an herbal tea that is tea-like in taste?

Hi all,

I've recently started a course of chemotherapy, and was told by a reputable alternative practicioner/MD that the ideal tea consumption is zero throughout the course, and for a few weeks after -- because the antioxidants for which *T. sinensis* is famous hamper the effectiveness of the chemo agents.

So I'm looking for input as to an acceptable herbal mixture to try that has no antioxidants. Some caffiene would be a plus (yerba mate hax been nixed as having antioxidants galore), and if it could taste like any sort of real tea, that would be ideal - I don't want to go back to coffee for necessary caffiene.

Is there anything remotely like that? I figure that this is the place to ask if anywhere is. Thanks.

Ozzy

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Ozzy
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Reply to
toci

Hey Oz,

First off let me wish you well with your treatment, that is the most important... but I know it would be hard to have to give up tea (even temporarily). Let me also say that I am not a chemist, doctor, lawyer, or candlestick maker so I would reccomend that you pass any of my suggestions by a doctor (or candlestick maker if you can find one) first.

I think Adagio is going to be a good bet for what you want.

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They have fair prices, samples, and good shipping.

My fiance just bought some of their Sangria fruit tea and she liked it a lot, although I don't see it on their website. They have a great selection of fruit based teas, herbal teas, and Rooibos. I like Lemongrass, Ginger, Chamomile, and Licorice. I have also made tea from dried Hawthorn berries (I love Haw Flakes). Rooibos may be the real winner though, as Adagio offers it in numerous flavors and types and it may be OK. I tend to like these straight and not blended with other herbs, so make sure you read the labels in stores or the descriptions online... I bought some Chamomile that has cherry blossoms, slippery elm bark, licorice, lemon zest and some other crap in it thinking it was plain Chamomile and was none too happy.

Please read up though as I am not sure if Lemongrass or Rooibos contain Antioxidents, if not I think you will have some great alternatives. In fact this post has me with a cart filled with different samples from Adagio right now of their herbal, fruit, and rooibos... all things I normally don't even think of.

Best of luck!

- Dominic

Reply to
Dominic T.

Hi, Ozzy, Believe it or not, Celestial Seasons makes one you might use effectively and enjoy. My husband drinks it when he's real "tea'd out". It's called "Caffeine Free Tea" . Ingredients: Blackberry leaves, roasted chicory root, hawthorn berries, beet root, natural tea flavor, and hibiscus flowers. Unfortunately, it doesn't contain caffeine; but, it really resembles a restaurant cuppa. Good luck! Shen

Reply to
Shen

Reply to
Shen

Reply to
toci

"Shen" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com:

Hi Shen,

Might run that mix past him and see what he says -- though as far as the the "Natural Tea Flavor", I should think that the anti-oxidants play a certain part in tea's characteristic taste.

And isn't Beet Root a source of sugar? (Another theory he embraces is that metastisc disease is aggravated by carbohydrates, the less complex the worse. Also certain growth factors are indicated in cancer return, like vitamin B1 supplementation, the growth hormones they feed to American cattle & chickens on factory farms, etc.)

But the prospect of drinking as much as I need of something that tastes like tea is a powerful inducment to action :). Thanks.

Ozzy

Reply to
Ozzy

Ozzy wrote in news:Xns9828C60EDAC3ETheLoneAndLevelSands@

130.81.64.196:

I wish to thank you all for your good wishes, so valuable as all such are.

My maximum hopes were to find another would-be tea gourmet (and certain tea gourmand ) who had gone through chemo, and could have advised me from the invaluable perspective of someone who'd been there.

Although I know the fact is hotly contested, I still think that the members of this NG would be on the whole a little less likely to have gone through something like this, because heavy tea-drinking *is* prophylactic against certain types of cancer.

Health to all, Ozzy

BTW, it's probably going to be a matter of years at least, so the luck is already beginning. :-)

Reply to
Ozzy

Hey, good luck in your chemo. I don't know but I remember seeing some links that black puer is good for cancer treatment. Maybe Mike has some links on his site. I guess I would do some research that all teas across the board are bad for chemo. A weak cup of tea still taste good.

