Health & Fitness

Essiac tea is widely believed by many holistic medical practitioners to be a potent weapon in the fight against cancer and other diseases. The best essiac tea is comprised of a proprietary blend of eight natural herbs, which are blended according to a strict ratio. Doctors and clinicians are still studying the potential benefits of essiac to learn more about how these herbs operate in the body.

Essiac tea was originally developed by the Canadian Rene Caisse, who got the formula for essiac tea from a Native American medicine man. The original essiac formula was comprised of eight herbs: blessed thistle, burdock root, kelp, sheep sorrel, slippery elm bark, red clover, turkey rhubarb root, and watercress. According to lore, these eight herbs need to be taken in specific concentrations to optimize their cancer fighting benefits.

The Origin of the Formula
Rene Caisse gave these herbs to her aunt, who was suffering from debilitating breast cancer: the aunt recovered in short order. Convinced that she had stumbled across a potential panacea for cancer ills, Rene proceeded to open a series of clinics in the United States. After a number of unsuccessful trials and aggressive tests, she partnered with a Dr. Brusch to conduct further tests.

Thorough clinical work on the essiac formula proved somewhat inconclusive, Rene refused to hand over her proprietary formula for analysis. Her eight-herb recipe for the tea was released only to Dr. Brush, one year prior to her death. There are four-herb varieties out there as well, as the four-herb recipe was released to the general public; this is not the case, however, with the eight-herb variety of essiac tea.

How to Take Essiac Tea
Practitioners used to administer essiac solely via injection. This meant that terminally ill patients had to suffer additional discomfort, if they wanted to reap the potential benefits of essiac tea. Fortunately, more modern research on the herbs suggested that ingesting the herbs orally might be more effective. Most practitioners and herbal specialists now believe that essiac tea is the most potent medicinal formulation of essiac.

What kinds of side effects can you expect from essiac tea? The truth is that, since essiac tea is comprised of natural roots and herbs, you likely dont have to worry about side effects at all. That being said, it is a smart move to talk to your doctor any time you start in on a new course of treatment–especially if youre simultaneously undergoing therapy for cancer.

Aiding Immune Responses
Essiac tea most likely works by enhancing the bodys natural immune system. Antioxidants in the tea may remove heavy metals, aid with digestion, purify the blood, and stimulate certain chemical processes at the cellular level. Of course, until clinical research on these herbs is funded, theres no documentation by an agency such as the FDA to back up users claims.

Anecdotal evidence is encouraging. Patients often report a sense of well being and calm after taking essiac tea treatments daily, and the benefits appear to be long lasting. Many people find they are better able to tolerate traditional cancer therapies like chemo and radiation when taking essiac. When confronting the specter of cancer or disease, sometimes the relief found in alternative treatments can revitalize self esteem and perseverance.