Try making this energizing root tea or adding raw, local bee pollen to your diet.  Also, see this post for a list of herbs that nourish your body with energy!

Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis)

Parts used: Leaves and flowers

Benefits and uses: We have only just begun to uncover the many uses for rosemary outside of the kitchen!  It has long been renowned as a memory aid and for its beneficial effects on hair and skin, but it is also one of the best herbs for circulation, strengthening the heart and reducing high blood pressure.  Drinking rosemary tea in the morning (especially during fall and winter) helps to stimulate circulation, bringing energy to the brain and all parts of the body.  Tossing a few fresh sprigs into a bath makes for an invigorating and uplifting soak that gets everything in your body moving!  If you feel sluggish, fatigued, or down-and-out, a rosemary bath shifts things to a new place and enhances spirits since it is toning and calming for the nervous system as well.

Studies also show that rosemary is effective in slowing the growth of several bacteria that are involved in food spoilage.  Rosemary has proven more effective in food preservation than many common food preservation additives.  Additionally, rosemary is a wonderful hair and skin tonic.  Pouring room temperature tea on your hair stimulates circulation to the scalp, helps with dandruff and oil, and makes your hair shiny.  You can also make an extra cup of tea and gargle with it if you have any canker sores or gum inflammation!  This humble kitchen herb is now a multipurpose body care product! 

Nettle (Urtica dioica)

Parts used: Leave, seeds, roots and young tops

Benefits: This is the stinging nettle that farmers hate, hikers despise and children learn to avoid.  But herbalists around the world fall at the feet of this green goddess.  It is a vitamin factory, rich in iron, calcium, potassium, silicon, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and chromium, as well as a host of other vitamins and minerals.  It makes a wonderful hair and scalp tonic, and activated the metabolism by strengthening and toning the entire system.  It is useful for growing pains in young children, when their bones and joints ache.  An excellent reproductive tonic for men and women, nettle is used for alleviating the symptoms of PMS and menopause.  It’s a superb herb for the genital and urinary system and will strengthen weak kidneys, which are essential for vitality and energy.  It is indicated for liver problems and is excellent for allergies and hay fever.  All this and it tastes good, too!

Suggested uses: For any liver disorder, take nettle in tea, tincture or capsule form.  To tone the nervous system, combine nettle in a tea with lemon balm, oats and chamomile.  For reducing the symptoms of allergies and hay fever, take freeze-dried nettle capsules.  For urinary health and for treating edema, drink several cups of nettle tea combined with dandelion greens.  To combat reduced energy and sexual dysfunction, combine nettle in a tea with green milky oat tops and raspberry leaf.  Fresh young nettle leaves have a rich green flavor and can be used to replace spinach in any recipe; but they must always be steamed well, or else they’ll sting if undercooked! 

Caffeine is a drug like any other, it’s simply more socially acceptable, even expected.  An occasional cup of coffee can be lovely and stimulating, but it’s high in a variety of alkaloids that can be very taxing on the body.  Caffeine in general has a very negative impact on adrenal glands if used over a period of time, as well.  Daily consumption has a detrimental effect on overall energy and vitality and will drain - not restore - your energy.

It’s good that you’re aware of your addiction and wiling to wean yourself off of caffeine.  First things first: get enough exercise, get enough relaxation and sleep, and maintain a balanced diet.  The more centered your mind & body, the easier it will be to kick the habit.

In this post, I discuss some of the herbs that will build and restore energy over a period of time.  Also focus on nourishing and strengthening the nervous system by using herbs such as nettle, oats and Siberian ginseng.  You will begin to experience a sense of calm and relaxation, and it is when we reside in the center of calmness that tremendous energy is available.

Although you may have an aversion to tea, I think you’ll enjoy this blend of energizing roots.  It has a warm, spicy, sweet taste to it and is a great alternative to any energy drink that is loaded with sugar and all kinds of icky chemicals.  Definitely check out the bee pollen, too.  Thanks for your question and good luck! 

