DOSAGE CONSIDERATIONS

This is an issue frequently discussed with our clients, and one I feel the need to address here. You will see on the internet, in books, and through various sources, a variety of “recommended dosages” for this tea. Many instructions state to take 2-4 ounces per day of the undiluted tea—or more (except in the case of stomach cancer). Other sources state no more than one ounce per day. On the other end of the spectrum is up to 24 ounces per day—or unlimited amounts. Some say to add hot water to the tea before taking, others to use cold or warm water. This is all very confusing, to say the least. On top of that, many sources recommend to begin at a larger dose, or are not clear about how to increase the dose. My goal here is to help clarify these issues.

My strong personal opinion is that this tea should be started at no more than one ounce per day and gradually, if at all, increased. This blend is a powerful detoxifier—among other actions it possesses. In the majority of our population, most persons have a varying amount of toxins stored in their body. This even occurs when you eat organic fruits and vegetables, drink purified/filtered water, or exercise regularly. Unfortunately, we live in a world where there are no areas without some measure of pollution—air, water, soil, food, etc. The normal processes occurring in the body also create toxins.

If you have a malignancy, those cells also produce toxins. Over a period of time, those toxins are stored in the tissues of the body. An unhealthy intestinal tract can also contribute to the build up of toxins. Many medications produce toxins in the body as well, especially if they alter kidney or liver function. Chemotherapy and radiation produce toxins—and are considered to be toxins! If you are ingesting something which is detoxifying, take vinegar baths or use saunas. You would be releasing these toxins from your tissues back into your bloodstream to be filtered by the kidneys and/or liver—and at the same time, utilizing the skin as a means of allowing toxins to “escape.” By pulling too many toxins out of the tissues too rapidly, you are creating a virtual cesspool in your bloodstream. Your body can become overwhelmed and overloaded by this, creating a state of severe metabolic imbalance.

On top of this, the immune system (which is one of the most important tools our bodies have in fighting disease) becomes strongly affected. If it’s busy dealing with toxins in the body, it is not focusing its attention on the malignancy or illness as strongly as it could be. Therefore, begin the essiac tea SLOWLY. You want to detoxify the body to strengthen the reserves of the immune system, but you don’t want to overload it. Rapid detoxification can also be life-threatening. Personal experience taught me that one! Symptoms of the body's reacting to too many toxins may include: frontal headache not relieved by normal means, flu-like feelings, foggy thinking, muscle aches, joint pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue etc. These may vary from person to person as well. If you should experience any of these symptoms, either reduce the amount of tea you are taking for a few days, or stop it all together. Drink copious amounts of water. Adding lemon juice to the water (about 1 Tablespoon per glass) should help resolve the headaches and flu-like feeling quickly.

Here is another consideration in taking this tea, or any other supplement: If you have any sort of illness, your body is in a state of imbalance. Your body responds to stress primarily through the adrenal glands and the immune system. Your body does NOT differentiate between “good” stress and “bad” stress. By consuming large amounts of tea, with or without supplements, you are throwing your body into another state of imbalance. Although your intentions may be good, and the things you are doing considered beneficial, your body does not recognize that—it simply perceives more stress. This again upsets the delicate homeostasis (or balance) in the body, placing undo hardship on the very means that would help you regain health—your immune system.

You may feel you are fighting for your life, and think that time is running out; that’s when fear kicks in. I completely understand, but please grasp this: the body needs to maintain a delicate balance to survive. It will do all it can to achieve this, given normal circumstances. You may run the risk of setting your progress backward, or slowing it, by adding too many things at once to your regimen. Work with your body instead of against it!

This concept is the primary guideline in herbal use, and herbs are, for the most part, not meant to override or suppress an organ, function, or body system (there are exceptions!) Conscientious use assists the body to do what it does best—heal itself. Pharmaceuticals are primarily focused on suppressing, overriding or taking the place of a body system or an organ function, whereas herbs are not normally intended to be used that way. This is one of the reasons why most herbalists state that body responses to herbs may not be noticed for up to three months. The herbs will be working, but working with your body, instead of against its inherent abilities. This makes more overall sense to me than going in with machine guns, when a water pistol would do! In many cases, it can take years—sometimes decades of years—for a tumor to be detectable. I am not aware of any herbs or supplements that produce a major bodily response in a few days when used for treating cancer. Patience is the key—and many times patience pays off.

