How to Make Hibiscus Mint Sun Tea

SERVINGS: 4

PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 2 MINUTES

SKILL LEVEL: EASY

MEAL: DRINK

STYLE: WESTERN

PREPARATION: TEA, BOILED

EAT IN: SUMMER

How Does This Ayurvedic Recipe Improve Wellness?

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

Refresh and revitalize. Hibiscus with mint is particularly refreshing on a hot summer's day, with cooling properties that bring arctic relief. Hibiscus flower improves liver function and restores your liver, which may be taxed by the heat. Mint restores your spark, while opening up blood flow to the skin, helping you cool down. So find a shade tree and let out a big sigh. Your body will feel calm and relaxed after a fresh glass of Hibiscus Mint Tea.

Experiment with Sun Teas

This variation on sun tea is perfect for cooling down on a hot day. Using heat from the sun instead of from boiling water allows the herbs to retain their vibrant flavors as well as health benefits. Boiled water extracts more bitters, whereas sun tea extracts more subtle flavors. Brewing your teas with solar heat can be a nice way to preserve antioxidants and other nutrients which may be destroyed in the boiling process. This is not to suggest that sun teas are better or more healthful than regular teas - but they can be a nice addition to your summer diet.

Cool Down

Hot summer days cause your heart to beat faster and your blood to circulate rapidly. The furious pace of summertime circulation stresses out your liver. Hibiscus restores your liver & even cools down your blood by purging hot bile from the gall bladder. Thanks to high levels of antioxidants, hibiscus reduces low-grade systemic inflammation. These antioxidants help you feel brighter and refreshed. Take special notice of how hibiscus relieves tension around the eyes. The astringency of hibiscus also reduces inflammation in the skin and digestive tract, bringing cooling relief.

In summer, the deep red hue of hibiscus is particularly appealing. In the heat of the season, your body naturally craves foods and berries with red, blue and purple hues such as blueberries, strawberries and hibiscus. These foods are high in beta carotene, which nourishes the liver. Together, hibiscus's refrigerating qualities, antioxidants, and beta-carotene help your liver complete the natural spring detox cycle.

Mint assists hibiscus by dilating capillary beds and opening pores, which allow you to release heat more efficiently. This dilatory effect also disperses fluids creating a sense of opening and relief, which reduces reactive emotions and tension common to Pitta body type.

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-flavonoids, believed to prevent build-up of plaque in the arteries.

By its diuretic action, hibiscus also helps support the body when you are dealing with kidney disease, diabetes, obesity and liver issues. Hibiscus contains high levels of vitamin C. It supports female reproductive health. Then next time you sip a hibiscus cooler, let these facts slip into your mind and appreciate its refreshing gifts even more.

Note: Vata should take caution not to drink too much Hibiscus, as its cooling qualities could squash
your appetite & delicate digestive fire.

AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT

Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances. With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you. Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature. By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health. See How it Works.

See a complete list of all biocharacteristics.

