Essiac is a combination tea consisting of four herbs: sheep’s sorrel, burdock root, slippery elm bark, and turkey rhubarb root. Anecdotal evidence supplied by those who say they have eliminated cancer by taking Essiac tea is very persuasive. True double-blind studies of the formula are lacking, but the benefits of the individual plants used in the formula have long been praised.

Sheep’s sorrel (Rumex acetosella), is a small perennial cousin of the common garden sorrel. This little plant grows abundantly in woodlands and shady places. The leaves, which hold the healing properties of the plant, are thin and delicate, brilliantly green above, faintly purple on their undersides. Sheep’s sorrel is said to brew into a cooling, thirst-quenching tea with notable blood-purifying properties. This herb helps strengthen a weak stomach, can stimulate a convalescent’s appetite, and is useful against nausea and vomiting (more…)