Which dosage is right for me? Begin at one ounce per day, gradually increasing the total amount taken by one ounce per day, every 2-3 days. This gives the body time to adjust. Drink at least 1/2 to 1 gallon of water (not juice, tea or other beverage) daily to help flush the toxins from your body. Some people feel that their optimum dose is around 4-6 ounces per day—others feel less works well for them. Some of our clients are taking 8-12 ounces per day and tolerating it well. More is not always better though. As I tell clients on a daily basis—you live in your body 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

No one else can tell you which dose is best for your body. This is not being evasive—just truthful. Everyone’s body possesses an “innate sense” which helps guide it daily. Learn to monitor it closely. If you are feeling great at 3 ounces per day, stay there. If you feel like your body requires more, try it. I can only give you suggestions, not concrete figures or amounts. You will respond to this tea unlike anyone else on earth. One-size-fits-all kind of treatments are bound to fail miserably. You have unique requirements, and no one knows them better than you. Trust the bodily sense you were born with!

Consider the frequency and duration for taking the essiac tea: Standard directions suggest the tea be divided into two equal portions and taken morning and night. The first dose would be taken before eating in the morning, waiting 30-60 minutes to consume coffee, tea, breakfast. The second dose would then be taken in the evening before retiring—a minimum of two hours after eating. This is commonly referred to as the “empty stomach rule.” The tea contains many bitter principles, with the Turkey Rhubarb being specific for the digestive tract. Bitters—as they are commonly referred to in Europe—are chemicals which prepare the digestive tract for processing the food we eat. The point at which the stomach is empty becomes the optimum time to take the tea. Reportedly, Rene Caisse had people coming into her clinic at all hours of the day to take the tea, regardless of whether they had recently consumed a meal or not. This may have been more for convenience in the operation of the clinic in order to avoid large crowds all at one time. That’s a guess. Herbally speaking, this tea is one that should be consumed on any empty stomach.

Additionally, by taking the doses every 12 hours—give or take—you will manage to keep a more consistent level of the tea’s properties in your body. This would be much better than a “roller coaster” effect of odd time ups and downs.

How often should the essiac tea be taken, and for how long? This, you will have to decide for yourself. Normally, tonic herbs—or those blends containing herbs which help balance the body—are “weak” enough to be taken for a long-term and on a daily basis. Initially, you may wish to take the tea daily to help cleanse the body and get it stimulated and supported. Later, you may wish to take it 5 days on, and 2 days off each week. This gives your body a chance to “kick in” on its own without becoming totally dependent on the outside help of the tea. It may also give you a needed psychological break from an intense regimen.

Those who take the tea for preventative purposess or for illnesses other than cancer, may do well to follow the 5/2 schedule from the beginning. People wishing to take this tea as a “detox” should consider taking it for a couple of weeks every season—ie. Spring, Summer, etc. In the case of advanced malignancies or rapidly progressing tumors, you may consider keeping to a daily routine until such time as there is no more progression—or there is reversal—of the cancer.

Should the essiac tea be taken hot or cold? First consider that herbal teas will have different actions depending on whether they are ingested warm or cool. Taking a warm tea may cause a diaphoretic action (perspiration), while taking a cold or cool tea may have a more diuretic action. In the case of this tea, I have seen no concrete evidence that taking it one way or the other is more or less beneficial. On that account, I suggest you take it at whatever temperature is more palatable to you. I drink my dose straight out of the refrigerator, undiluted. Importantly, do not microwave any water you may add to the tea, or the tea itself. Microwaves alter the chemical structure of the substances they strike!

Keep in mind that many dosages are based on some obscure “norm,” perhaps that of a healthy male, approximately 30 years old, and weighing 180 pounds. This actually covers very little of the population!

STORING THE HERBS

You do not want to freeze or refrigerate these herbs. The moisture from condensation will compromise the herb’s potency. Just as well, air, light, and heat will also break down an herb’s potency.

PURCHASING THE HERBS

Please note that Kathy is no longer a marketer of Rene Caisse’s essiac tea. If you wish to buy the highest quality essiac tea at generic prices, please go to our recommended site: www.acreatorsblessing.com where you may purchase Rene Caisse's original recipe. A Creator's Blessing is one of only two marketers that uses 100% USA grown organic herbs processed in the original documented and certified formula using both cut and powdered herbs. Our search has found only two sources that use 100% USA organic herbs. A Creator's Blessing sells 16 ounces of blended dry mixture for $39.95 from their website, processed in hermetically sealed packaging, impervious to outside exposures. Trout Lake Farm Co. sells 4 ounces of blended dry mixture for an average price of $15.00-$20.00, sold only in health food stores.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM THIS TEA?

