| |  | | Wild Lettuce and Borage Tea
Answered by: Christine Dennis
Question from: Priscille
Posted on: July 30, 2008
I want to know if wild lettuce tea is good to calm me and help me sleep.
What is the best way to prepare the dried lettuce? I have been steeping it for about 15 minutes in hot water.
Yes, wild lettuce is used to calm and as a sleep aid. It is one of my favorite remedies for nerve tension and anxiety. in fact, I would place it in my top ten herbs in my dispensary overall.
Because wild lettuce has constituents that do not readily dissolve in water, it is best to make a tincture (1:2 in 60% alcohol, allowing to sit for at least one month) or decocted the aerial parts for at least 20 minutes before drinking-- but even then it is debatable as to its effectiveness in this form. A simple infusion would just not extract sufficiently to yield adequate results.
In the same line, is Borage tea good to enhance your mood? If so, how can i prepare it, and are there any precautions to take with these herbs?
Borage tea has traditionally used to "cheer the heart" as well as adrenal tonic. The latter of course can be the underlying cause of low energy, thus a poor mood. The borage leaves can be into a tea (1 tsp. dried or fresh leaves) or a tincture (1:2 fresh in 40% alcohol). However, this plant does not need to be used with caution as research has suggested that the pyrrolizidine alkaloids, constituents found in this plant, are toxic to the liver in large amounts.
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