Chicory has a mildly taste and the root is much the same medicinally as the root of the dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, having a cleansing action in the liver, stomach and kidneys and the whole urinary tract.
As a treatment for gout, rheumatic conditions and general aches and pains of the joints, chicory was once considered to be a herb particularly appropriate for the elderly and was also used as a gentle laxative for children.
A tea of leaves and flowers – ¼ cup mixed leaves and flowers with 1 cup boiling water poured over it and left to stand for 5 minutes, sweetened with a touch of honey if desired – is the way to treat any of these ailments and usually no more than 1 cup a day will do the trick.The tea is slightly laxative and safe for children, made as a standard brew and ½ a cup given at a time to children under 10 years of age.
Mothers in medieval France and England grew chicory in their cottage gardens, which they used for purging and for flushing out of bladder and today’s research verifies these uses.
It literally washes out bladder and colon, clears infections, acts as a strong tonic and increases the flow of bile.
Around AD 23-79, chicory juice mixed with strong vinegar and a little rose oil was used to treat headaches.
Today doctors find that a tea made of the flowers and a leaf or two, aids, digestion, clears toxins from the body and flushes the kidneys.
If that same tea is used as a wash or added to the bath during an attack of cystitis, it soothes any external discomfort and itch gently.
Medicinal Uses of Chicory
