Introducing Essiac Extra!
Essiac Extra is our version of a "double strength" Essiac. The herbs-to-water ratio is the same as all of our Essiac blends - the "double strength" part comes from using twice as much Sheep sorrel root (and half as much leaf) in the mix.
The more Sheep sorrel root in Essiac, the more potent it is. Rene Caisse hung her hat on the importance of it as the key active ingredient in Essiac. We don't usually include more than 25% roots in our Essiac formulae, so that we can consistently have enough of a supply to maintain that ratio. But for a while... we are going to make Essiac with 50% roots. The times seem to call for a little extra boost to our good immunity!
With the higher root content, the boiling time for Essiac Extra decoction is lengthened slightly. Other than that the entire preparation process is the same. The recommended dosage is the same, 1-2 fl. oz. (30-60ml) per day. It has a great smooth feel to it and is a little darker than regular Essiac. It tastes awesome!
AVAILABLE WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. In a perfect world everyone would have access to great Essiac made using the public domain Essiac formula, containing Sheep sorrel with at least 25% roots. Essiac blends containing other herbs or a higher percentage of Sheep sorrel roots would be readily available as well with the common denominator being a healthy ratio of Sheep sorrel roots no matter what else. In an even more perfect world, people would be growing their own medicinal herbs and making their own Essiac and being empowered and healed by the very act of hands in dirt nurturing new beginnings.
But the world is not quite perfect yet! Blue Moon Herbs continues to offer the seeds to grow your own Essiac herbs so you can augment the quantity of root in your Essiac without hugely adding to the cost, and we will be upping the root content in our Essiac for a few months, in the form of Essiac Extra.
Fact: Most of the Sheep sorrel in Rene Caisse's Essiac was the aerial parts. Supplies were scarce, demand was high, and she was not able to come near to including 100% roots in her Essiac. She reserved the roots mainly for her injectable therapy which was a Sheep sorrel decoction. Because it was an injection this enabled many more people to receive the medicine as a much smaller amount was used compared to in the tea form. Most likely the success she had during the time she had her Bracebridge Ontario Essiac Cancer Clinic derived from this Sheep sorrel injection. Much easier would be to grow your own Sheep sorrel in a pot on your patio or in your garden and add extra roots when you make your Essiac! Injections of herbal decoctions are no longer an accepted method!
It is not known for certain whether excluding all the Sheep sorrel aerial parts in Essiac is the best course. Some research indicates that juice from the leaves may have properties that add to its overall positive impact. We at Blue Moon like to always include at least some leaves because Rene Caisse did. Essiac with 100% roots would be prohibitively expensive to produce on a large scale. "We the People" can grow it ourselves for next to nothing though!
Conclusion: Rene Caisse did not have enough Sheep sorrel root to make Essiac with all or even mostly roots because she had too many people wanting Essiac. She was the only supplier in the world. In today's world the commercial availability of Sheep sorrel root is very low so it doesn't make any sense to try to include such a high percentage unless you grow your own. We are working on the supply end by growing and contracting for growing specifically for the root. For the time, we are very pleased to offer Essiac with Extra Sheep sorrel roots, while supplies last! Enjoy your Essiac Extra!
Is there a recommended amount to take when you have cancer? My husband has cancer and been drinking the tea for 2 weeks now @1oz tea 2 oz water and wondering if more would be beneficial.
The recommended dosage range is 1-2 oz. of the decoction per day, with anywhere from 2-6 oz. of water added, hot or cold. Rene Caisse recommended this as a baseline. She did not recommend much more than that for any length of time, cautioning against the "more is better" approach in general, and always sticking with the smaller doses. The combination of the herbs seems to create a synergy that exists independent of quantity. Also, the lower baseline on dosage allows for the tea to do something a little more when you do take extra, vs. the body just adapting to a higher dosage when subjected to one full-time. Rene Caisse said that excess tea was just thrown off by the body and so it was a waste to use more. She actually fell more in line with 1/2 to 1 oz. per day. The world being a more toxic, obese place now, that has translated to 1-2 oz. per day.
There is some evidence that for acute conditions including cancer Rene Caisse would sometimes prescribe up to 4 oz. per day for short periods of time. Depending on someone's weight, 3 oz. per day might be fine. Essiac is not toxic in higher doses but there is no need for the higher doses even with more acute illnesses is what Rene Caisse very strongly believed. The best way to work with Essiac is to begin at a lower dosage, working your way up and monitoring how it goes. I am not a medical practitioner, so this is common sense advice. Hopefully you can work with someone who is familiar with herbal medicine and the research of Mali Klein and Sheila Snow.
Too much too fast can sometimes cause the typical detox symptoms. Although not life-threatening, listening to your body is the best approach to avoid any detox symptoms. I hope this was helpful. A lot of suppliers recommend much higher dosages, and half as much water (another end run around the recommended 1-2 oz. per day.) but in good conscience we are not going there. If you do experiment with it, keep in mind that with 50% roots, the Essiac Extra is going to be more potent, another reason the 1-2 oz. range should be adequate. Happy New Year and wishing you the best on you and your husband's journey with cancer. PS Essiac is great for caregivers, too!