Other Names : Essiac tea, flor essence, flor-essence, tea of life, herbal essence, vitalitea<br> it was first investigated by a canadian nurse called Rene Caisse back in 1922. She noticed scarring on the breastof an elderly woman she was attending. When she asked her about it the woman told her that it was because of the breast cancer she'd been diagnosed with 30 years earlier. she'd been told she needed breast cancer treatment but she simply couldnt afford it . she met an old native american medicine man. and he told her he could aid her cancer with herbal tea. she tried the tea and her cancer went into remission for over 30 years. nurse caisse was amazed...and she studied the list of herbs that the old lady passed onto her. one year later she was chatting with a retired doctor friend of hers. he happened to mention that if people used the herb sheep sorrel thered be a lot less cancer in the world. she was intrigued the same herb was on the native american healer healers list. but it was six months later before she had chance to test out her theory. her aunt was diagnosed with stomach cancer and given just six months to live. nurse caisse started treating her aunt with the tea. her aunt went on to live another 21 years cancer free. she tested the treatment a second time on her mother after she too was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. she was given just weeks to live. so nurse caisse tried the tea again and her mother went on to live a cancer-free life for the next 18 years. seeing the results first-hand she began running herbal combinations on mice and human cancer patients. it was the beginning of 30 years of research and discovery.
==formula Formula of essiac Essiac tea== The original formula mixed eight different herbs including blessed thistle burdock root indian rhubarb [[Blessed Thistle]], [[Burdock Root]], [[Indian Rhubarb]] root [[kelp sheep sorrel slippery elm ]], [[Sheep Sorrel]] [[Slippery Elm]] inner bark red clover watercress [[Red Clover]], [[Watercress]] after much experimentation she refined her formula to just four herbs burdock root indian rhubarb sheep sorrel slippery elm the recipe for essiac kept secret for many years by caisse was written down and sworn to in an affidavit by her long-time assistant. The recipe provided by the assistant in 1994 is nearly identical to the one distributed by essiac canada international. the homemade version includes four herbs 6 -1 2 cups of burdock root [[Burdock Root]] 1 lb . of sheep sorrel [[Sheep Sorrel]] 1 4 lb . of slipper elm [[Slippery Elm]] bark and 1 oz . of turkish rhubarb [[Turkish Rhubarb]] root. you're supposed to store the herbs in a glass jar and boil 1 oz . of them in a quart of water let it sit overnight and then refrigerate. warnings avoid using plastic and aluminum while preparing formula or storing formula. if a green mold appears discard contents. sunlight destroys aspects of formula. do not freeze. while the basic components of essiac are well known the exact proportions of the herbs in essiac are the matter of much speculation. the cancer patient should be far more concerned with the quality of the herbs and the quality of the processing than with the exact formula. some brands have 4 6 or 8 herbs e u82eg . flor-essence has 8 herbs . the extra herbs wont hurt and may be of some help. but again the quality of the herbs and the quality of the processing is the most important issue. it should be mentioned that it is the sheep sorrel that is the main cancer killing herb in essiac. sheep sorrel has been known about for over a hundred years as a cancer fighting herb.
==Special precautions of essiac tea==
* if you are pregnant nursing or trying to conceive. this tea contains constituents chemicals which may increase blood flow to the pelvic region and stimulate menses. Safety of the herbs have not been determined for small children. properties of this tea may pass through the mother mothers milk to the infant.