With the rise of environmental toxins, many women are having increased problems during their period. I have been drinking this tea, with slight variations for a few years now and it really helps to balance and even out a wide variety of menstrual symptoms. There are a lot of other herbs that can be used and are especially useful for women, so please get to know which herbs work best for you by experimenting a little.

I use a large, plain white Chinese tea pot that holds about 6 cups of water. I have a tendency to use a lot of the various herbs and it varies depending on how much of the herb I have and how I am feeling that day. These amounts are therefore not set in stone.

• 2 T nettles
• 1 T sage
• 1 t fennel seeds, crushed
• 1 t camomile
• 1 pinch yarrow blossoms
• 6 c water, boiled

Method:
Place the desired herbs into your teapot, bring filtered water to a boil and pour over tea. Allow to steep for at least ten minutes (longer is better). If you don’t have all the herbs just use what you have. I often will refill the teapot with hot water once the first is drank and I can drink the same pot all day until it gets too weak. You can also add honey, which makes a good sweetener and provides a bit of energy often needed around this time of the month.

The chamomile is mostly just for relaxing and I like a faint flavor of chamomile leaves. Nettles are high in iron and are very nourishing, sage is a good herb for women. Both of these herbs can also be used any time of the month. Fennel seeds are high in folic acid and other B vitamins. My mother used to make us all take vitamin B6 tablets when we were getting our periods when we were growing up.

As mentioned above, many other herbs are good for a menstrual tea. As well as many herbs that are good at other times in your menstrual cycle. I like to use the sage, fennel and nettle as a basis and try other herbs with them. Hopefully you will find this helpful.

I used to have very regular periods–and painless–other than feeling like committing suicide the night before it began. While living in that mold infested apartment in Wellington, NZ my periods started coming every two weeks or less and almost violently, all in one day, where I was completely knocked out. Only in the last couple months, since I have been on the GAPS/SCD diet and have been starving out unwanted fungi to allow for more beneficial micro-organisms to take over in my gut, have my periods finally become more regular. It is interesting how a fungal problem can cause hormonal disruption as well. This tea and variations on it have been very helpful in balancing my body during my monthly blessing.

This post is part of the Medicinal Chest over at WoodWifesJournal.