When you look out at your front or back lawn and you see the yellow head of a dandelion blemishing your weed-free lawn, how do you react? Do you jump to attention, racing to find some weed killer to spray the weed into herbicide oblivion? Why wouldn’t you? Dandelions, so we have been told have no utility, so why wouldn’t you go to town on the weed?

Well, in the future, before you get out your poisons and weeding tools, you need to educate yourself about the secret world of dandelions, particularly their use in herbal medicine?

The Ojibwa tribe have used tea made from dandelion leaves as a potent medicinal tonic for centuries. They steeped dandelions in boiling water to treat skin, kidney, and stomach problems. That’s right, the roots and leaves of dandelion can be dried and used to make dandelion tea, an infusion that improves your health myriad ways.

Certainly, dandelion leaf and root are not the most appetizing plant you will ever eat. The weed is bitter and tastes similar to endive or radicchio. Yet dandelion leaf packs more protein than spinach, and is loaded with nutrients such as Vitamins C, A, E & K, zinc, magnesium, and copper. So, you should consider substituting your morning hit of caffeine for dandelion tea. If you add honey you’ll be creating a pleasant tasting infusion loaded with the natural probiotics honey provides.

And if you’re a diabetic dandelion tea is a beverage you’ll especially appreciate. It is a natural diuretic that helps eliminate excess fluid from the body. A variety of studies have been published that confirms that the tea lowers levels of blood sugar. The tea’s diuretic properties ensure that excess sugars are flushed from the body.

And as an added bonus dandelion tea works at reducing the inflammation diabetics suffering from neuropathy have to endure.   But because the tea provides natural pain relief, diabetics will appreciate how dandelions control inflammation. But before you introduce dandelions into your diet, remember to speak to your health practitioner first to ensure that dandelions are right for you!