Is the chill in the air getting you down? Are your muscles and joints stiff and you’re having a hard time warming up? Herbal teas may be the answer.

How Do Hot Herbal Teas Heal?

Herbs that cause sweating, such ginger, peppermint and yarrow, are called diaphoretics. In some cases, these herbs are also vasodilators (meaning they open the blood vessels and support easier and more voluminous blood flow).

Used in the right circumstances, these warming and vessel-opening herbs can be quite useful for the cardiovascular system, and they can help stiff muscles feel relaxed and supple--and not just when they're applied externally as a liniment or ointment. Even when they're used internally as a tea or beverage.

Drinking the tea hot encourages perspiration, which opens pores and stimulates the body to breathe more deeply. These particular herbs --ginger, licorice, peppermint, and yarrow -- support the vascular system along with the digestion for a reliable all-round strategy to combat lethargy, cold, and stiffness.

A word about licorice: do not use licorice (as a candy or an herbal medicine) if you have high blood pressure.

Hot Herbal Tea Recipe

Enjoy this delicious, healing hot herbal tea made from these diaphoretic herbs to stimulate blood flow to the periphery, to warm up on chilly days, and to protect the body at the first sign of cold or flu.

This recipe makes a strong decoction, a long-simmered brew that is strongly pungent and slightly bitter—ultimately very satisfying. Add honey and milk as desired, and make enough (at least a quart) to store in a hot thermos and drink this fantastic tea throughout the day.

Recipe

2 tablespoons dried ginger (not powder)

2 tablespoons dried licorice

2 tablespoons dried peppermint

1 teaspoon dried yarrow

honey

In a saucepan, bring 1 quart of water to a boil and add the roots and herbs. Immediately reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover. Allow the mixture to simmer lightly for 20-30 minutes, then remove from the heat and taste. For a stronger brew, let the brew sit covered another 1-4 hours. Strain, sweeten if desired, and serve hot.

Excerpted/adapted from The Essential Herbal for Natural Health, Roost Books 2012, by Holly Bellebuono and Taproot Magazine