Essiac Tea Information

A herbal tea based on a native Canadian Ojibwa shaman recipe, Essiac tea has gained popularity for its supposed medicinal benefits. Essiac tea is used as an alternative cancer treatment, although little scientific data supports the claim.

Composition

• Essiac tea is made up of four herbs: burdock root, sheep sorrel, slippery elm inner bard and Turkish rhubarb root.

Benefits

• Aside from its use as a cancer treatment to supposedly shrink tumors, the reported benefits of drinking Essiac tea include strengthened immune function, pain relief, blood cleansing, body detoxification and enhanced energy.

History

• Canadian public health nurse Rene Caisse based Essiac tea's formula on an Ojibwa Indian shaman's remedy. Caisse claims that she treated her aunt's cancer with the tea. She opened up a free medical clinic in 1924.

Fun Fact

• The name Essiac tea is based on the reverse spelling of its inventor's name, Caisse.

Warning

• According to Caisse, Essiac tea may make tumors expand before they're broken down. This means patients with brain tumors or tumors in danger of obstructing blood supply should not use Essiac tea. Pregnant women, nursing women, or people with kidney problems, bowel obstructions, ulcers, colitis or increased iron levels in their blood also should not drink the tea due to potential complications.