Mint Tea for Stress

You know those cravings for sweet foods when you're stressed?

We get those cravings because the sweet flavor (temporarily) soothes the Liver network. If you go for a cookie or a sugary drink, though, you won't really relieve your body's stress, and you'll get the negative effects of sugar on your nervous system and your immune system, too.

Try some mint tea instead. Mint is an herb known to gently move Liver Qi. It relieves the feeling of stress and the effects of stress on your body. Add a little raw honey to give yourself some of that sweetness you crave - and get the medicinal benefits of honey, too!

Mint has several other medicinal actions, too. It's used in many classic herbal formulas of Chinese medicine. Being cool and dispersing, mint helps relieve early-stage colds and flus with Wind-Heat signs, like sore throat, cough, fever, and red eyes. It can help bring rashes to the surface, too, so that they pass more quickly. And it's one of the supporting herbs in the well-loved formula Xiao Yao San, sometimes called Free and Easy Wanderer, which does wonders for most cases of PMS.