If you are on blood thinners or pregnant or nursing this recipe is not for you because of the possible blood-thinning result. The reason I post it is to give an alternative to pills (with their colors and fillers) while getting the metabolic benefits of aspirin. White willow bark contains salicylic acid, similar to the active ingredient in aspirin, and can be taken as a tea. In fact, willow bark has a long history since Hippocrates’ time when people chewed the bark to treat fever and inflammation. We all know about aspirin’s pain relieving/anti-inflammatory effect which is valuable in itself, but I am also interested in its metabolic effect–increasing oxidation (clean burning) of carbs that avoids increasing triglycerides. I have been following the reports on the scientific literature that Georgi Dinkov posts concerning metabolic dysregulation and they are very interesting!
The effect of the tea is said to be longer lasting but not as strong as aspirin. I like to make a quart of the tea as described below and then add 1/2 cup of this concentrate to the lemonade drink that we sip at work over the course of the day. This quart of tea will last a few days in the refrigerator.
4 Tbsp. dried, cut willow bark (I order a pound from Frontier Co-op)
1 quart water
In a sauce pan bring the water to a boil. Add the willow bark, cover with a lid, and remove from heat. Let steep for 30 minutes. You will notice the bark pieces drop down to the bottom of the pan and the tea will have a reddish color. Strain the tea through a strainer into a glass quart jar. Cap and store in the refrigerator. To make the lemonade follow the directions below.
In a glass quart jar, add :
1/2 cup of willow bark tea
3 cups of water
juice of 1 organic lemon or lime
40 drops of Concentrace trace minerals (optional)
1 Tbsp. honey or more to taste
Cap and shake well. Do not heat honey–it will dissolve in the water after some minutes but shaking will expedite this. Sip over the course of the day to stay hydrated and avoid low blood sugar.