Jim

Ozzy wrote:

Reply to
Space Cowboy

Look for "Greek Mountain Tea" at a Greek deli. Krinos sells the stuff. It's a little bit minty but it has a grassy sort of green-tea like flavour. It's not tea, but it's a nice drink.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

"Space Cowboy" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Thanks muchly, Jim. The alt/MD (who spent a fairly long time on staff in Sloan-Kettering Hospital and is in additional a traditional Chinese herbalist) specifically nixed all tea but Green, one cup per day, and has made it clear that he would prefer if I cut out tea completely during chemo. (I'm paying this guy after all, and I want to believe that his advice is worth something :-) )

I do favour cooked pu-erhs sometimes (especially in the cold-y season -- helped get me through my post-surgical Winter of '04-'05)

Ozzy

Reply to
Ozzy

Ozzy,

If I was doing chemo or radiation I would use TCM from the side effects. I would make sure they practiced in China first and can speak the language. I included the Chinese keyword links for a Google search. There might be something you can use but mainly false positives for chemotherapy. Puer it seems is used in radiation treatment not chemo. You can use the keywords on the optional translation. If vomiting is a side effect I would definitely drink black puer if I couldn't smoke pot. It is also a fact people who are proactive in their treatment from any sickness recuperate faster with better results.

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pu'er chemotherapy

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pu'er cancer

Best of luck. Keep us posted on tea and the use of chemo. I still don't know perse off the top of my head what is contradicted in tea with chemo but a little Internet searching should find some information I don't know what I would do if somebody cut me off from tea.

Jim

Ozzy wrote:

Reply to
Space Cowboy

"Space Cowboy" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@74g2000cwt.googlegroups.com:

Thank you very much, Jim, for doing the research above and for the good wishes. (Unfortunately this is no false positive; I had a biopsy done on the suspicious area to determine just what it was. It proved to be a tumor -- fortunately a small, lazy tumor, very slow-growing :=) -- in medical jargon, "non-agressive").

All the oncologists whom I consulted concurred: since further surgery was out of the question due to location of it, both chemo & radiation

*concurrently* would give me the best chance of being truly cancer free. So, with great reluctance and hestitation, having heard the same horror stories that most of you have, that is what I'm doing.

If it were only radiation alone, that has no biochemical method of operation, I would almost certainly drink vast quantities of the tea I liked best and/or was theraputic. just as I did after the first surgery. (At that time there was the positive expereince of learning more about tea itself and different ways to appreciate it. BTW, for what I learned about what was what in the world of tea from this NG, I wish to thank all of you.)

I think the fact that antioxandants (not just those in tea, but all of them, Vitamin C, Cocoa, etc.) oppose the platinum agents (i.e. standard for my type of cancer) is valid -- at least the doctors in whose competence I'm truating my life all do. Perhaps I'll do more indepedent research at a later time, but for now, the boat has sailed.

I'm on the third week of both therapies, and while I wouldn't recommend either of them as an addition to anyone's experiences, they're not so terrible in and of themselves, and you do what you have to do -- or what you believe is necessary to live.

That having been said, as a veritable newbie to this stuff I have on some occaisons drunk a little more than the frowning limit of a cup of green that was recommended. I'm *no* superman, wishful thinking to the affirmative notwithstanding :-) -- and tea is too much a part of my life to give up totally at one go.

Ozzie

Reply to
Ozzy

Thanks for the followup and still keep us posted. I don't know anything about chemo. From what you said I guess you can eat all the meat and dairy you want with no fruits or vegetables. I would pork down on chicken dumplings made with lard. I hit a few of the medical abstract sites and can't find anything on avoiding tea with chemo. Essentially the hits are tea is a chemotherapy in prevention and not a cure. I did find Chinese Medical dictionaries. I learned in my corporate years to ask the dumb questions that everyone was thinking. I can say cavalierly I'm drinking my teas so up the doses Doc. I guess my teas will go in the crematorium along with me as mulch for my wife's gardens.

Jim

Ozzy wrote:

Reply to
Space Cowboy

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