08 Feb DIY Longevity Tea

Posted at 13:41h in Blog, Recipes by

I have been enjoying the Aging Successfully lecture series that Lakehead University is hosting. Nick Buettner’s lecture, Lessons from the Blue Zones, shared the lifestyle and habit commonalities of the world’s most active and feisty centenarians. Something that piqued my interest was his revelation that Ikaria, Greece, has very low levels of dementia. A correlation (not necessarily a causation) was their consumption of three herbs that have a diuretic effect: dandelion, thyme and oregano.*

The logic is that the diuretic effect helps lower blood pressure, and lower levels of blood pressure have been linked to lower levels of dementia. Always game to experiment, I thought I would have fun making some tea. I go through stages enjoying nettle tea, and I love making ginger tea by slicing or mincing fresh ginger. After hearing his lecture, I thought it might be fun to experiment with dandelion, nettle and ginger. Let the science experiments begin!

I dropped in to our local health food store (please consider supporting local xo) and picked up a whole bunch of herbs (more DIY recipes coming!). Not only is it super fun and easy to make your own tea blends, it’s incredibly economical, too.

In addition to their diuretic effects, nettle, dandelion and ginger have anti-inflammatory and and anti-oxidant properties. I also enjoy both the warming and hydrating effects of a comforting cup of tea!

DIY Longevity Tea

1 tablespoon dried dandelion
1 tablespoon dried nettle
1 tablespoon ginger – minced or sliced

Place above ingredients in a compostable tea bag or reusable diffuser.

The amount of ingredients is enough for a nice pot of tea of 4 – 6 servings. Allow to steep for 10 minutes or longer. Enjoy on its own or with a bit of honey. Can also be kept in the fridge and enjoyed as a refreshing cool beverage. Enjoy!

*Please note, regarding herbs: the Blue Zones lecture noted dandelion, thyme and oregano. The textbook lists rosemary, sage and oregano. They share the same diuretic and high antioxidant properties. Also important to note is that the Ikarians would rotate use of the herbs on a regular basis.