Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Ephedra
The World’s Original Healer
Family: Ephedraceae; (includes Broom, Horsetail)
Genus and Species: Ephedra Sinica, E. Vulgaris, E. Nevadensis, E. Antisyphilitica, and other species
Also known as: Ma Huang, Mormon Tea, Whorehouse Tea
Parts used: Stems, branches
Ephedra, a powerful bronchial decongestant is generally considered the world’s oldest medicine. Sadly, few people who take over-the-counter cold remedies containing this herb’s laboratory analog (pseudoephedrine) have any idea they are part of an herbal Healing tradition dating back 5,000 years.
Ma Huang and Mormon Tea
The origins of Chinese medicine are lost in legend, but authorities agree Chinese physicians began prescribing ephedra tea for colds, asthma, and hay fever around 3000 B.C. The Indian and Pakistani species of the herb have been used medicinally almost as long. Chinese ephedra (E. sinica) is known as rna huang.
When the Mormons reached Utah in 1847, local Indians introduced them to native American ephedra, a piney-tasting tonic beverage. The Mormons adopted it as a substitute for coffee and tea, and around the West it became known as Mormon tea, a name that survives to this day.
Contemporary herbalists recommend ephedra just as the ancient Chinese did, to treat asthma, hay fever, and the nasal and chest congestion of colds and flu.