Linden Tea
Health Benefits and Common Treatments
A plant that has been used in folk medicine and various remedies for centuries, particularly in Europe where it grows most abundantly, linden is a plant with a long history of usage to treat various health problems. Also known as lime flower in some areas, it is unrelated to the lime fruit. One of the most common uses for linden tea today is to treat anxiety, because the herb exerts a soothing effect on the body, helping calm the nerves and treat sleep disorders as well. There are several different subspecies of linden that can be used medicinally, and all may have a slightly different taste.
Another problem that linden tea is known to help with is in clearing up any problems with the gallbladder or digestive system. If you have an upset stomach, drinking a cup of tea before bed will not only help to calm your nerves, but it will also help you digest your food more easily for a good night's rest. It may lessen the effects of excessive flatulence as well. The effects of the linden flower on the digestive system are well documented, and this is why the tea has been recommended by so many different herbalists and experts in folk therapies over the years.
If you find that you are prone to infection or suffering from illness, linden tea may help with this. When the compounds present in linden flowers are heated up in a hot tea form, they have a diaphoretic effect, which means that they are able to help sweat out toxins in the body, leading to an increased ability to fight off infections. Although a side effect of this might be a mild temporary fever, the sweating caused by the fever is able to cool the body down, so that the cycle is completed and there are no lasting ill effects.
Although different parts of the linden plant are used for different medicinal purposes, most linden tea will be prepared from the flowers of the plant. These are useful more for relief from colds, flu, coughs, and aches and pains in the body, as well as for diuretic and sedative purposes. To prepare tea from the flowers, you can use dried flowers in a powdered form, or a prepared teabag. These can then be steeped in hot or boiling water for twenty minutes, and ingested three times a day for quick relief from the symptoms that are ailing you.