Marsh Labrador Tea 100 g, 50 g, 25 g

Marsh Labrador Tea – 100 g ($22.99), 50 g ($14.99), 25 g ($9.99)

Benefits:

 

Botanical Name: Ledum palustre
English: Labrador Tea
Also, known as: Marsh tea, Marsh Labrador tea, Northern Labrador tea, Wild Rosemary, and Marsh rosemary, James Tea, Lède des Marais, Ledi Palustris Herba, Lédon des Marais, Ledum palustre, Ledum Silvestre, Marsh Citrus, Moth Herb, Northern Labrador Tea, Petit Thé du Labrador, Rhododendron palustre, Rhododendron tomentosum var. tomentosum, Romarin Sauvage, Romero Silvestre, Sumpfporst, Swamp Tea, Te de Los Pantanos, Wild Rosemary
Origin: Ukraine
Harvested: Wild or Cultivated
Parts Used: Leaves

General Information:
Ledum palustre, is a low evergreen shrub growing to 50-60 cm in height. Interestingly, this shrub can generally survive fire as the rhizomes are found deep in the organic layer and it is often found in areas too wet to burn. Labrador tea is technically a flowering shrub with many erect branches, white flowers and distinctive evergreen leaves. It is one of the first plants to re-colonize after fire and grows rapidly. Leaves grow alternate, simple, evergreen, fragrant when crushed, and have a short-petiolate. Leaves are 10-40 mm long and 2-10 mm wide. They have a leathery-texture, are dull and dark green above, with the lower leaf surface densely covered in matted woolly hairs that turn from white to rusty-brown at maturity. The flowers are small, with a five-lobed white corolla, and produced several together in a corymb 3-5 cm in diameter. Numerous white flowers occur in showy rounded umbel-like terminal inflorescences. The flowers are hermaphrodite, have both male and female organs, one cm across; the calyx is small and five toothed; the corolla is composed of five white ovate to oblong petals, fused at the base. They emit strong smell to attract bees and other pollinating insects.

Walking through the flowering brush is an experience, not just for the abundant display of flowers but also for the heady aroma. Labrador tea’s aroma comes from essential oils such as ledol, palustrol and myrcene. These compounds repel cattle and large mammals, and can give sensitive people a headache. Despite its toxicity it has been cleverly used to flavor beer, instead of or alongside hops. The leaves are hung up in the clothes cupboard to repel insects. The branches are also placed among grain to keep mice away. A strong decoction of the leaves is used to kill lice and insects. The leaves contain tannin.
The plant is more strongly narcotic than Ledum latifolium and should not be used without expert supervision.

How to use:
We make these suggestions to help you get the best benefit from the herbs that you’re choosing to improve your health. Also, we make these ideas and recommendations to make consuming them easier and better fit into your lifestyle by adding them to the food that you already eat.

For the full health benefit, it is best to consume (or use in poultices) the whole herb. All of the compounds in the herb act best together, as nature intends. Extracting is a process to draw out the most prominent beneficial compound(s) and may also concentrate it to unnatural levels of strength. What is not extracted is thrown away, since it is depleted. These solids are ‘leftovers’ of the extraction process and essentially treated as worthless. However, these can be beneficial in ways scientists have not yet recognized or understand. Another aspect to consider (which is not identified) is if the extraction process, which varies from one herb to the next, causes additional drawbacks. Taking the whole herb avoids these detrimental possibilities. Concentration of beneficial compounds can be important in some cases to increase the health effect of the compound and/or be a good alternative to consuming unrealistically large amounts of the herb for the desired benefit. However, this does not apply to many herbs, so concentrating should be done as needed, not applied to all herbs.

Extracting (tea, tinctures, oils, some capsules, powders, tablets, etc.) is very common and often more convenient for the user, which is often their main appealing feature. However, it also can lead to problems, like liver and other issues, that as far as we know by the current state of research don’t occur in the natural herb form.

Cut Pieces or Powdered Herb:
There are different ways to use cut pieces or powdered herb.

Food Preparation: You can add powdered or pieces of herb (if the pieces you buy are bigger than you like, a coffee or herb grinder will quickly reduce) to any yogurt, smoothie, apple or other sauces, spreads, salads or other foods more familiar to you that don’t use heat. Heat can be damaging to the beneficial compounds in the herb. Other options like oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pasta sauce, soup, cookies and anything else that fits your lifestyle, but minimizing (by adding near the end of cooking) the heat is helpful. Also, for children, you can mix powdered herb with honey or glycerin to make paste. The thicker the paste, the more potent and herbal in taste. The sweet taste of honey and glycerin will help medicine go down. This method is also known as electuaries.

For seeds in general, but especially small seeds, it’s best to grind these to break the protective hulls a short time before consumption. This makes all the benefits available, rather than some remaining locked inside the hulls that are unbroken by insufficient chewing.

To make adding herbs even easier, you could add a week’s worth of your chosen herb(s) to an amount of, for example, yogurt that you would eat in a week. Mix thoroughly and eat this each day of the week. SO you make once /week and just eat each other day.

Hot Infusion: The basic method for dried herbs and flower is, take 2-3 tablespoons of dried herb in a cup of teapot Pour hot water over it and cover it with lid for 10-30 minutes. The heat from making tea can degrade some of the beneficial compounds in the herb. This method minimizes this effect. For the full health benefit, it is recommended to consume what is left over after making tea.

Decoctions: Decoctions are suitable for roots, barks, large seeds & berries, and other dense material. The simple way to make decoction is, in a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon of dried herbs to 1 cup of water, Bring the water to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes with the pot covered. Squeeze out as much as liquid as possible. Best practice is to drink the liquid and also consume the solid material that remains. Herb pieces can also be used.

Powdered Herb:
There are different ways to use powdered herb.

Capsules: HerbsCrafters makes capsules guaranteed to be filled with the pure herb with no filler or any other products. You can also use powdered herb to make your own capsules at home. These capsules are best taken with liquid to aid in digestion and absorption and to ensure it doesn’t stick in your throat.

Poultice: Poultice can be made with an herbal powder and liquid (mostly water) to form a paste which is then applied to the skin. This method is very helpful for skin conditions.

Herbal shot: Powdered herb can be mixed with water, fruit juice or other liquid to make herbal shot.

Tips:
You can sweeten your herbal decoctions with bit of honey, natural fruit juice, stevia leaves powder or licorice root powder.

Precautions:
You should consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using any herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.
All information on this website is for educational purpose ONLY.
This information has not been evaluated by Health Canada.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

How Much To Use
It is common that 10g of a fresh herb = 1g when dehydrated.
Recommended daily amount: 1-2 tsp marsh labrador tea (2-4 g)/day. This can be added to food or to make tea.