Healing Drinks

The world has and continues to develop and discover new technologies and one of the most prominent and arguably most important is our advancements in medicine. Today, our world has been immensely changed with a numerous amount of technological advancements and science-focused ideas. Despite this, it is often forgotten that medicine began in the kitchens of our homes. Many prescriptions are herbal-based and play a prominent role in developing treatments for many diseases such as arthritis and cancer (106-107). Our world has advanced our medical capabilities to an extraordinary state and while there are medicines to cure diseases and sicknesses, commonly smaller concerns such as stress can be cured and/or calmed by fruits, vegetables, and flowers that have beneficial properties for our bodies. For example, melons and spinach. Melons are filled with nutrients and spinach has no fat, is filled with fiber, and is stuffed with powerful antioxidants. Being able to analyze fruits and vegetables for their astonishingly healthy makeup allows medicine to grow and for scientists to discover new bases for remedies.

Personally, I have, experienced stress and anxiety to an extreme extent for quite a while. I constantly am looking ahead at what I need to get done and what I will have to do. More recently, I have taken it into my own hands to try and find things that will help reduce its impact on my body. While, I know I have not been able to try all of the available options that may pose positive change, I have tried a plethora of activities such as running, changing my diet, and rescheduling my homework and work routine. I have recently come across medicine practician and author of Low Carb Super Drinks; Michael Van Straten who has a variety of different hot and cold drinks that are immensely beneficial to our bodies. One drink he has created is referred to as the 'Stress Buster'. “The ingredients were popular with ancient Greeks and Romans, who knew that the natural oils in parsley and mint soothe the stomach and clam jangley nerves. Both parsley and mint have a healing effect on the entire digestive system and are calming to the central nervous system" (117). I decided I’d try it out, using these healing ingredients to create a so called ‘healing drink’ for myself. In its entirety, it is composed of one medium, yellow-fleshed melon, a handful of mint leaves, six spinach leaves, and a handful of parsley. All I had to do was clean all the ingredients and then blend them together.

While I was buried neck-deep in my homework one night, I took a break, to gulp down the drink, and then returned to complete my work.

Following up on it, I felt my body calm down, and the edge of my stress was taken off.





Do you believe that there are drinks and edible homemade remedies to help render stress to a minimum? Or, do you believe that the idea of ‘healing drinks’ is all a mind game?

Straten, Michael Van. Low Carb Super Drinks. Great Britain: Mitchell Beazley, 2005. Print.