Cat's Claw Herb Tea

Why people make this tea

A reader previously asked Nourilo about food therapy for lipomas. As he wasn’t very familiar with the subject, he initially suggested some food-therapy approaches traditionally used to reduce fat and disperse blood stasis. More recently, he came across a female Chinese-medicine practitioner from a mainland hospital introducing cat’s claw herb boiled in water as something that may help with lipomas when taken over a period of time.

Nourilo happened to have seen cat’s claw herb in a Chinese herbal shop in Sai Ying Pun a few months earlier. The small pieces look rather like miniature cat claws. He knew the herb was traditionally used to soften hardness, disperse lumps and ease pain, and had previously suggested combining it with Zhejiang fritillary bulb, self-heal and figs in a lean-pork soup for thyroid swelling. Having now come across its use for lipomas, he shares this simple tea.