HERBAL TEAS AS REMEDIES CANCER TREATMENT

Green Tea (Camellia Sinensis)

Green tea is an ancient brew, traditionally used throughout Asia as an everyday beverage and health-promoting drink. Most Chinese or Japanese restaurants serve green tea as both a delicacy and cholesterol-lowering digestive aid.

A study conducted by the National Cancer Institute in the United States revealed that people who drank green tea regularly and who were also non-smokers decreased the chance of developing cancer of the oesophagus by 57 per cent in men and 60 per cent in women.

The main ingredients in green tea believed to be responsible for its amazing cancer-inhibiting action are polyphenols. In animals, polyphenols are believed to protect against cancer by stopping the production of enzymes that produce cancer-causing substances.

A chemical called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) has also been isolated from green tea. It decreases cholesterol levels and is also thought to inhibit cancer growth. In particular, it may inhibit tumour promotion in the skin and the gastrointestinal tract and prevent lung and liver cancer. EGCG is a powerful ‘free radical’ scavenger that neutralizes harmful molecules that attack DNA and trigger cancer. Green tea is also believed to prevent stomach and lung cancer, caused by the known carcinogen, NDEA.

Another active health-promoting ingredient in green tea is theophylline, which works synergistically with the anti-cancer drug Chlorambucil to increase its chemical activity. The tannic acids found in green tea are believed to be effective both topically and internally against cancer.

What is the best way to use green tea?

• Herbal tea — Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 heaped teaspoon of Japanese or Chinese

Green Tea. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Drink 3 times daily or after meals to break down

harmful fats in foods.

Horsetail Tea (Equisetum arvense)

In writings of the famous herbalist and nature cure promoter Abbe Kneipp, it is pointed out that horsetail tea arrests the growth of every tumour and slowly dissolves it. He states that horsetail herb is ‘uniquely irreplaceable and invaluable’ for bleeding, bladder and kidney disorders, and says, ‘For foul wounds, even cancer-like growths and ulcerated legs, horsetail is of great value. It cleanses, clears up and burns away everything bad, so to speak. Often the moist, warm plant is placed into moist cloths and applied to the affected parts’.

So why has such little notice been taken of this miracle herb? Nature, in its abundance and variety of miraculous healing plants, offers us the secrets to optimal health and natural healing. In places such as Guatemala, horsetail tea has long been traditionally used to treat and prevent cancer.

It is believed that horsetail tea used over a long period may inhibit the growth of tumours and possibly enhance their elimination from the body. This would also prove useful for polyps in the abdomen or anus area.

Horsetail tea is one of the richest sources of the mineral silica. Silica is fantastic for strengthening bones, hair, nails and skin. This ancient plant with its rich and diverse mineral content is also capable of enhancing healing of deep-seated lung damage.

What is the best way to use horsetail?

• Herbal tea – X liter of boiling water poured over 1 heaped teaspoon of horsetail herb. Let sit

for 10 to 15 minutes. Drink 3 cups per day, depending on your requirements.

• Poultice – a heaped double handful of horsetail herb is placed in a sieve and hung over boiling

water. When herbs are hot and soft, place in linen or cheesecloth and apply to affected area.

Keep warm.

• Pulp compress — fresh horsetail is washed well and crushed to a pulp on a wooden board,