| Essiac tea is a popular folk cancer cure made up of 4 | | | | Reasons to take essiac cautiously |
| different herbs, in a very specific formula. There is a lot | | | | |
| of information available on the internet about the | | | | 1. If you are diabetic - You should monitor your blood |
| benefits of this herbal blend, but I don't see much about | | | | sugars carefully when taking essiac. The herbal blend |
| who shouldn't take it. This is important because these | | | | can make the cells less resistant to insulin, and |
| are medicinal herbs that have certain effects on the | | | | metabolize glucose more efficiently. This can result in |
| body which may be beneficial in some circumstances | | | | hypoglycemia. (low blood sugar) |
| but not desirable in others. | | | | 2. If you have high levels of iron in your blood - these |
| The original herbal mixture has helped hundreds of | | | | herbs may have high levels of iron. |
| thousands of people over the world. Herbologists and | | | | 3. If you are sensitive to heavy metals - In this case |
| lay people alike have been making this recipe since | | | | you MUST assure that the herbs are USDA certified |
| Rene Caisse developed the recipe. Keep in mind that | | | | organic and/or harvested in the wild. Herbs sourced |
| nothing works for everyone, and some people should | | | | from China are often laced with heavy metals including |
| not take certain things at all. | | | | high levels of mercury. |
| For the most part, this tea is a very safe mixture of | | | | 4. If you take digoxin - essiac can cause your body to |
| herbs that has much benefit to the body, from tumor | | | | use the heart medicine called digoxin (digitalis) more |
| reduction, to detoxification, to a clear radiant | | | | efficiently, which could cause toxicity. |
| complexion. However there are still some cautions | | | | 5. If you have breast cancer - In a lab in 2004, mice |
| regarding side effects that could be harmful. | | | | with breast cancer were given Flor-essence, which is |
| Reasons to NOT take essiac tea. | | | | actually a formula containing the 4 herbs of essiac, and |
| | | | an additional 4 herbs. This study found that Flor |
| 1. If you are pregnant or trying to be - Rhubarb is | | | | essence actually caused the tumors to grow. There |
| actually sometimes used to treat amenorrhea. In other | | | | are several possibilities as to why this may have |
| words, it stimulates women to have their monthly | | | | happened. The 2 that seem most logical to me is that |
| periods if they haven't been. The tea can also cause | | | | a) The tumors were estrogen dependent tumors, as |
| contractions of the uterus. | | | | breast cancers can be... see #4 above. or b) There is |
| 2. If you are predisposed to kidney stones - again the | | | | some property in the extra herbs of the Flor essence |
| culprit is rhubarb. It contains oxalic acid which could | | | | tea that causes breast tumors to grow. |
| encourage the formation of stones. | | | | Over all, there are very many more reasons to take |
| 3. If you have diarrhea - Sheep Sorrel can act as a | | | | this herbal blend than not to take it, but still one must |
| laxative. The formula can also stimulate the bowels to | | | | be able to make an informed decision regarding any |
| contract, worsening diarrhea if it is present, and causing | | | | medication or herb. People selling this tea as a cancer |
| cramping. | | | | cure will often leave it to you to research whether you |
| 4. If you have an estrogen dependent tumor - Turkey | | | | should use it or not. With this article you can now be |
| rhubarb and burdock are both known to contain | | | | informed of the contraindication, as well as the benefits |
| phytosterols. Phytosterols can mimic act like estrogen | | | | of essiac. |
| in the body, and feed estrogen dependent tumors | | | | |