Does This Make Me A Witch? 5 Herbal Teas I Drank Religiously While Healing My Infertility—Genesis Birthing and Living

This post contains affiliate links but the story is my own. And while I can’t make healing claims on behalf of these teas, I can truthfully say that they were a regular part of my infertility healing routine—so I’m sharing them with you. Be sure to let me know in the comments if you’ve heard of any of these teas or if someone you know has tried them before. Happy Halloween. 🙂

By: Shayla Brown

What’s your favorite herbal tea? Tell us in the comments.

1. Tribulus Terrestris

Tribulus terrestris is native to arid regions in Europe, Asia, Africa, and northern Australia. It is considered an aggressive and invasive species in some parts of the world, thriving in disturbed soils. The plant is often recognized by its long, sharp, spiny fruit known to pierce bike tires and shoes. For this reason, it has earned many common names such as puncture vine, devil’s thorn, and goat’s head. Tribulus fruit has been used for its healthful qualities in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda where it’s referred to as gokshura. Tribulus can be infused as herbal tea or extracted as a tincture.

Tribulus is a member of the Zygophyllaceae family and also goes by the name puncturevine caltrop and small caltrops.

Precautions
Not for use in pregnancy except under the supervision of a qualified healthcare practitioner. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.

Source: Mountain Rose Herbs

2. Raspberry Leaf

Recognized for its sweet fruits and pleasant tasting leaves, raspberry has been a cherished plant for hundreds of years. Native to many parts of Europe, North America, and western Asia, Rubus idaeus is an easily cultivated member of the Rose family. Raspberry leaves are generally drunk as a delicious raspberry leaf tea, with a flavor that resembles black tea. Red raspberry leaf is also popular in herbal infusion blends for both its taste and healthful qualities.

Raspberry leaves are among the most pleasant tasting of all the herbal remedies, with a taste much like black tea, without the caffeine. Raspberries were said to have been discovered by the Olympian gods themselves while searching for berries on Mount Ida. The first real records of domestication of raspberries comes from the writings of Palladius, a Roman agriculturist. By Medieval times it had a great many uses, including the juices which were used in paintings and illuminated manuscripts. King Edward the 1st (1272-1307) was said to be the first to call for mass cultivation of raspberries, whose popularity spread quickly throughout Europe. Teas of raspberry leaves were given to women of the Cherokee, Iroquois, and Mohawk nations in North America, and have earned approval of the authoritative British Herbal Compendium.

To make raspberry leaf tea, pour 1 cup (240 ml) of boiling water over 1 or 2 teaspoons (3-5 grams) of dried leaf. Close the teapot and allow to stand for 10 minutes, then sweeten to taste. Drink warm. Many herbal teas include raspberry to “stabilize” the other ingredients. May also be taken as a capsule, though rare.

Precautions
No known precautions. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.

Source: Mountain Rose Herbs

3. Oat Straw

Avena sativa, or the common oat, is a popular cereal grain that has been consumed for thousands of years. Not only a formidable food, it is also sought after for its nutritive and gentle calming qualities. An infusion of oatstraw tea is a favorite among herbalists. Oatstraw can also be incorporated into nourishing herbal tea blends as well as bath and body formulations.

Avena sativa, or the common oat, is a popular cereal grain that has been eaten for at least 3,000 years. Although this is one of the main uses for this plant, various parts of the plant, such as the young seed and the oatstraw, are nutritive and have nervine qualities, and have long been a favorite among herbalists.