I cannot legally, morally, or ethically promise you anything from taking this tea, but I will pass on to you what clients have shared with me. Most report an increased feeling, or sense, of well-being, a feeling more healthy, more robust. This is the least of the things I hear. Translated, it gives me the sense that these people are talking about quality of life. Also reported are: increase in appetite (even during chemotherapy), decreased nausea, decreased pain, less joint ache, more stable blood sugars, decrease in side effects of chemotherapy or radiation, as well as tumor reduction or the disappearance of tumors. Keep in mind though, that most of our clients are taking complementary supplements and herbs besides the tea. Only in rare cases have I heard of the remission, or total reversal, of cancer by utilizing this tea exclusively. The best results heard about are those where the tea is taken along with chemotherapy or radiation, immune boosting supplements, digestive enzymes, liquid oxygen, the adjusting the pH of their body, and proper nutrition.

WATER - THE BLOOD OF LIFE

Countless references to this tea mention the need to take in copious amounts of water while consuming it. The standard is usually one gallon per day. This may seem like too much to most people, but remember that the body is primarily composed of water, and an imbalance can occur when not enough is taken in. Water is absolutely vital to ALL functions of the body—more so than any other element. Water helps lubricate cells, keeps body fluids from becoming too “thick,” and provides a mode of transport for many chemical reactions within the body. As well, water is used by the body to flush out any negative results of these reactions. Without proper fluids, bodily matters tend to go wrong, seriously wrong; and I am not referring to drinking fluids such as soda, coffee, tea, or juices. I’m talking about just plain old water. Most other drinks can dehydrate the body—either quickly or over time. And water has another unique property: it is pH neutral.

How is this even more important when taking the tea? The majority of persons who take this tea have a chronic health problem. Over time, toxins have built up in the tissues and have been stored there for years. Water helps move these toxins out of the tissues and into the kidneys, to be passed as urine. Dark urine is concentrated—an indication from your body that it needs more water. “Healthy” urine should be very pale—almost colorless and clear—with no cloudiness or odor. (Note: Some supplements and pharmaceuticals can change urine color.) Many of the constituents in this tea are of a diuretic nature. This means that their action is to increase the production and flow of urine. Other constituents in the blend are of a “detoxifying” nature. De is a combining form meaning “down or from,” and toxins are poisons. The general action of a detoxifyer is to release toxins from tissues and blood, to then be excreted via the intestinal tract or the urinary canal. If toxins are not diluted as they are released from the body tissues, their concentration can be created within the blood or the purifying organs, which can then cause drastic effects. That situation could also cause the body’s electrolytes to become imbalanced, and in extreme cases, cause liver or kidney failure. Just as well, if detoxification is done too rapidly, the equivalent of putting a very potent “toxic soup” into the blood occurs. Water helps dilute this process, making it less harmful to the body.

This tea blend also contains a chemical known as oxalic acid, which can be harmful to the kidneys. It is considered “renotoxic” (reno refers to kidney) and an irritant. Increasing your water intake will help keep this acid from crystallizing in the kidneys. Yet even normal cell processes can create toxins in the body. So can the air we breathe, the condition of the soil our food is grown in, the impurity of our water, as well as any unhealthy “habits” we may have. The cancerous cells themselves “throw off” toxins besides. All of this does one other thing: it ties up the immune system to deal with all the “sludge” floating around in our bodies. That takes energy away from what we want the immune system to be doing in the case of cancer—seeking out and breaking down those mutated cells!

There are numerous other reasons I can cite for why our bodies absolutely depend on water (yawn). If you cannot drink a gallon a day, whether or not you are taking the essiac tea, then drink as much as you can. Yes, you will spend more time in the restroom (you can always take some of our articles in to read!), but your body will thank you! In my reading, I have found that it is the lack of sufficient water in our bodies that has contributed to our overall health problems. Food for thought anyway!

This information is provided for educational purposes and to promote discussion only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or claim cure for any disease or imbalance in the body.

Essiac Research   Essiac FAQ   Brewing   Books   Links
Home