Moringa Tea

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Scribe Town| Leave a comment
Print Friendly

We are always looking for that magic bullet that will solve all that ails us. For many these days Moringa tea is their latest savior. Whether the claims are true or not, such that one leaf from this healing tree contains more protein and calcium than a single glass of milk, they remain to be conclusively proven. Drinking it in tea form is the most popular form of ingestion and is used to treat nausea, diarrhea, to fight obesity, to fight infections and illnesses and to stave off other diseases. Apparently, it is able to accomplish this because of its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, antioxidant, anti-spasmodic, anti-ulcer, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Moringa tea may also help with arthritis pain, joint inflammation, gout and other painful joint aches and pains.  The whole tree is edible and has been used in homeopathic medicine for a long time. The leaves of this tree supposedly have seven times the vitamin C of oranges, four times the vitamin A of carrots, four times the calcium of milk and three times the potassium of bananas. With these characteristics it is also being proclaimed as a cure for malnutrition.

India’s Ayurvedic medicine uses every part of the Moringa tree and considers it one of the most valuable and useful plants.

Treesforlife.org also list the following uses for the Morenga tree:

  • Alley cropping: With their rapid growth, long taproot, few lateral roots, minimal shade and large production of high-protein biomass, Moringa trees are well-suited for use in alley cropping systems.
  • Animal forage: Leaves are readily eaten by cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and rabbits. Leaves can also be used as food for carp and other fish.
  • Domestic cleaning agent: Crushed leaves are used in some parts of Nigeria to scrub cooking utensils or to clean walls.
  • Dye: The wood yields a blue dye which was used in Jamaica and Senegal.
  • Fertilizer: The seed cake, although unsuitable as animal feed without treatment to remove the alkaloid and saponin content, can be used as a protein-rich plant fertilizer.
  • Gum: The gum produced from a cut tree trunk has been used in calico printing, in making medicines and as a bland-tasting condiment.
  • Honey clarifier: Powdered seeds can be used to clarify honey without boiling. Seed powder can also be used to clarify sugarcane juice.
  • Honey producer: Flowers are a good source of nectar for honey-producing bees.
  • Live fencing: A common use of Moringa trees is to produce live supports for fencing around gardens.
  • Ornamental: In many countries, Moringa trees are planted in gardens and along avenues as ornamental trees.
  • Plant disease prevention: Incorporating Moringa leaves into the soil before planting can prevent damping off disease (Pythium debaryanum) among seedlings.
  • Pulp: The soft, spongy wood makes a poor firewood, but the wood pulp is suitable for making newsprint and writing paper.
  • Rope-making: The bark of the tree can be beaten into a fiber for production of ropes or mats.

There is a lot of information out on the web about this “miracle” Moringa tree and healing Moringa tea and its antioxidant properties. As with any miracle, buyer or grower beware! If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Yes, I’m a sceptic.

More Articles

This entry was posted in Health and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>