How Can This Ayurvedic Food Make You Feel Great?

AYURVEDIC ANALYSIS

Naturally Cooling

This summer, while you are enjoying the exquisite beauty of hibiscus in your garden, drink chilled hibiscus tea to refresh your body and mind. Hibiscus tea is a famous refreshment called Jamaica in Latin America. The astringency of hibiscus provides cooling relief from the summer heat. Hibiscus cools your liver & even down to your blood by purging hot bile from the gall bladder. Thanks to high levels of antioxidants, hibiscus reduces low-grade systemic inflammation, common if your lymphatic system is congested. Together, these refrigerating qualities help your liver complete a natural spring detox cycle. In late spring / early summer your body naturally craves foods and berries with the deep red hue of hibiscus.

Courtship & Romance

The bright red color & sensual texture of hibiscus is a symbol of courtship and romance. In traditional Hawaiian culture, a luscious hibiscus worn behind a woman's left ear indicates that she is married, or in a relationship. If she wears a bright hibiscus behind her right ear, however, she is single and available. Beyond romance, perfectionist Pitta types find soothing relief in the exquisite beauty, delicate grace, and finery embodied by hibiscus.

Hair Growth Tonic

Hibiscus promotes hair growth and prevents premature hair greying by stimulating blood circulation to the scalp and increasing the supply of essential nutrients to the hair follicles. Intellectually disposed pitta predominant people who study, read and work all day, tend to "burn" away their hair with by thinking too much! To harness the hair tonify effects of hibiscus, make the following shampoo (Yields 1c): Simmer 3 flowers in 3/4c coconut oil until they turn pink / lighten to make a medicated oil. In a blender, puree 3 flowers and 5 leaves with 1/4c water. The mucilage in the leaves will make a paste that is useful as a shampoo plus conditioner. Add the medicated oil and continue blending. Rub 1/4c or more into your scalp and let sit 10 minutes before rinsing. Refrigerate remaining product up to 3-4 days.

Reduces Blood Pressure

Hibiscus is a traditional remedy for high blood pressure due to its diuretic action and blood thinning properties. This traditional use of hibiscus is backed up by a 2008 USDA study. Participants who drank hibiscus tea had 8 times more positive effect than the placebo group. If high blood pressure is an issue for you, enjoy hibiscus tea daily. Hibiscus tea protects your heart in more ways than one: It contains bio-flavanoids, believed to prevent build-up of plaque in the arteries.