Homemade digestive system tea

Digestive Support Tea | Herbal Tea Recipe

Amanda Nicole SmithDrinks, Herbal Tea, Hot Drinks 2 Comments

A homemade digestive herbal tea to keep things running smoothly, especially after engorging on holiday feasts. This tea is made predominately from roots such as marshmallow, licorice, ginger, dandelion, yellow dock and the lone senna leaf.

If you ever feel like there is a log sitting in your stomach after feasting, drink some of this tea and that log will sail on pretty quickly. 😉

Dominick and I have become pretty gluttonous these past couple of weeks. Regardless of the fact that we are eating all local and organic food, heavier foods like breads, cookies, pies, cakes, and pasta, are still slow to digest because it’s mainly sugar and gluten. 

Sugar and gluten are very hard on the digestive system, it can feel as though the dough is just sitting in your stomach for days, and as a result you can feel very tired, sluggish and bloated. A massive amount of energy is required to digest these foods, add to that meat and dairy and you’ll really feel like your bed is the only place you want to be.

Luckily herbs, roots, barks, and berries can help speed up the digestive process and make you feel more comfortable in no time. Normally this is achieved by coating the intestines with a gel like substance, removing toxins along the way, increasing stomach bile, stimulating the colon muscles and a bunch of other wonderful bodily processes. 

Digestion Tea

Starting at the green leaf and going clockwise: senna leaf, marshmallow root, yellow dock, licorice root, dandelion root, and ginger root at the bottom.

The licorice adds sweetness, the ginger adds a bit of spice, and the rest of the roots can be quite bitter, but they all are wonderful digestive aids. You don’t have to use all of them at one time, rather I like to use 4 of the 6 ingredients above and use 2 out of the 3 herbs below.

General Rule of Thumb When Combining Herbs for Tea

1 tablespoon of herbs per quart

6 herbs- ½ teaspoons each

I want to note that herbal remedies such as these should not be taken habitually, it is only a temporary aid while you make adjustments to your routine. If you feel you need a regular digestive aid, this may be a sign that your diet needs some tweaking.

Of course we all get a little indulgent from time to time, as long as we don’t make it a habit, digestive tea can be of real use!

I drink a quart of herbal tea or infusions a day, I just make sure to rotate through a bunch of different herbs, roots, barks, berries, etc. because many of them are not meant to be taken on a regular basis.

Mild Tasting Herbs

Mild tasting herbs to combat the bitter roots. Starting with the red herb moving clockwise: rooibos, raspberry leaf, milk oats or oatstraw.

Many of these herbs can be found in the bulk spice and herb section at your local health market, specialized tea shoppes, or online at my favorite place Mountain Rose Herbs.

Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c

Digestive Tea

An herbal tea to aid digestion, made from roots and leaves.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Author: Amanda Nicole Smith

INGREDIENTS

Choose 4

  • 1/2 tsp marshmallow root
  • 1/2 tsp senna leaf
  • 1/2 tsp licorice root
  • 1/2 tsp dandelion root
  • 1/2 tsp ginger root
  • 1/2 tsp yellow dock

Choose 2

  • 1/2 tsp raspberry leaf
  • 1/2 tsp rooibos
  • 1/2 tsp milky oats; oat straw

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Choose your herbs and add them to a cotton tea bag or unbleached disposable tea bag.
  • Add almost boiling water to quart sized mason jar and let steep for 1-2 hours.

NOTES

You can re-steep the same tea bag twice.
Normally I'll always use licorice and ginger because they add sweet and spice.
Happy Holidays!

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