Herbal Remedy: Rosemary Tea for Headaches

I read somewhere recently that the common herb Rosemary is useful for relieving headaches of all kinds.
Being the type of person who would rather try an herbal remedy than take Excedrin or some other drug to relieve pain, I decided to give it a try.

I've never really used Rosemary for anything other than cooking chicken with, or maybe in a soup or two, so I had a nice big jar sitting in my spice cabinet, waiting to be used.


*Disclaimer*
Using herbs without knowing how to do so can result in harmful side effects, so make sure you know how much to use and what to use an herb for before you make up a tincture, tea, etc. I know that Rosemary is safe to drink as tea, which is why I made it. Consult a health food store or herbalist for advice on how to use each herb properly, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
A good resource for herbal remedies and to buy herbs from is Mountain Rose Herbs.



Rosemary Tea


I used the same method to brew the rosemary as described in my honey lemon thyme tea recipe.


I just put about 1 Tablespoon of dried rosemary into a cloth napkin, put that into a nice big mug,

 then poured boiling water in it from my nice bright red tea kettle.

I let it steep maybe 5 minutes, then squeezed the excess water out of the napkin and set it aside. Then I added about 1 teaspoon of local, raw honey, waited for it to cool a tiny bit and drank up.

I have to say, I think that it works!

As I sipped the tea, I could feel myself relaxing from the soothing warmth running into my body, and by the time the cup nearly was gone (when I remembered to take a picture of the tea itself..oops!), so was my headache.

I was pleasantly surprised by both the color and flavor of the tea; it was almost a lavender color (my favorite!) and the flavor was way different from when you cook it with chicken. The rosemary had a nice, herbal flavor (you know...kind of...grassy or leafy) but also had bright notes in it that would pair well with a bit of lemon. I really enjoyed drinking it, and will again in the future, probably even if I don't have a headache.
So, if you have a headache (and as a mommy I get one quite often from tension, lack of sleep or from stress) try drinking some rosemary tea before you pop that ibuprofen.
I'm not guaranteeing it will work for you, but our bodies are always more receptive to natural remedies than man-made ones.



Linking to Frugally Sustainable's Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways and Wildcrafting Wednesday at Mind Body and Sole