Blood flow gets footloose and fancy-free with this ‘tea trick’
Friend, you know your body better than ANYBODY else.
So, you KNOW when your blood pressure is SPIKING because you’re stuck in traffic… left on “hold” with customer service for too long… or standing in line at the bank.
For goodness’ sake, just MAKING a doctor’s appointment these days is enough to send your BP through the roof.
But if your numbers are CONSISTENTLY high… no matter WHAT’S going on in your life…
It’s possible that your doc is right in diagnosing you with hypertension.
Fortunately, there are ways to RELIEVE the pressure…
And make conversations about your BP a little less… well… TENSE!
It’s a culinary herb whose powers go WAY beyond the kitchen…
And it could help you keep hypertension in check.
Lift your spirits (not your BP)
Lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora) is a citrus-scented herb that’s used most commonly for cooking and aromatherapy.
Its scent is calming…
And drinking lemon verbena tea is a “home remedy” for BANISHING anxiety and PROMOTING relaxation.
But in South America, where this calming herb is originally from… it’s also considered powerful medicine.
That’s because it’s practically BURSTING with antioxidants!
One of the most unique polyphenols that lemon verbena has to offer is called verbascoside…
Which is also a potent anti-inflammatory.
BEATING BACK oxidative stress and inflammation could certainly help keep your blood pressure from becoming elevated…
But that’s not all.
Verbascoside can also EASE hypertension by ENHANCING vasodilation…
And it works by RELAXING your blood vessels for EFFORTLESS blood flow.
It also helps STIMULATE an enzyme called nitric oxide synthase… which BOOSTS the production of nitric oxide (NO), a blood flow hero.
Verbascoside has got one more trick up its sleeve — and that’s to INHIBIT the oxidation of LDL cholesterol.
As you’ve read right here in eAlert, LDL is only the “bad” kind of cholesterol if it gets damaged… a.k.a. oxidized!
Because that’s when it can ACCUMULATE on your vessel walls… and BLOCK blood from flowing freely.
And that can make your BP soar.
In an in vivo study published this year out of Spain, lemon verbena lowered participants’ systolic blood pressure (or “top number”)…
And the reduction was significant as compared to placebo in less than 2 months.
Now, in that study, lemon verbena was combined with hibiscus, another blood pressure-lowering herb…
But there are plenty of other studies… and CENTURIES of traditional use… that show lemon verbena’s ability to keep hypertension at bay.
Look for lemon verbena herbal tea at your local health food store or online.
Make sure it’s TRUE lemon verbena… and not similarly-named herbs like lemon balm… lemongrass… or vervain (Verbena officinalis).
Those are all great herbs… each with their own benefits… but they’re definitely DIFFERENT plants!
If the lemon verbena tea you find is from Latin America, it might be marketed by its Spanish name, “cedrón”… or “cedrón tea.”
To relieving the tension,
Sarah Reagan
