Tea, Tablet or Tincture?
Herbal medicines come in many forms but are generally prescribed as liquid extracts (tinctures) or tablets. As a herbal medicine practitioner I'm a bit of a purist, so I generally I prefer liquid extracts.
Firstly, I can make a tailored blend very specifically for each client with the exact herbs & dosages I want for the individual person. To get the same herbs in tablets, can require a number of different bottles of tablets, or I might not be able to get the exact formula I would prefer. Secondly, liquid extracts have greater absorption than tablets & finally most tablets & capsules will have binders & fillers (that liquid extracts don’t have) & a shorter shelf life. At the end of the day, tablets end up more expensive.
So what about teas?
I love using herbal teas because the ritual of sitting down with a cup of tea 3 times a day is in itself therapeutic. Teas have a nice feel about them & they are cheaper than tablets or tinctures. The down sides of using herbal teas therapeutically is that not all plants are extracted effectively by water extraction, which is why some herbs are more suited to teas than others. Additionally while it is possible to get a therapeutic dose (you need about 3 cups per day of a good quality tea), it is not so quantifiable.
I use all 3 forms of herbal medicine in my clinic & sometimes a combination. Liquid extracts are my preferred form for a quantifiable dose that I can rely on, but I also love to use teas as part of a therapeutic treatment plan.