Create Your Own Lymph Supporting Tea Blend

Support of your lymphatic system is an important component to overall holistic health. It is so much easier to keep it working smoothly than to try to work on it while you are sick (when we notice it, usually from swollen lymph nodes in our necks).

While there are quite a few ways to keep your lymph flowing, drinking a daily support tea is by far the tastiest way!

What exactly is your lymphatic system?

It is one of the most important systems in your body. Intrinsically connected to your circulatory and immune system, it is the pathway for removing waste and toxins from your body.
It is comprised of fluid (lymph-containing white blood cells), glands/nodes, ducts, tissue, organs, and vessels.
It is so connected to your circulatory system, that simply being active and stimulating your circulation will keep your lymph flowing freely.

On to the tea!

This nourishing blend of herbs provides gentle support of the lymphatic system.  Move stagnant lymph and strengthens immune response.
It contains: stinging nettle, dandelion leaf, schisandra berry, red clover blossom, roasted chicory root, and lemon peel.

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)-as an astringent alternative (tightens lax tissue and returns homeostasis-cleanses blood) it helps prevent the stagnation of the lymph. It is also full of nutritive properties – calcium and magnesium are the main ones.

Dandelion leaf (Taraxicum officianale)-dandelion leaf is wonderful to work with in the spring when we are coming out of our winter sluggishness. Dandelion is amazing for moving slow and sluggish lymph due to its ability to remove metabolic waste from our cells!

Schisandra berry (Schisandra chinensis)-lovingly called the five flavored berry in Chinese medicine, Schisandra can taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and pungent. It’s the pungent and bitter tastes that led me to add it to my blend. No other reasons based in reality. Sometimes I just let my intuition guide me. And then I found this abstract to a study talking about how it has been found to modulate the lymphatic system of hepatitis B patients in China.

Red Clover Blossoms (Trifolium pratense)– Red clover is very astringent and a great support herb in moving lymph and cleansing the blood. It is a phytoestrogen, so if you are having issues with hormonal balancing, you may want to leave this one out.

Chicory Root (Cichorium intybus)-I added chicory root to give a little depth in flavor as well as its prebiotic (feeds probiotics) constituents and liver support.

Lemon Peel (Citrus limon)-The sour and bitter taste of the lemon peel lends it to having a nice astringent property. That along with its antioxidants, make it a great way to round out this tea blend.

So, you can make this tea in several different ways. One is to be totally free and use your intuition and add as much of each herb as you wish (and you don’t have to add all of them by any means! Pick 3 if you want!)
I like to follow the Mountain Rose Herbs synergy triangle for tea blending.

1. Base-3 parts of your main action herbs.
2. Support-2 parts of supporting herbs.
3. Catalyst-1 part of the stimulate or highly flavored accent.

So we are going to start with:
3 TBSP each nettles and dandelion
1 TBSP each of Schisandra berry, red clover, and chicory root and
1.5 TSP of lemon peel.

Blend well in a bowl and store in a glass jar. Make sure you label with name of your tea, ingredients, and date you blended it. Store in a dark cool place.

To make a cup of tea, steep 1 TBSP in 6-8 ounces of boiled water. I like to steep for about 15 minutes. You can go shorter or longer as your taste requires. Strain and sweeten as desired-but I find the lemon and schisandra add a sourness that is so amazing on its own. I actually love to make a few quarts at a time and chill it to drink as an iced tea! I drink 1-3 cups a day depending how much support of my lymphatic system is needed.

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