HOME > ESSIAC FAQ > WHAT IS ESSIAC?
~~~~~~
What Is Essiac?
~~~~~~
ESSIAC CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
~~~~~~
Essiac is a traditional Native American herbal tea that was originally given to an English woman living in Ontario, Canada by a native herbalist “medicine man” in the late 1800s. The woman had breast cancer and her cancer disappeared completely after taking the tea. However, it did leave a scar on her breast which was noticed by Canadian nurse Rene Caisse some thirty years later.
The original Native American tea contained eight herbs, but Rene Caisse never revealed the eighth herb. After using the tea on laboratory mice and real cancer patients for over fifty years she finally settled on just four herbs for the tea:
6 ½ cups of cut burdock root [arctium lappa]*
1 pound of powdered sheep sorrel herb w/roots [rumex acetosella]
1/4 pound of powdered slippery elm bark [ulmus rubrus/fulva]
1 ounce of powdered Turkish rhubarb root [rheum palmatum tanguticum]
*Click here for legal documentation of the Essiac tea formula and recipe.
Rene Caisse chose the word “Essiac” as it is her surname spelled backwards. (Her name is pronounced like “Reen Case”.)
Rene Caisse specifically stated in writing that the roots of the sheep sorrel plants are “very essential” to the Essiac formula. Therefore, if the tea does not contain sheep sorrel roots it is not Essiac.
Essiac tea is a “decoction”. A decoction is a tea-making process that is normally used for hard herbal ingredients like roots, seeds and bark in order to extract their health-giving properties. Essiac tea is boiled for ten minutes and then allowed to sit for eight to twelve hours. Click here for recipe instructions.
“If it works, don’t change it.” — Rene M. Caisse, R.N.
ESSIAC TEA IS NOT A “DRUG”. ESSIAC TEA IS NOT A “SUPPLEMENT.”
ESSIAC IS JUST A TEA. ESSIAC TEA CONTAINS NO CAFFEINE.
Essiac is a pleasant-tasting herbal tea that one can drink on a regular basis to maintain good health. In fact, it shines brightest as a preventive for many health problems. Essiac is a foundational tea that covers more health issues than any other single herbal tea.
Essiac tea has a well-established reputation for improving health. Although Essiac tea is well-known for use by cancer patients and helping diabetics, it is not just for cancer. People have reported many health benefits from Essiac tea since it became popular in the 1930s.
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
Be sure to watch our “What Is Essiac?” and
“Sheep Sorrel Roots in Essiac” videos:
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
The video below provides more details and documentation about Essiac tea.
~~~~~~
ESSIAC CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
~~~~~~
* BUYER BEWARE! Most Essiac companies and herb suppliers are now obtaining Sheep Sorrel leaf from Bulgaria and Croatia and it is dead plant material and not even green! Therefore, most of the Essiac sold in the US now has little medicinal value for cancer patients. We are concerned that this may eventually give quality Essiac Tea an undeserved reputation for being ineffective against cancer. This may also give false hope for cancer patients.
This is why we place so much attention on how we grow our certified organic herbs and the extra effort and care we place on quality, even though our Essiac Tea Herbs cost significantly more than other Essiac tea providers. As the old adage goes: “You get what you pay for.” *
~~~~~~
We do not sell nor are we associated with the trademarked (TM) or registered (R) “ESSIAC” products that are sold by other companies in Canada and the US. We only sell the herbs so that people can make Rene Caisse’s tea in their own homes. Rene Caisse never registered, patented or trademarked “Essiac” which was simply her last name spelled backwards and was originally derived from a traditional native American herbal remedy for cancer. The word “Essiac” was in common usage in the 1930s, decades before anyone tried to corner the market by “registering” or “trademarking” the word “Essiac”. Furthermore, we only use the “Essiac” formula which Rene Caisse’s best friend, Mary McPherson, officially entered into the public domain in a sworn affidavit in 1994 in Bracebridge, Ontario. This formula uses Turkey rhubarb root which is much more pleasant tasting than the Indian rhubarb products on the market (which is why Rene Caisse switched to Turkey rhubarb in her final Essiac tea formula). The HealthFreedom.info website has posted Mary McPherson’s “Essiac” formula affidavit here. This is the formula we use.
Twenty years ago HealthFreedom.info was the first website to obtain and publish on the internet a certified copy of Mary McPherson’s Essiac formula affidavit from the Town of Bracebridge, Ontario, thus settling the controversy over what Rene Caisse’s true Essiac Tea formula was.
We include sheep sorrel roots in all our Essiac Tea products at precise percentages. The percentages refer to the ratio of sheep sorrel root to the total sheep sorrel content in the formula.
~~~~~~
The information on this website is for educational and historical purposes and not to be construed as medical advice. Everyone’s body is different so there is no one-size-fits-all for health issues. It should be noted that medical doctors are not usually taught about such subjects as herbal medicine, nutritional supplements, non-pharmceutical approaches to health, etc. Therefore, choosing an appropriate health professional is a human right and that is up to the individual seeking health improvement.
~~~~~~