Reach Mental and Hormonal Equilibrium with Damiana Tea

The stress of modern day life is slowly tearing us apart and wearing us out. And the imbalance can get so serious that any day can feel like the peak of a PM syndrome and you’d wish there was something to rely on day and night. That’s where a cup of damiana tea comes in handy! It balances and tones the hormonal, nervous and digestive systems without the risk of having an overstimulating effect on normal function. It is used in many sexual enhancement combination formulas for both men and women and it is said to have an euphoric effect similar to that of marijuana, but it can also be used for indigestion, viral infections, eye inflammation or emphysema.

Damiana is a relatively small shrub native to southwestern Texas, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Its leaves have traditionally been consumed as a tea or made into an incense, both of which were used for their relaxing and aphrodisiac effects. But you don’t have to be in need of an occasional sex booster to benefit from a few cups of damiana tea. This tea can be a daily companion on the way to mental, hormonal and in fact overall equilibrium. So let’s look at some of its many wonderful uses:

– progesterone deficiency (usually in menopause), vaginal dryness, menstrual headaches and hot flashes; PMS and menopausal symptoms;

– depression, nervous tension, mental chatter, exhaustion, mood disorders, headaches, anxiety and hypochondria;

– dizziness and poor physical balance;

– Lou Gehrig’s disease and Parkinson’s disease;

– indigestion, constipation, colic, ulcer and dysentery;

– overweight (it is an appetite suppressant);

– internal and external muscular spasms;

– colds, flu, lung congestion, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and viral infections;

– earaches and eye inflammation.

Tea or liquor?

Damiana leaves are mostly used as an infusion, but they are also an ingredient in a traditional Mexican liqueur, which is sometimes used in margaritas as a replacement for triple sec (Mexican folklore claims that it was used in the original margarita). Damiana was also included in several 19th-century patented medicines, such as Pemberton’s French Wine Coca (but its leaves were omitted from its non-alcoholic counterpart, Coca-Cola, which was developed after Atlanta and Fulton County enacted temperance legislation).

To make tea out of damiana herb, mix 10-15 g with 1 l of water, let it boil for 5 minutes and then cool it and sift it. If you want to make liquor, mix 30 g of the herb with 1/2 l of alcohol (Vodka or other non-aromatic spirit) and let this mixture soak for 5 days. Sift it and let the alcohol drenched leaves soak another 5 days in 125 ml of mineral water. Strain out the liquid, filter it and heat the water extract until just under the boiling point. Mix it with half a cup of honey and then mix the alcohol extract and the water extract in a bottle and keep for a month. Pour the liquid (which should now be clearer) carefully in a clean bottle. And if you want to use the damiana powder, mix 1 teaspoon either with water or juice, or with yoghurt or custard.

You should use damiana with care if you have diabetes, because it affects blood sugar levels. Watch for signs of low blood sugar and monitor your blood sugar carefully. Also, damiana should not be used during pregnancy, as it is known to be a relatively strong abortifacient.