Having Trouble Viewing This Email

To ensure delivery, please add to your address book.

Summer Newsletter, 2011
Happy Summer!!
Welcome to my first quarterly e-newsletter! I hope you find the information I share helpful and interesting both!
Summer is the season of 'fire', so we need to stay cool and hydrated - here's a few
'Easy Refreshing and Cooling Summer Beverages'
to enjoy! Experiment and enjoy the cooling flavors that nature provides us for summer time (feel free to send me your comments and modifications... I am always collecting more recipe ideas)! I have this as a handout in the office if you want a handy copy too!
To many years of Health and Wellness,
Sheryl Sanchez, L.Ac.
('Tea' is in quotes because technically these are actually tisanes, which are herbs infused in water vs. using the actual green or black tea plant, Camellia Sinensis.)
1)Peppermint Iced 'Tea': This herb is 'cool' energetically with an aromatic flavor, and is also commonly available so it is a great herb to make as a summer drink. Peppermint is the mint used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and is very valuable, having many medicinal properties. It has more menthol than spearmint, and therefore has a stronger flavor than spearmint. It is one of the few herbs in the Chinese Materia Medica that has the ability to be both cool and warm energetically, based on dosage due to the menthol content. For example, in small dosages it is used to cool a sore throat whereas in large dosages it will induce diaphoresis (perspiration) to aid in venting a fever. In TCM, it is used to treat a cold or flu with fever, headache and sore throat such as in the common formula Yin Qiao San, or to 'soothe the Liver' as in the case of PMS symptoms such as painful menses or irritability as in the common formula Xiao Yao Wan.

Preparation: Make into a 'sun tea' in a gallon glass jar, with the glass jar left in the sun for about 4-5 hours. If using loose dried herb, put a few teaspoons into a small muslin or cloth bag made for such purposes before placing in the jar (it can be inserted just loose into the jar, but straining the loose leaf later will be desired). Otherwise, put 6-8 teabags into the jar. Add a few teaspoons of honey (preferably local for its anti-allergy effect) if sweetening is desired (it will melt in the sun). (Fresh peppermint can also be used: use about double the amount of dried herbs, and strain later.) Strain herbs before adding ice and drinking, if desired.

2)Chrysanthemum Iced 'Tea': This herb also has the energetic property of being 'cool'. It also has the properties of being both 'sweet' and 'bitter'. This is again related to the dosage, especially noticeable in the case of making an herbal infusion - the longer the steeping time, the more bitter the flavor just like a black or green tea. However, it has a nice sweet flavor like chamomile. In TCM this herb is used also for colds or flu with fever, with the special effect of going to the head and eyes. Therefore it is used for headaches and eye problems in various conditions: it has antibiotic effects so it is can treat eye infections such as 'pink eye' (and used directly in the eyes as an eye 'wash' also) and even hypertension. I listed this herb since it is such a beneficial herb that can be added to your medicinal pantry easily, but unfortunately it may only be available through a TCM practitioner.

Preparation: Use about 15-20 dried flowers for a gallon jar, making 'sun tea' as above. Or used 3-5 dried flowers for an 8 oz. cup of water to give it a try at first. (If making only one cup at a time, I think it is easiest to add hot water, steep until it turns a light yellow, let it cool, and then add ice later.) Add honey to taste, if desired. Strain, add ice and drink.

3) Hibiscus or Jamaica Iced 'Tea': This is a traditional iced, cold drink in Mexico, known as an 'aqua fresca'. The hibiscus flowers are a deep red (watch out - in can stain easily!) and has a sour flavor, so lots of sugar is typically added. But it is very thirst-quenching and has many beneficial healing properties too! Hibiscus is now known to help digestion of fats (read: anti-cholesterol) and lower blood pressure, possibly partly due to its mild diuretic effect. It also has plenty of vitamin C and polysaccharides. Americans tend to dislike sour flavors, but all flavors are needed in a well-balanced diet according to TCM - different flavors have an affinity for different organs and have different medicinal properties. For example, sour goes to the Liver and Gallbladder in general, and tends to affect the nerves.

Preparation: For a gallon jar, start with one cup of hibiscus flowers and one cup of organic cane sugar, let sit at least 5 hours in the sun, and try - adjust to your taste. Strain if desired, and then add ice.

4)Watermelon Cooler: Watermelon has the energetic property of being one of the coldest foods available, and why it is so desired on a very hot day! It will both quench your thirst and cool you off at the same time! Drinking it vs. eating it is just another fun way to get those benefits! I first tried this over 20 years ago in a Filipino restaurant in San Francisco, but it is commonly seen in Mexico and Mexican-American restaurants too.

Grate (using a large cheese grater) or use a food processor to chop up watermelon pieces (a few cups worth), and if the watermelon wasn't juicy enough, you made need to add water to make it into a liquid beverage. This is usually plenty sweet, so usually no need to add any sweetener.

5)Iced Green Tea: Of course, everyone knows about the beneficial properties of green tea by now. But I thought I would reiterate here some of its many medicinal properties so you may consider making it yourself into a healthy summer drink too! It is energetically bitter and cold, being used in TCM for 'Clearing Heat', like peppermint and chrysanthemum above. Research now proves that green tea is definitely anti-cancer (research even shows which specific cancers now). It is also used in TCM to help digest fats (best after a fat-containing meal), and research now proves it is will reduce lipids or cholesterol levels. Research shows the optimal amount for cancer prevention is about 5 cups/day due to the active ingredient called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), which is not found in black tea. Green tea is also naturally lower in caffeine then black tea, but in general, I recommend patients consume decaffeinated tea since our society overall is too 'stressed out' and we consume too much caffeine, which leads to adrenal fatigue or exhaustion (we call it Kidney Deficiency in TCM, which occurs with normal aging anyhow so no need to help push it along, I say).
6)Electrolyte Drink Recipe: Here's a simple recipe to replace those electrolytes in the hot summer days (especially needed when one has perspired a lot). In a one quart bottle or jug or pitcher, add:

¼ tsp. salt (Sodium Chloride)
¼ tsp. Nu-Salt (brand name; many other brands available in grocery store isle with salt - look for Potassium Chloride)
Squeeze juice of lemon or lime or orange (or combination for fun flavors).
2 tbsp. honey (preferably local for better anti-allergy support). Honey not really necessary if adding fruit juice (like mentioned below). (Juice or honey provides a bit of glucose.)
Spring or filtered water.
Another idea: Add ½ cup of any type of juice (preferably 100% real juice - not with high fructose corn syrup); unfiltered, organic pure apple juice would be ideal.

Briefly - one cool summer dish!
Cucumbers, celery, avocados, tomatoes and shrimp are great cooling summer foods. One great summer combo is to make a Shrimp Cocktail with vegetable juice (low sodium version), cucumbers, avocados, tomatoes, celery, cilantro (excellent chelator) and a small amount of jalapenos (the cool foods balances out the hot nature of the pepper). Easy, cooling and tasty!
/ Quick Links
Heavenly Herbs and Acup
What is Acupuncture?
What is Herbal Medicine?
Educational Background
My Online Store
We carry many lines of natural medicine products:

BHI-Heel
Evergreen Herbs
Kyolic
Metagenics
Nutribiotic
Plum Flower
Rainbow Light
Thorne