter drugs. Check out this drug interaction chart. It is so large that I decided just to link it.
I say, if there is any doubt whatsoever as to the safety of drinking an herbal tea while you have special circumstances…then forget it. Have some sparkling water instead! I love tea, but there is no tea that important to have me worrying about interactions and effects on something as important as a baby. Ok — enough complaining…here’s a list I found on questionable herbs. The following chart is taken from www.babycenter.com
| Herbs | What you should know |
| Chamomile, ginger, echinacea | Often taken as teas, these herbs are considered safe for nursing moms in regular doses. Drink any herbal tea with caution, however, especially when you don’t know all the ingredients. (Stay away from goldenseal, which is often paired with echinacea, because it can be toxic in moderate doses and experts aren’t sure of its effects on nursing babies.) |
| Ground fenugreek, anise, borage, raspberry leaves, blessed thistle, dill, garlic, nettles, fennel seeds, goat’s rue, false unicorn root, vervain (also called verbena) | Consult with your doctor or a reputable herbalist before taking any of these herbs. Though they’re often used as milk boosters, not all have been scientifically proven to be safe or effective. Fenugreek, which is in many herbal preparations for increasing milk supply, may not be safe for people with diabetes. |
| Peppermint (and menthol), parsley | Peppermint and parsley may reduce your milk supply if taken in large quantities. A cup of peppermint tea probably won’t have this effect, but herbalists say numerous cups throughout the day might affect your ability to produce breast milk.
Peppermint candy and menthol cough drops have been known to reduce breast milk production, too. Also, peppermint oil (a concentrated form of the herb) is not considered safe during breastfeeding. |
| Feverfew | This herb is used to treat migraines. There are no known problems with taking it while breastfeeding. |
| St. John’s wort | This herb is used to treat depression. In studies of nursing infants whose mothers are taking the herb, levels have been undetectable in the infants’ blood and no side effects have been noted. St. John’s wort, however, can interact with many other drugs (and can decrease the effectiveness of oral contraceptives). |
| Chaste tree berry | While this herb has long been used as a milk booster, it is listed as potentially unsafe in the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. And some animal studies show that the herb decreases rather than increases lactation. |
| Aloe, buckthorn bark and berry, blue cohosh, caraway oil, cascara sagrada bark, coltsfoot leaf, comfrey, germander, gordolobo yerba tea, Indian snakeroot, Jin Bu Huan, kava kava, margosa oil, mate tea, mistletoe, pennyroyal oil, peppermint oil, petasites root, rhubarb root, sage, senna leaf, skullcap, uva ursi | Avoid these herbs while nursing, advises Thomas Hale, professor of pediatrics at Texas Tech University and author of Medications and Mothers’ Milk. Some interfere with lactation and some could be harmful to your baby.
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Doctors Caution Cancer Patients in consuming Herbal Supplements and Herbal Tea
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Tea Reviews Coming Soon!
Every good tea website / blog should have a section on tea reviews! I have actually been working on my tea review section for about a month now and have almost completed it. I guess my problem is a good one to have if you are really into tasting tea, like me! I’ve tried so many different teas that I am having a hard time putting all the information together in one nice and tidy little section of my blog. It keeps getting “worse,” too. Today, I tried two different types of teas that I have never had. I can’t help myself! I see something cool and I have to taste it! I went shopping today for clothes and didn’t find anything. I went to Whole Foods for organic apple juice for the baby and suddenly found myself studying their tea section. I definitely found something there! One of my favorite little treats are these tea shots…and they come in sencha, oolong and mate varieties. They are so cold, yummy and refreshing. I could drink a case. I’ve never been able to “shoot” real shots (YUCKY!). When the shots are made of tea, though…I can throw them back!
Sencha Shot - Ice Cold Green Tea!
Tea Tree Oil: Not to be Confused with Tea
As I was in the hair salon, waiting to get my daughter’s bangs trimmed, I noticed several haircare products made with tea tree oil. I love all things tea — so of course I perked up when I saw the word, “tea, ” but I had never really given a second thought to tea tree oil until then. What is the stuff and does it have absolutely any kinship to tea? That was the question that inspired a new little research project for me. I’ll share what I found out: here’s what the fine print on those shampoo bottles won’t tell you…
If you think you are getting the benefits of green tea in shampoo with tea tree oil in it’s list of ingredients, then you are very wrong. Tea tree oil is NOT from the tea plant, Camellia Senensis. It’s actually produced from an Australian plant called the Melaleuca alternifolia (no wonder they simplify it to just “tea tree oil”). It is made by steaming and distilling the leaves of this plant. Once upon a time (obviously before people knew it was toxic in large doses), the leaves were often substituted for real tea and drank — just like real tea. This is how it got it’s name.
The oil from these leaves should not be consumed as a drink, however, and are now mostly used medicinally. The oil contains chemicals that have an antiseptic and antifungal/antimicrobial quality. This is why many beauty products marketed for curing problems such as acne, athlete’s foot, dandruff and psoriasis often contain tea tree oil.
Several studies have been done and tea tree oil does in fact help dandruff calm down a bit. This explains why many hair products tout tea tree oil’s benefits to the hair and scalp. It does have it’s drawbacks, however. First of all — don’t mix it with lavender and take in high doses if you are an adolescent boy. The result over a period of time could be breast enlargement. Furthermore, steer clear of this stuff if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Tea tree oil is one of those questionable herbs that hasn’t been studied enough to safely say it’s okay to use during these conditions. With that being said, the small amounts usually found in beauty products aren’t enough to cause any real damage — but as with any other essential oil, you should use extreme caution when using concentrated doses of this stuff.
So there you have it. Everything you ever wanted to know about tea tree oil…and NO — it does not come from tea.
