Dandelion Root Tea

Taraxacum

Use as a tea

Dandelion root tea acts as a mild diuretic, laxative, skin toner and stimulant to the digestion.

Use it for digestive conditions, joint and muscle pain, skin conditions, tonic.

Avoid if you have certain plant allergies. If you have kidney or gallbladder conditions consult your doctor before taking. May cause other minor reactions.

Background

The humble dandelion that grows as a weed throughout Europe and North America and is edible in its entirety and has been used as a medicinal herb for much of recorded history. Dandelion leaf tea helps protect our bodies from toxins as it is a powerful diuretic. Unlike prescribed diuretics which rely on potassium supplements, dandelion is naturally high in potassium and therefore better able to replace the potassium lost through urination, especially those prone to oedema.

Uses

As an effective but gentle diuretic, having sufficient potassium to make up for that removed from the body in the diuretic process; hepatic and digestive tonic as a stimulant to the digestion. Dandelion leaf tea is used for loss of appetite, upset stomach, intestinal gas, gallstones, joint pain, muscle aches, eczema, and bruises. Dandelion is also used to increase urine production and as a laxative to increase bowel movements. It is also used as skin toner, blood tonic, and digestive tonic. It is recommended for those with oedema, especially of cardiac origin and as a natural complement to cardio-active remedies for a failing heart; to urinary problems in general, especially where worsened by the presence of oliguria; to a lesser extent the same actions as the root.

If you are healthy combine with our other tonic teas such as nettle, horny goat weed or damiana…

Precautions

For those allergic to chrysanthemums, marigold, chamomile, yarrow, daisies or iodine, you should avoid dandelion. In some people dandelion can cause increased stomach acid and heartburn, it may also irritate the skin, especially in fresh form. People with kidney problems, gallbladder problems, including gallstones, should consult their doctors before taking dandelion.

Download our free guide to herb tea here. This will tell you more about lemon verbena and many of the other teas Eat Wholefoods sell.

Further Reading

https://www.healthline.com/health/ways-dandelion-tea-could-be-good-for-your
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/dandelion