Horsetail Tea

Horsetail, equisetum arvense, often made into horsetail tea is an herb plant with the highest silicon content of any herbs. This high silicon level in the plant led to the people in the Middle Ages using clumps of horsetail to scour iron cookware and pewter dishes.

Benefits of Horsetail

Horsetail, also known as snake grass and puzzlegrass, has many uses, and it is thought to be helpful with the treatment of:

• Broken bones
• Osteoporosis
• Arthritis
• Urinary incontinence and bed-wetting
• Bursitis
• Emphysema
• Hemorrhoids

As a rich source of silica, it can strengthen the connective tissue, bones and teeth. It can also improve the texture and tone of hair, nails and skin.

Pharmacology

Silicon is the main material in collagen, the natural component that holds skin and muscle tissue together. Silicon is also involved in the growth and stabilization of the skeletal structure.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials of horsetail have found that it can speed up the repair of broken bones. Adding horsetail herb tea to the diet can help to reduce osteoporosis.

Adverse Effects

The use of horsetail is not advised for those women that are pregnant or nursing, or to those people that are afflicted with prostate cancer, cardiac disease or high blood pressure. Small children should also avoid its use.

Preparation and Dosage

Traditionally the herb is used to make a tea or tincture for medicinal usage.

Horsetail tea has been in use for hundreds of years for its beneficial effects on the skeleton and connective tissue. It can also improve the physical appearance of the hair, nails and skin.

Return from Horsetail Tea back to Herbs Index

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