avoiding coffee and tea

There are several reasons for fibroid shrinkers to avoid coffee and black tea. First is the caffeine, which is a burden on the liver. Second, they contain compounds called methyl-xanthines which promote fibroid growth (these compounds are in chocolate and colas too, so they need to be avoided also!). Also, drinking tea with a meal can interfere with iron absorption, and we fibroid shrinkers need our iron.

As I've written about elsewhere in this blog, as a substitute for coffee and black tea I have been drinking herb teas such as chrysanthemum, pau d'arco and dandelion root. However, sometimes I want something that tastes more, shall I say, fun.

So I picked up one of my old favorites, Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Hazelnut Dessert Tea. The two main ingredients are roasted carob and roasted chicory, which effectively emulate the coffee/black tea flavor. Then ingredient number 3 is milk thistle, which is often listed as an herbal remedy for fibroids due to its tonic effect on the liver. So this tea is a way to work in some milk thistle in a delicious form. There is also a little cinnamon, which as mentioned in a precious post is a good herb for fibroids.

This tea isn't completely perfect. On the downside, this tea does contain a bit of gluten (due to roasted barley which is the 4th ingredient), a bit of soy lecithin in the natural flavors, and licorice and anise seed which are both estrogenic however they are on the last line of the ingredients and the tea does not taste of them strongly. But for me at least I think that having a tea I enjoy drinking as a treat that also contains some milk thistle and cinnamon overall comes out on the plus side. I'm not going to drink huge quantities every day, but it does satisfy that craving for me...