Coincidentally....

Sometimes everything falls into place to address one very small irritation in my life. This time, it all led to licorice root tea. Yep. That's right. Licorice.

So, here is the story. Because of my little herb garden, and the idea of growing useful things (instead of a lawn) in general, I picked up a book called Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West. It seemed reasonable to start with what was already growing, after all. (The book is fascinating, by the way, and has me considering much more interesting options for my front yard that will use less water and look very cool!) The book talks about licorice root as an anti-inflammatory and, get this, an anti-allergy herb. So I did a little research to see what I could find. (Nothing I found for free supported that statement. But I'm actually considering a $50 membership to American Botanical to do more research. Here is the WebMD link on what conditions mean that you shouldn't take licorice root
, and here is one article on what it does, or you can look at the American Cancer Society page)
Now, here are the two coincidental parts of this story. Part 1: This time - from when the highs hit the 80s until Phoenix finally gets over 100 - is the very worst time of year for my allergies. Everything that makes me sneeze goes nuts. I manage this by taking Claritin during the day, Benadryl at night, rinsing my sinuses, not rubbing my eyes (no matter what!), and getting extra sleep and water. And I still have some days that I can't manage my runny nose, sneezing, and watery eyes. Part 2: It just so happens that I had some licorice root from my face wash/eye treatment experiments.

So, I started drinking licorice root tea on Thursday night. BTW, licorice root is naturally sweet and doesn't really taste like licorice - especially if you throw a few mint leaves in to hide it - so it is really quite nice. 3 of those 4 nights, I didn't need a Benadryl. And I certainly have much more use of my own nose than I normally have at this time of year.

Of course, it is early days to determine effectiveness. Also, my research indicates that it shouldn't be taken for more than 4-6 weeks at a time. But I think that will probably cover the bad season. I'll be tracking my night time Benadryl usage for the next several weeks to see if this makes a difference. As for availability and cost, 1/4 pound of this stuff cost me $8 at my local health food store and looks like it might last me the entire 4 weeks.

So, I'm adding this to the official Lighten Up initiatives. After all, minimizing my allergies will definitely help me Lighten Up!