A. sativa is a grass with erect stems and long blade-like leaves. Its flowers consist of inconspicuous spikelets, each floret containing 3 stamens, and a feathery stigma. This floret matures into the oat that is edible, and at the immature stage, exudes a white milky substance (referred to as ‘milky oats’) and harvested for its nutritive value. The whole plant is referred to as ‘oatstraw.’ Oat descended from A. sterilis as a cross between wheat and barley, and spread as a weed from the Fertile Crescent to Europe. Believed to be domesticated around 3,000 years ago around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, it eventually spread to the wet and cooler climates in Europe and became a popular cereal grain, claiming its place as a major food staple in the Poaceae family alongside wheat, barley, and rice. There are several species that are thought to have similar qualities, particularly A. fatua and A. barbata

Oats have been cultivated since ancient Roman times as feed for horses. The British emigrants introduced oats to North America in the 17th century and they have been cultivated here ever since. Today, most cultivated oats are primarily bailed and sold as feed, however much is grown for food as well and will continue to be cultivated in larger and larger quantities as its health benefits become more widely known. The biggest oat-producing countries are Russia, Canada, United States, Australia, around the Baltic Sea, Sweden, Finland, Poland, and Germany. The best time to harvest the seed is when it is immature, or in its milky phase, and then to tincture it the same day. The oatstraw is best harvested when the seed is mature, it should then be dried but still retain green in the stems.

The popular oat has been a healthy addition to the diet of many Europeans for generations. Scotland is thought to be where the trend of eating oat porridge for breakfast began. There are many nutritional and health benefits found in the oat grain itself and it is often attributed to having the same soothing and nourishing effects as the oatstraw tea and the milky oats tincture. Green oat herb or oatstraw preparations have been used traditionally in Europe since the Middle Ages to boost mental capacity and as a restorative. Hildegard of Bingen, a nun and herbalist born in 1098 C.E. in present-day Germany, considered oats to be one of a few of her favorite ‘happiness’ herbs alongside fennel, summer savory, licorice, and hyssop.

Oatstraw is a highly beneficial nervine and nutritive. It is prized amongst herbalists for its gentle and supportive nature. The milky oats are generally believed to work more quickly in an acute situation whereas the oatstraw offers support over time. Hence the tea of the oatstraw is a better building tonic than the tincture. Either of these preparations are good for the type of person that has, according to the herbalist and teacher 7Song, ” pushed and pushed and now feels tired, out-of-sorts, or just plain disconnected much of the time no matter how much they rest or sleep.” Oatstraw is highly nutritive, containing minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamins, and a variety of other constituents which deeply nourish the entire body. This gentle restorative herb is for those that are cold, depleted, or tired, or for the type of person who drinks too much coffee and is chronically burnt out. Oat grain is a very popular in commercial cosmetic preparations such as exfoliating body washes or soothing bath gels. According to naturopath John Lust (the nephew of naturopathic pioneer Benedict Lust), various types of baths of the oatstraw herb could be used to address specific issues. Additionally, he suggests a foot bath in oatstraw for tired feet.

Dried oatstraw can be used in a variety of ways including in bath and body care recipes, steeped as tea, or made into a liquid extract.

Source: Mountain Rose Herbs

4. Stinging Nettle

Stinging nettle, or Urtica dioica, is an herbaceous perennial that thrives in wet climates and moist soils. Nettles earn their name from the tiny hairs found on the leaves and stems that cause a stinging sensation upon contact with skin. Nettle leaves have long been used fresh as a wild food in spring and then dried for its beneficial properties. Our North American nettle leaves are organically cultivated in the United States and make a light brew when steeped as nettle tea or when added to an herbal infusion blend. Nettle leaves are harvested in the spring, once the plant has had time to mature but before it goes into flower.

Nettle has been used worldwide for centuries in a variety of countries and cultures. It has been eaten as a wild food plant, applied topically to the skin, and drunk as an herbal tea. It was used extensively for its fibers and was woven into cloth. Nettle fibers were considered to be high quality and comparable to flax or hemp in Northern Europe.

Nettle supports healthy urinary function and has mild diuretic action and helps to maintain upper respiratory health.*

Our North American nettle leaf produces a light infusion, with a mild flavor and grass-like undertones. This cultivated leaf does not brew as strong as the European nettle leaf that we offer.

Nettle is a dioecious, herbaceous, perennial plant. The soft, green leaves are borne oppositely on an erect, wiry, green stem and have a strongly serrated margin. The leaves and stems are very hairy with nonstinging hairs, and, in most subspecies, also bear many stinging hairs (trichomes), whose tips come off when touched, causing paresthesia.

