Alfalfa tea comes from the steeped leaves of the alfalfa plant. It’s been renowned for centuries as a medicinal herb. Alfalfa is a perennial flowering plant which has a lengthy list of healing and dietary applications. Belonging to the pea family Fabaceae, alfalfa was used as an herbal medicine for more than 1,500 years.
Eating Alfalfa
Many folks think that eating alfalfa contributes greatly to a diet. And why not? Besides wheatgrass and algae, alfalfa is thought to have the best nutrient content among the so-called ‘green herbs’. Alfalfa tea nutrients include vitamins, fiber, minerals, and protein. It’s thought to possess all the essential digestive enzymes.
Alfalfa sprouts are generally eaten as a member of sandwiches and salads. Additionally it is consumed as a stand alone vegetable and as part of many savory dishes.
Avid consumers of alfalfa state the first culinary experience with this herb isn’t likely to be pleasant as it might impart a burning sensation to the tip of their tongue. But they hasten to add that the vegetable is an acquired taste and shortly, the eater will start to appreciate it.
Dehydrated alfalfa leaves
These are also commercially available as a dietary supplement in a number of forms, including pills, powders and tea. To derive the nutrients from alfalfa tea, steep a handful of the dried leaves in a mug of newly-boiled water and let it stand for approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
Interestingly, alfalfa is widely grown throughout the world as forage for cattle. Its principal use is as feed for high producing cows because of the high protein content and highly digestible fiber. Additionally it is used for feeding beef cattle, horses, sheep, and goats.
The Arabs were the first ones to feed alfalfa to their horses as they thought that the plant produced them swift and powerful. Alfalfa has been an animal harvest for more than a million years but can also be used as an herbal medicine. It is most commonly harvested as hay. The Arabs were actually the very first ones to locate alfalfa and termed it’the father of all foods’. Early on, they found that the leaves of the alfalfa plant are extremely full of minerals and nutrients. True enough, modern science has shown it is high in potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, carotene, in addition to vitamins A, C and K.
For their part, the Chinese have been using alfalfa to relieve fluid retention and swelling because the sixth century. Traditional Chinese medicinal practitioners used alfalfa tea made from young leaves to treat disorders associated with the gastrointestinal tract and the kidneys.
Similarly practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine used alfalfa tea from the leaves for treating bad digestion. They likewise made a cooling poultice in the seeds for stalks. At the moment, alfalfa was also thought to be beneficial to people suffering from arthritis and water retention.
Nutrients
Meanwhile, research done in the modern era has shown that alfalfa tea nutrients might be responsible for a lot of medicinal properties. For one, it’s thought to help lower blood levels of bad cholesterol and sugar. There’s been a recent discovery that certain chemical element agents in the plant have a propensity to attach themselves to cholesterol that keeps it from staying in the blood flow and sticking into the gut. These representatives may also have an action that relates to lowering glucose levels.
Alfalfa tea has also shown effects that it could be an excellent diuretic and laxative. Additionally, it seems to works well in treating urinary tract infections, in addition to disorders and disorders affecting the kidney, bladder and prostrate.
Alfalfa tea might also be helpful for reducing fevers. Its rich chlorophyll content might assist in purifying the blood. Additionally, it appears to wield valuable properties for treating the upset stomach, boosting the appetite and keeping calcium deposits from clogging the linings of the arteries. Additionally, it contains natural fluoride that may help prevents tooth decay.
While many positive effects might be derived from the nutrients found in alfalfa tea, there have been reports that a small fraction of individuals developed lupus-like symptoms after consuming the plant. Auto-immune diseases were also thought to have been actuated when consuming large amounts of alfalfa. These phenomena appear to be explained by the fact that the amino acid L-canavanine is present in the sprouts and seeds of this plant. That’s what is thought to have caused this response. However, it’s not present in the leaves of the plant in which the tea is derived. Therefore, food and drug authorities have announced alfalfa leaves as “Possibly Safe” for many adults but alfalfa seeds are granted a “Likely Unsafe” evaluation if used on a long-term foundation.
Phytoestrogens also have been found in alfalfa so girls with hormone-related ailments might want to prevent using the tea and herb. Pregnant and nursing women are also advised to prevent its use as more conclusive findings on security are yet to be made.
Conclusion
Nevertheless, overall findings show overwhelmingly positive benefits for those taking alfalfa herb and tea. It’s fairly interesting to note that modern science has effectively managed to show the healing benefits of the green herb known since early times. This appears to suggest using natural remedies such as alfalfa tea will probably continue to grow, as people’s enthusiasm for these methods are not likely to diminish over time.
