Preven-Tea-Tive By Chahna Tailor
By Chahna Tailor
Happy May! I hope you have been practicing social distancing and are keeping safe! During this time, it is helpful that we keep ourselves healthy any way that we can. Your immune system is one of your best allies for viruses, the flu, and other infectious diseases. Ayurveda, India’s preventative medicine system, can be used to keep your health in check.
For our immune system to work effectively, our digestive system should be in good shape. That’s because if our digestion is dull, it can create a buildup of undigested food or toxins known as ama (which is when our gastric fluids are secreting more or less than usual) and manifest as symptoms such as bloating, constipation, and gas. If our digestion is sharp, it can hinder our ability to absorb the nutrients from our food resulting in side effects like diarrhea and acidity.
Keeping our digestive fire, agni, in balance can be a great way to combat health issues before they become chronic. A great cleaning tea, called CCF, is a great way to balance your agni.
CCF stands for Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds, and Fennel seeds. These three common kitchen spices are great for anyone of any dosha (it is tridoshic) to use to balance their agni. According to Ayurvedic texts, these herbs have more uses than you think and can be used together and separately in many ways!
Coriander seeds cleanse the blood and liver, improve digestive strength, lower fevers, reduce hot flashes, increase urine volume, and reduce vomiting to name a few.
Cumin seeds are used in cases of respiratory issues, bloating, malabsorption, milk production, abdominal pain, nausea, indigestion, diarrhea, uterine inflammation, and can digest toxins (ama) in the body.
Fennel seeds increase digestion, decrease gas, nausea, and cramps (even in cases such as reproductive pain); increase milk production, reduce colic in babies, reduce spasms, decrease muscle spasms, and clears phlegm in certain coughs.
CCF Tea Recipe
1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of fennel seeds
2 cups of water
Boil the water with the seeds to desired strength (I prefer boiling until I am left with half the amount of water I started with because I like my tea strong). Strain the seeds out and it is ready! If you can, keep the tea insulated in a thermos so that it stays warm. If you drink the tea out of a mug, it tends to cool down faster and this tea is meant to be consumed while warm/hot.
You can follow the same ratios and make a batch of this tea in the morning so that you have enough to sip on throughout the day.
If you do not have the seeds, you can use the powdered form but seeds give the best results. Do not consume the tea cold – this is the opposite effect that we are trying to have! If you have a cold, you counter it with heat!
If you are not sure if this tea is for you, please consult a physician to make sure that increasing the consumption of these herbs is okay for you. If you are interested in Ayurveda and would like more information or even a health consultation over Skype, please reach out!
About the Author
Chahna Tailor is a Yoga Instructor and Ayurvedic Health Counselor with a background in occupational therapy. Chahna completed her yoga training in Rishikesh and recently completed an Ayurveda internship in Kannur, Kerala. Chahna’s company, Namaskar To You provides yoga, pranayama,meditation, and Ayurveda services. . She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Ayurvedic Medicine.