Bee pollen

Bee pollen is my latest obsession.  I picked up some fresh, raw, locally-harvested pollen from Whole Foods after reading it was packed full of nutrients and was a great source of energy.  (Of course, a few days later I went to a farmers’ market and found the same bee farm selling the same pollen for much cheaper!)  The first time I consumed it, I sprinkled half a teaspoon on some oatmeal with dried cranberries and soy milk.  I felt my energy and vitality skyrocket the moment the first little morsel of pollen touched my tongue - I was basically consuming the essence of the flowers and the energy of the bees!  It was almost a spiritual experience!  I eat it almost every morning with my breakfast, but never after lunch, because then I’m not always able to get to bed.  :) 

Bee pollen is a concentrated form of nearly all known nutrients and provides a powerhouse of energy for the nervous system.  It is a complete protein, containing all 22 amino acids, and has a higher concentration of the 8 amino acids essential to human health (those not produced in our bodies) that most other proteins.  Additionally, bee pollen contains high levels of 27 minerals and enzymes, B-complex vitamins and vitamins C, A and E.  It has been called the world’s only perfect food and in essence, you could survive on nothing but water and bee pollen.

Like other bee products, pollen has anti-microbial properties as well as anti-biotic, anti-viral, antiseptic, and anti-fungal properties.  It is useful for combating fatigue, depression, stimulating the reproductive system for both males and females and eases digestive and colon disorders.  It also helps people with allergies because it strengthens the immune system. 

Bee pollen should not form clumps and should be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.  Only choose locally produced bee pollen, especially if you’re taking it for anti-allergenic reasons.  Heat destroys bee pollen’s vital enzyme activity and lowers the nutrient value, so it is not recommended for teas or cooking.  Instead, try adding granules to yogurt or cereal, or mix with cinnamon and add to applesauce.  Use only a small amount of pollen (no more than 1-2 teaspoon), out of respect for the energy that the bees put into collecting these golden grains.  And never waste a kernel - it takes the bees hundreds of visits to flowers to produce even the smallest pinch of pollen! 

Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)

Parts used: Leaves, roots and berries

Benefits:  One of the richest sources of iron, raspberry is used to replenish iron-poor blood and is often combined with nettle for anemia and related low energy levels.  It is also a rich source of niacin and among the richest sources of manganese, a trace mineral used by the body to produce healthy connective tissue, such as bone matrix and cartilage, and an important factor in energy metabolism.  Use the leaves when energy is low or recovering from an illness.  As a tea or tincture, raspberry leaf is invaluable for treating diarrhea and dysentery.  Additionally, the leaves are a woman’s closest ally, as they’re a highly nourishing reproductive tonic that tones and strengthens the entire female system. It also helps reduce excessive menstruation and is one of the best herbs for pregnancy and child-birth.  Because of its astringent properties, it is a good mouthwash for sore of infected gums.

Suggested uses: The leaf is quite tasty and is generally prepared as an infusion.  Drink several cups of the tea daily to experience its toning effects.  Raspberry leaf can also be blended with other reproductive tonic herbs and made into a tincture to be used daily.  The berries, too, are medicinal and delicious!

This is an incredibly energizing and revitalizing tea made of roots.  Combine the herbs, prepare as a decoction, and drink 1 cup three times a day.

• 2 parts dandelion root
• 2 parts Siberian ginseng
• 1 part astralagus root
• 1 part burdock root
• 1 part cinnamon
• 1 part licorice root
• 1/2 part cardamom seeds
• 1/2 part ginger
• 1/2 part ginseng root, sliced

Thank you!  Many of the best energizing herbs are used in Chinese herbalism and Ayurveda - ginseng, ginko, gotu kola, ashwaganda, fo-ti and ginger are just a few.  They feed the brain and increase stamina.  Some more familiar herbs that nourish and spark your systems are peppermint, dandelion, burdock root, cayenne, rosemary, nettle and oats.  Although not herbs, bee pollen and spirulina are incredible for boosting energy.

Incorporating these herbs into your life regularly will, over time, increase your overall energy and well-being.  Depending on your preference, you may want to make either an infusion (aka tea) or tincture.  If making a tea, drink 1 cup three times daily; for tinctures, take 1/2 to 1 teaspoon two-three times daily.

EDIT: Here is a link to my favorite energizing tea: http://herbalhealing.tumblr.com/post/6967414610/energizing-root-tea