Cornsilk Tea
Common Uses and Benefits
Corn has been growing in North America for thousands of years, and spread over time to Europe and South America, where it now grows in abundance. Long used as a food source, it's rich in natural sugars as well as vitamins and minerals. The stigmas of the plant, also known as the silk, have been used in different medicinal ways, while the kernels are eaten as a food source. For example, Native Americans used the cornsilk to as a remedy for heart problems, malaria, and urinary tract infections. Today, cornsilk tea has been found to have many health benefits, including these mentioned above as well as a bevy of many more.
The main use of cornsilk tea in a medicinal sense in modern times is still for any problems related to the urinary tract. It can be helpful in stopping young children from wetting the bed, and at the same time helps with incontinence in the elderly. Because it is rich in vitamin K, it's useful to help stop bleeding after childbirth, and has been used in the past as a natural cure for gonorrhea. Urinary tract infections and kidney stones may be aided with the ingestion of this tea, and because it is a mild diuretic, it helps keep the system flushed.
Other uses for cornsilk tea include the regulation of high blood pressure or water retention, because it has been shown to have an effect on the kidneys. It may help the body to regulate its fluids more effectively. Some use it to help fight prostate inflammation as well, or as a potential treatment for diabetes. This is particularly true in China, although the tea is also used in the United States, Turkey, Trinidad, and Haiti, among other countries. It is also combined with other herbs, including St. John's Wort, for example, to increase its healing powers and range of medicinal uses.
To brew cornsilk tea, you can use fresh or dried stigmas from the corn plant. This could be collected from either the female flowers or from corn cobs, depending on what you have available. It's also available in prepackaged teabags, or in a dried supplement form. Powdered cornsilk is a common ingredient in face powders, due to its soothing qualities. It's recommended to use one cup of water for every two teaspoons of dried cornsilk, for the best results, and to drink this approximately three times daily.