INCREASES Increases These Biocharacteristics (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics (gunas). Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick. Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic. Learn More	LIQUEFIED ABOUT LIQUEFIED BIOCHARACTERISTIC Substances that thin fluids (lower viscosity of blood plasma). These may include blood thinners or mucolytic herbs. LEARN MORE ABOUT LIQUEFIED COLD ABOUT COLD BIOCHARACTERISTIC Cold refers to anything that reduces body temperature, metabolism, and blood flow. LEARN MORE ABOUT COLD
TASTES The 6 Tastes Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below? Learn More	ASTRINGENT ABOUT ASTRINGENT BIOCHARACTERISTIC Astringency is characterized by constriction, drawing together, or drying. LEARN MORE ABOUT ASTRINGENT
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types According to the biocharacteristic theory of medicine, people tend to get sick, over and over again, due to habitual causes and imbalances that are unique to the person. Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness. Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency. Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses. The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history. The 3 functional body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha). Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. They are easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry. Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. They tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed. Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. If they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Anabolic people tend to be stable and grounded. Learn More	PACIFIES AGGRAVATES
HAS THE FOLLOWING	Subtaste: Aromatic AROMATIC Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues. SEE ALL 'AROMATIC' FOODS / HERBS
HERBAL ACTIONS (see all)	Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Hibiscus Mint Sun Tea Experiences are Personal Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition. Digestion: Quenches Thirst QUENCHES-THIRST An herb or substance that relieves thirst. SEE ALL 'QUENCHES-THIRST' FOODS / HERBS , Appetite Suppressant APPETITE-SUPPRESSANT Suppresses hunger without causing weight gain. SEE ALL 'APPETITE-SUPPRESSANT' FOODS / HERBS , Stomachic STOMACHIC An herb that increases appetite or settles a nauseas or nervous stomach. These generally increase the digestive fire, therefore relieving symptoms of sluggish or difficult digestion. SEE ALL 'STOMACHIC' FOODS / HERBS Bowel Health: Relieves Burning RELIEVES-BURNING Herbs that soothe a burn or reduce an internal burning sensation, such as aloe vera. SEE ALL 'RELIEVES-BURNING' FOODS / HERBS Mind, Stress & Sleep: Relaxes Solar Plexus RELAXES-SOLAR-PLEXUS Soothes and comforts the muscles of the upper abdomen, reducing any tension or pressure in the solar plexus area. SEE ALL 'RELAXES-SOLAR-PLEXUS' FOODS / HERBS , Relaxes Eyes RELAXES-EYES Eases tension in eye muscles, so the eyes feel less strained, often by supporting the liver. SEE ALL 'RELAXES-EYES' FOODS / HERBS Energy Vitality: Refreshing REFRESHING Stimulates and wakes up the body, leaving it feeling cool, fresh, and energized. SEE ALL 'REFRESHING' FOODS / HERBS Skin Care & Beauty: Refreshes Skin REFRESHES-SKIN Flushes the lymphatic system to cool, awaken, and revive the skin. SEE ALL 'REFRESHES-SKIN' FOODS / HERBS , Diaphoretic DIAPHORETIC An herb that induces sweating, often by dilating blood vessels close to the skin. SEE ALL 'DIAPHORETIC' FOODS / HERBS , Skin Tonic SKIN-TONIC An herb that strengthens and nourishes skin, improving tone, color, moisture and complexion. SEE ALL 'SKIN-TONIC' FOODS / HERBS Immune System: Anti Inflammatory ANTI-INFLAMMATORY Reduces inflammation in the body. Different herbs and carriers target different body systems. SEE ALL 'ANTI-INFLAMMATORY' FOODS / HERBS Heart & Circulation: Refrigerant REFRIGERANT An herb or substance that strongly cools the body. Can be helpful in cases of heat conditions. SEE ALL 'REFRIGERANT' FOODS / HERBS , Opthalmic OPTHALMIC Benefits the eyes, vision tonic. SEE ALL 'OPTHALMIC' FOODS / HERBS , Hypotensive HYPOTENSIVE An herb that lowers blood pressure. SEE ALL 'HYPOTENSIVE' FOODS / HERBS , Antioxidant ANTIOXIDANT An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits oxidation. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals that lead to a chain reaction causing damage or death to cells. Antioxidants terminate these oxidation reactions. SEE ALL 'ANTIOXIDANT' FOODS / HERBS Kidney & Urinary: Diuretic DIURETIC Herbs that promote urine formation, thereby flushing the kidneys and urinary tract while eliminating any excess water retention. As diuretics reduce water retention, they are often used to reduce blood pressure. SEE ALL 'DIURETIC' FOODS / HERBS Strength, Muscle Health: Antispasmodic ANTISPASMODIC Herbs that reduce or inhibit muscle spasms or cramping, such as in asthma, menstruation, hear palpitations, migraine, or IBS. SEE ALL 'ANTISPASMODIC' FOODS / HERBS

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Joyful Belly is a recognized school of biocharacteristics medicine.