Healing teas

Home-made tea bags
You can make your own herbal tea bags by placing one or two teaspoons of herbs on a muslin square, pulling the corners together to make a small bag and tying it with string.

Ready-made herbal teabags
Purists say these are not as good as home-grown or freshly dried herbs, but they are convenient and popular. Among the better brands are Dr. Stuart's Botanical Teas; herbal varieties include Echinacea, Chamomile, Valerian and Wild Fennel.

Herbs commonly found in commercial teabags include:

• Chamomile: relaxing and calming and aids digestion.
• Ginger: calms the digestive system, easing wind and indigestion. Warming for colds and chills and relieves nausea, especially that caused by travel.
• Peppermint: uplifting and recommended to help digestion and relieve head colds.
• Fennel: helps relieve indigestion after a meal.
• Elderflower: helps to relieve hay fever and clear catarrh, enhances immunity and cleanses the system.
• Lemon balm: eases tension, restores energy and helps to relieve fever, catarrh and sinusitis.
• Vervain: soothes the nerves and stimulates the liver after a meal.
• Rosehip: cooling and refreshing.