Astragalus, Codonopsis, and Bitter Buckwheat Tea

Why people make this tea

Cancer touches many families, and alongside conventional treatment, a growing number of people look to traditional food therapy for everyday support. Research estimates that roughly one-third of cancers may be preventable through lifestyle choices including diet. Traditional Chinese food therapy has long emphasised eating whole grains, vegetables from the gourd and root families, and foods with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This particular tea brings together some of the most respected immunity-supporting herbs in the Chinese pharmacy: astragalus for qi, codonopsis as a gentle tonic, ligustrum and goji for liver-kidney nourishment, and bitter buckwheat — also called golden buckwheat — whose anti-tumour compounds have attracted significant scientific interest. Together they form a tea that is neither cold nor drying, and that can be drunk comfortably during chemotherapy or radiotherapy.