My new Digest-A-Tea has been blended with the light delicious flavours of Lavender, a touch of Orange peel and selected mints, making it refreshing and beneficial but not too complex for the body to absorb. Centuary is used extensively in dyspepsia, for languid digestion with heartburn after food, in an infusion of 1 oz. of the dried herb to 1 pint of water.
When run down and suffering from want of appetite, a wineglass full of this infusion - Centaury Tea - taken three or four times daily, half an hour before meals, is found of great benefit. The same infusion may also be taken for muscular rheumatism.
Bitters are typically used to aid digestion such as after eating a large or fatty meal or to help ease an upset stomach or nausea.
Bitter herbs also act as an appetizer to help stimulate the appetite before eating, usually when needing to gain weight, which I understand completely having struggled with severe weight loss due to my health concerns.
Many people only know that herbal bitters are used to cure the hiccups. It's an age old remedy that has been used for many years and always did its job. However, there are many other health benefits of bitters, as noted above, namely their use as digestive bitters to help calm the intestinal tract naturally.
"Of all the bitter appetizing wild herbs which serve as excellent simple tonics, the Centaury is the most efficacious, sharing the antiseptic virtues of the Field Gentian and the Buckbean." Centaury is closely related to gentian, and shares the same bitter tonic effect on the digestive system. A gentle laxative, and an excellent remedy for heartburn. Like many bitter tonics centaury is effective in reducing fever and has been used in place of quinine.
Ingredients: Organic blend of Centaury herb, lavender buds, orange peel, and selected mints.4 oz tin, refills available please ask for details.
Historical or traditional use of centaury
Centaury is one of the mainstays of European folk herbalism as a tonic for the digestive tract.1 It was also used as a general tonic for people who had fevers.
Active constituents of centaury
Centaury contains bitter glycosides that stimulate secretion of stomach acid and digestive enzymes as well as activity of the entire digestive tract. Centaury is recommended by the German Commission E for people with poor appetite and indigestion. One preliminary animal study showed the herb had anti-inflammatory and fever-lowering effects.
How much centaury is usually taken?
Centaury is generally taken prior to a meal. A tea is made by adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of the herb to one cup of hot water and allowing it to steep for 15 minutes.5 The tea should be sipped slowly. The bitter taste can be covered up by adding ginger tea. Alternately, capsules can be used in the amount of 1 to 2 grams three times per day before a meal.6
Are there any side effects or interactions with centaury?
Centaury could theoretically worsen the conditions of peptic ulcer disease, elevated stomach acid levels, heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux disease, diarrhea, or acute inflammation of the intestinal tract, such as Crohn’s disease, and should be avoided in such cases. Centaury is otherwise safe. The safety of centaury in pregnancy and breast-feeding is unknown.
At the time of writing, there were no well-known drug interactions with centaury.
