Herbal Tea for the Flu

Some of the best herbs for flu care are diaphoretics, because they stimulate sweating. Diaphoretics support the body’s natural response rather than “fighting” the illness.
Some of the best diaphoretic herbs include: lemon balm, bee balm, yarrow, elder flowers & berries and ginger.

If you make an infused tea with any of these herbs (or all of them, or some combination), you should see great benefits in seeing comfort from your flu. An infused tea is simply using 1-3 tbsp. of fresh herbs or 1-3 tsp. of dried herbs per cup of boiling water. Pour the boiling water over the herbs and let it steep for anywhere between 10-30 minutes. The longer you let it steep, the stronger it will be medicinally. Strain and add raw honey, lemon, or stevia to taste.

Here is a wonderful herbal tea for the flu:
Elderberry and ginger make a delicious tea that you might want to drink all winter, whether you’re sick or not…

To make elderberry ginger tea:

1. Slice up 2-3 inches of fresh ginger.
2. Put the ginger in a pot and cover it with about a quart of water.
3. Add 2-3 tablespoons of elderberry (frozen, canned, juice, syrup or dried). Here is my recipe for elderberry syrup.
4. Simmer the mixture until it tastes strongly of ginger—usually at least 15 minutes. (The tea turns a muddy purple-brown as it simmers.)
5. When it’s ready, remove the tea from the heat, let it sit a minute to cool, and add good quality raw honey to taste. (Don’t boil raw honey. You’ll kill the enzymes.)
6. Squeeze the juice from one small or half a large lemon. Add it to the tea. Watch the color change from muddy to clear pink. 🙂

Drink hot, preferably while wrapped in a blanket. 🙂

For further reading:

**Need some sore throat remedies to go with this Herbal tea? Check out these great Natural Remedies for Sore Throats from my friend Holistic Health Herbalist!

**Need some ear infection remedies to go wit this Herbal tea? Check out these Holistic Remedies for Ear Infections from Kula Mama!