Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Tea
World’s Most Popular Healer
Family: Theaceae; (includes Camellia)
Genus and Species: Camellia Sinensis
Also known as: Green Tea, Black Tea
Parts used: Leaves
Tea is the world’s second most popular beverage (after water) and the world’s most widely used herbal medicine. Most people drink it as a mild stimulant, but this herb also may help treat diarrhea, prevent tooth decay, and act as a bronchial decongestant.
Tea Time Goes Way Back
Tea has been used in Chinese medicine for at least 3,000 years to treat headache, diarrhea, dysentery, colds, cough, asthma, and other respiratory problems.
By the 8th century, it was a favorite in India and Indonesia.
The Dutch East India Company first brought it to Holland in 1610, and by 1640, black tea had become popular with the English upper class. They drank it as an afternoon stimulant around 4 o’clock, which is still known as tea time.
The Chinese called black tea pekho, and the British adopted the term as pekoe. They considered the beverage so divine, they named it tea from the Greek thea, meaning goddess.
Tough Time for Tea
Demand for tea spurred England’s colonization of India, Ceylon, and Hong Kong. By the late 18th century, tea was an integral part of English culture, and around the world, the English simply would not tolerate any threat to their tea supply. In 1773, the British Parliament levied a tax on tea imported into her North American colonies. Outraged by this price hike, the residents of Massachusetts rioted. They stormed tea ships in Boston harbor and dumped enormous quantities of the herb overboard. The Boston Tea Party helped trigger the American Revolution.
In Europe and North America, tea has always been used primarily as a stimulant beverage. Herbalists also adopted all of its Chinese medical uses. Folk healers still recommend tea for headache, diarrhea, colds, coughs, and respiratory problems.
Ironically, few contemporary herbals even mention the world’s most popular Healing herb. In fact, most people don’t even consider tea an herb. They typically ask, “Would you like coffee, tea, or herbal tea?” Of course, coffee and tea are herbs, so all these beverages are herbal teas.