How Do You Like Your Tea?

I absolutely love drinking tea. I drink on average four cups a day. Green tea is my go-to but lately I've been enjoying Rooibos and fruity blends. The fruitier blends are wonderful iced and sweetened with a little honey.

One thing I love to do is slice up fruit like peaches and oranges and add it to my iced tea pitcher. I take out the tea bag after around ten minutes of steeping but leave the fruit in. The fruit adds natural sweetness without the extra sugar and gives black tea, which I usually find pretty boring, a little more interesting.

You can also spice things up by creating a tea ritual. I like to create a quite moment with relaxing herbs and quiet music. Sometimes, tea is about more than just drinking a beverage.

Are Natural Remedies Safe?

I love using natural remedies and herbal remedies when I have an ailment or to simply boost my health. But it wasn't until I really sat down and studied Herbal Medicine seriously at the Australasian College of Health Sciences that I realized that herbs can have side effects.

Natural doesn't necessarily mean safe.

I'm not saying this to stress people out, but it serves as a good warning. Certain people shouldn't take certain herbs. For example, if you retain water or have high blood pressure, you should stay away from licorice root. Browsing the herbal tea aisle at whole foods I can find at least three different blends with licorice in it. And you can't rely on the company to have a disclaimer on the box. Some don't. In fact, most don't.

If you want to get a really good resource, check out the German Commission E - there's nothing like it in the United States. This was a project funded by the German government. Experts got together and assessed the positive and negative data concerning different herbal remedies and published what they found. I own a copy and it has been invaluable to me.

Visit my page at Ehow for more advice on how to use herbs safely.

What to Do If You Have Diabetes

I may shock you with this one. But the first thing you should do if you have diabetes is take your insulin on schedule. Some cases are more advanced than others. But still - your body needs insulin and if it doesn't produce it on its own, you'll need to take it as prescribed to you.

However, there are ways you can manage your disease. By eating a healthy diet, exercising, and supplementing with certain herbs, you can help your body adapt much better. And, if you have Type II diabetes or pre-diabetes, making diet and lifestyle changes may reverse it. If you have type I, however, the best thing you can do is learn how to keep it in check.

Learn how to treat your diabetes with herbs. There are some herbs that can help normalize blood sugar that are a real help to those with both Type I and Type II diabetes.