The weather has been warm here in East Tennessee this week, and I’ve been able to get out for daily walks around my property. The daffodils are getting ready to bloom any day now, I keep looking out for the crocuses to pop through the soil on my after-lunch walks, and the bees, birds, and frogs are out and about everywhere. Spring is almost here.
And spring in East Tennessee, well, that means a lot of rain. While the weather was nice this week, we did get some rain here and there, and as I walked through the puddles with my Blundstone boots getting my steps in this week, I thought about water and what it means to our bodies and our health.
Water is life.
Our bodies are primarily water, but not just any kind of water, mineral-rich water. Our bodies are also electrical, and that mineral-rich water inside our body is vitally important so electrical impulses can move throughout the body, triggering this function and that process and all the things that keep us alive.
We get mineral-rich water through the foods we eat, and we also get it through the liquids we drink. I generally like to put a good pinch of Celtic sea salt in my reverse osmosis water to increase my mineral intake, but I also like to drink nutritive herbal teas throughout the day as well. Nutritive herbs are those high in vitamins and minerals, and water easily pulls these constituents out of the plant material and into the water so you can drink it.
Now, beyond the mineral-rich water in our bodies, and the role it plays in our health, we also have other waters that cleanse the body of toxins. Your first thought might be urine, and that is correct, but we also have lymph fluid that cleans our body as well.
You see, the lymphatic system drains excess fluid that moves through the tissues of the body. This excess fluid often has cellular debris and toxins in it, and it is flushed out through various channels of elimination in the body. This flushing happens all throughout the day, but it doesn’t happen on its own. It requires your help.
Moving regularly throughout the day, gently rubbing and massaging your skin, and consuming herbs with an affinity for the lymphatic system are all ways to support the movement of lymph fluids in the body.
So this brings me to today’s recipe.
Today I have a new recipe to share with you that pairs with one in my book, Nature’s Medicine Cabinet.
You see, every spring I make a Lymph Love Succus, and while I love that recipe, it’s not the sort of thing you sip on all throughout the day, so I decided that I wanted to make a Lymph Love Tea that I could make and drink all day long to support one of the water pathways in my body. I add my Lymph Love Succus to it for an extra boost, sprinkle in a few salt crystals, and voila!
If you too want to support the water pathways of your body this spring, I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe. (Click here for my favorite places to source herbs online.)
Lymph Love Tea
Ingredients
- 1 part calendula (Calendula officinalis) flower
- 1 part red clover (Trifolium pratense) flower
- 1 part dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) leaf
- ½ part ginger (Zingiber officinale) rhizome
- ½ part peppermint (Mentha x piperita) leaf
Directions
- Combine herbs, mix well, and transfer to a labeled storage container.
- Use 2-3 tbsp of Lymph Love tea per quart of boiled water.
- Add 2-3 tsp of Lymph Love Succus to the water and let it steep for 20 minutes.
- Strain, add a pinch of sea salt (optional), compost the used herbs, and pour the infusion over ice.
- Sip all day.
Hope y’all enjoy this daily tea as much as I do!
Love and light,
Meagan