SENNA TEA

Alexandrian Senna – Cassia acutifolia -Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa

American (or Wild) Senna – Cassia marilantica – Eastern USA

This tea has been used for millenia as a safe, gentle laxative, and was beloved by the ancient Egyptians and Native Americans. It is also  considered an excellent remedy for intestinal worms.

The tea can be either Senna pods, or dried leaves + ground pods. Senna is also available in tablet and extract form.

A cup of Senna tea in the evening before bed produces a one off bowel motion the following morning for cases of mild constipation.  Senna does not usually cause griping pains, so is a good mild laxative for children.

Taken this way, Senna tea is also safe for the constipation experienced by pregnant ladies, but the dosage of one cup in the evening must not be exceeded.

For non pregnant ladies, if Senna tea doesn’t work you may need to try something stronger, like Liquorice Root or Sassafras.

Persistant constipation requires medical investigation to exclude any serious underlying medical condition.

Senna can be part of a bowel cleansing regime and its effect is amplified by the Australian Bush Flower Essence “Bottlebrush”.

Previous in series

Gall Bladder Cleanse

An inflamed gall bladder is one whole world of pain, commonly being regarded as being 10 out of 10 (maximum) on the pain scale.

If you are prone to be cranky or irritable, or have a short fuse, tend to hold grudges, or resentment, or don’t tolerate fatty meals very well, these are indications your gall bladder may not be functioning as well as it could.

An ultrasound will show up whether you have gallstones, how big they are and exactly whereabouts in your gall bladder they are located.

Gallstones are not to be taken lightly, especially big ones and those that look like they could move (a doctor will be able to advise you on this).

If you just have small stones, or “gravel” you may like to consider a gall bladder cleanse.

There are a couple of ways to go about this. One is to see a herbalist who can give you a specific herb to take every day for about a year to dissolve any stones in your gall bladder. This herb is not available over the counter, but any qualified herbalist will have it on their shelf, along with other herbs to soothe your gall bladder in the meantime and reduce the likelihood of an acute attack. This is the slow and steady approach and best used for big stones that look like they might block the bile duct. A blocked bile duct leads to aforementioned pain and possibly the removal of your gall bladder.

If it is just gravel and sludge, you might like to try this time honoured approach, which I first discovered in a Hanna Kroeger book. Hanna was a very well known and respected herbalist in the USA who passed away several years ago, but whose herbal school continues on in Colarado. Hanna found this cleanse in a 17th century herb book. It exists in many slightly different variations across the globe and generations. In fact the ‘hill dwellers’ near where I live have a similar cleanse, but I personally find this one a little easier to stomach:

Day 1

8am – Take 300ml (8oz) organic apple juice, (no additives)

Then, take 600ml (16oz)  organic apple juice (no additives) at these times through the day:

10am

12md

2pm

4pm and

6pm

Eat no food at all this day.

Day 2

Repeat Day 1.

Then, at bedtime, take 150ml (4oz) of olive oil combined with hot lemon juice or hot apple juice.

Go to bed immediately.

The action normally starts about 4am when you will find yourself off to the bathroom and will find little green pebbles in your poo – from the size of a pinhead up to as big as a bird egg, or it may just look like green mud.

The apple juice dissolves and liquifies the old stagnant bile and gravel, and the olive oil moves all of it out.

You can also do this cleanse on the final night of the Colon Cleanse, because by that stage you will have had nothing but apple juice for 5 days, so why not get in there and clean out your gall bladder while you are at it?