Essiac

Essiac, also known as Rene Caisse Tea, is one of the most powerful herbal formulas I know. I have used this formula myself for the last 20 years and I was very fortunate to attend one of Mali Kleins first workshops. She is the founder of the Clouds Trust, a charity which is devoted to distribute Essiac and also offer support through their helpline. As a naturopath and herbalist I use Essiac in my clinic on a daily basis and have seen demand growing steadily. I use it with patients who have cancer and people who want to detox.

The four herbs in the formula are Burdock Root, the main herb in Essiac, also Sheep Sorrel leaf, Slippery Elm Bark and Turkey Rhubarb Root.

Sheep sorrel is one of my favourite herbs. It is very cleansing and helps to regenerate tissues. It grows wild and I love to use it in salads, my delicious ‘green sauce’ and smoothies.

We planted Burdock Root last autumn in our garden and hope to get a constant supply of the root in the future. The spring harvest of the root is most tonifying. You can cook the root as a vegetable or harvest it for medicinal uses. Burdock is an excellent blood cleanser, especially where chronic conditions are present in the body. It is also excellent for any skin conditions like Acne, psoriasis, or any allergic states.

Slippery Elm Bark heals and soothes inflamed tissue in all major organs and is easing both diarrhoea and constipation.

Turkey Rhubarb Root is a laxative, and also an astringent and helps with inflammation in the digestive system and can help with constipation, but also with diarrhoea.

Essiac is excellent to use as a cleansing tonic and it has a history of success when used by people with serious, sometimes life-threatening illnesses. If you decide to accept Chemotherapy, or Radio-therapy, you can take Essiac at the same time; many people have reported that their blood count has remained higher than people not taking Essiac and it can reduce other side effects of the treatment.