Have you ever tried parsley tea? Turns out its one of a bevy of healthy new items making their way into health food stores and homes across the nation. But what’s the point of it? Well, aside from its traditional uses as a garnish for prettying up dinner plates and as an occasional chew for freshening the breath (due to its chlorophyll content), parsley is packed full of nutrients and has a slew of other uses as well as being a lesser known herbal detoxifying tea. Let’s check it out!
Petroselinum crispus
From the Greek word for “rock celery” (as it is indeed a relative of the celery plant) comes parsley, or Petroselium crispus. It was also associated in ancient Greece with Persephone, the Goddess of the Underworld. Found in produce departments globally, parsley comes in two varieties most commonly, the curly parsley plant and the flat leaf, or Italian parsley plant.
Parsley has been used throughout much of history
As both a religious symbol and medicinal herb, parsley has been used in funerals, burials, and religious ceremonies over the ages. This versatile herb has been found not only in medicinals, but cosmetics, soaps and perfumes of the old world as well.
Full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory
Parsley is optimally immune-system enhancing with its various components, the most remarkable of which make it a “chemo-protective” food. Capable of neutralizing carcinogens like those found in cigarette smoke, the oils in parsley, especially the myristin, inhibits tumor formation in animal studies, particularly in the lungs. The oils comprising parsley are called volatile oils, and include not only myristin but limonene, eugenol, and alpha-thujene, as well as flavonoids such as luetolin, apigenin, crisoeriol, and apiin. Luteolin in particular fights as an antioxidant in the body to prevent damage to cells, as does the vitamin C and vitamin A which destroy free radicals responsible for asthma, cervical cancer and colon cancer, artherosclerosis, and diabetes. As an anti-inflammatory, vitamin C helps to provide protection from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. It’s also high in vitamins B, E, and K, as well as magnesium, phosphorous, iron, calcium, and potassium. You can also drink parsley tea to soothe a cough from the common cold or other minor ailments.
Ensures proper cell division and cardiovascular health
Parsley’s folic acid content makes it a great nutrient for protecting cardiovascular health and assuring proper cell division (particularly useful in the colon and cervix, both areas of the body with rapidly dividing cells) and its potassium gives it a noteworthy diuretic effect on the body.
Assists in regulating monthly menstrual cycles
The apiol in parsley is a component of the female sex hormone estrogen as well, and it has been used for hundreds of years in the regulating of monthly women’s cycles as well as continue uterine contractions following delivery. For this reason, parsley should not be ingested by pregnant women.
Supports kidney, bladder, and urinary function
Known for its ability to prevent salt from being reabsorbed into body tissues and effectiveness in ridding the kidney, bladder, and liver of debris, parsley is used for kidney, bladder and urinary conditions prevalently with the current German authority equal to the U. S. FDA approving it for the treatment of bladder infections and kidney stones. It has not been shown to be effective in treating serious kidney inflammation, however.
Let’s have some tea!
If you’re ready to try the tea, no special ingredients are necessary! Just a little fresh parsley (the green leaves of the parsley are used for tea, and these are best harvested during spring and fall), some boiling water and a cup with a strainer, infusion ball, or reusable tea bags. All you need to do is get your water boiling, take about a 1/4 cup of fresh parsley in a strainer (or other) and steep for 5 – 7 minutes. Stir in honey or lemon to taste and you’ve got it!
Keep in mind there are some side effects of parsley tea, just as there are for any other medicine.
Discontinue drinking the tea if these issues arise (and always stay within the recommended dosage per your doctor or packaging instructions):
*Low blood sugar (this tea can cause your blood sugar to drop, which is not the best thing for everyone.) If you have diabetes, consult your physician prior to usage and carefully monitor your sugar levels.
*Anemia, kidney or liver problems (these can usually be avoided by staying within the prescribed amount of dosage)
*Avoid if pregnant
*Do not drink if breastfeeding unless prescribed by a doctor
*Do not drink if your health history includes serious kidney inflammation disease, as kidney stones may form from the oxalic acid
*Do not drink if you are on diuretic drugs, if you are having surgery of any kind in the next two weeks, or if you are on blood-clotting drugs.