Source: Mountain Rose Herbs

5. Dandelion Leaf

Taraxacum officinale has a long history of use worldwide as an edible food and restorative tonic. Dandelion leaves can be eaten fresh in spring, and the long taproot is dug for its beneficial properties in the fall. Our organic dandelion leaf makes an excellent addition to herbal tea blends. Leaves can also be brewed as dandelion leaf tea, tinctured as dandelion extract, or added to soups.

Dandelion was traditionally used in many systems of medicine to support digestive and gastrointestinal health.* Additionally, dandelion was traditionally used to support liver health, healthy urinary funtion and has mild diuretic action.*

Dandelion is a sunny, subtle, yet incredible plant that has been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is mentioned in traditional Arabian medicine in the tenth century. It has been used for centuries in traditional medicine practices all over the world as a restorative tonic, edible food, and in herbal beers and wines.

Dandelion bears a sun-yellow flower head (which is actually composed of hundreds of tiny flowers) typical of the Asteraceae family, that closes in the evening or during cloudy weather and opens back up in the morning, much like its cousin calendula. When the flower is closed, to some, it looks like a pig’s nose, hence one of its names, ‘swine’s snout.’ It is a perennial herb with deeply cut leaves that form a basal rosette, somewhat similar to another family member, the wild lettuce, and has a thick tap root which is dark brown on the outside and white on the inside. It is native to most of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, naturalized all over the world, and commonly found growing alongside roads and in lawns as a common weed.

Dandelion is produced commercially in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the former Yugoslavia, and the United Kingdom. However, dandelion grows practically everywhere, and is wild collected in a variety of climates, even in the Himalayas up to about 12,000 feet, where it is often gathered for use in Ayurvedic medicine (the traditional healing system of India). Dandelion will grow anywhere, but will produce more substantial roots in moist, rich, deep soil. Pharmacopeial grade dandelion leaf is composed of the dried leaves collected before flowering and the root collected in autumn or whenever its inulin content is the highest.

The use of dandelion was first recorded in writing in the Tang Materia Medica (659 B.C.E.), and then later noted by Arab physicians in the 10th century.

In the United States, various indigenous cultures considered dandelion to be a prized edible, a gastrointestinal aid, a cleansing alterative, and a helpful poultice or compress. The Bella Coola from Canada made a decoction of the roots to assuage gastrointestinal challenges; the Algonquian ate the leaves for their alterative properties and also used them externally as a poultice. Additionally, the Aleut steamed leaves and applied them topically to sore throats. The Cherokee believed the root to be an alterative as well and made a tea of the plant (leaves and flowers) for calming purposes. It is interesting to note that dandelion was used by the Iroquois as well. They made a tea of the whole plant, and also considered it be an alterative tonic. In the southwestern U.S., in Spanish speaking communities practicing herbalism, dandelion is called ‘chicoria’ or ‘diente de leon.’

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) it is referred to as ‘Xin Xiu Ben Cao’ or ‘Pu Gong Ying’ and considered to be energetically sweet, drying, and cooling. According to TCM, dandelion clears heat from the liver and has a beneficial effect on the stomach and lungs, and it can uplift the mood and support lactation.

The root was listed as official in the United States National Formulary, in the pharmacopeias of Austria and the Czech Republic, in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia, and the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia amongst others. Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar strongly promotes this herb, saying that it is “invaluable to women going through menopause.” Dandelion root’s benefit to the digestive tract is twofold as it contains inulin and is also a bitter digestive tonic which tones the digestive system and stimulates the appetite. It calms heat and also hot emotions and is thus helpful in those that are irritated.

The young dandelion greens (rather than the older ones which become too bitter) are wonderful in salads. These leaves can also be steamed like spinach (although they take a little longer to cook than spinach) and spiced with salt, pepper, and butter. Other savory spices such as nutmeg, garlic, onion or lemon peel can be added as well.

Dandelion leaf is considered energetically bitter, drying, and cooling.

Source: Mountain Rose Herbs

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