| The hibiscus is a tropical flower that conjures up | | | | the Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences |
| images of Hawaiian beaches or Caribbean resorts, | | | | and Health Services in Iran have found that drinking 3 |
| and it is popular in island cuisine. The hibiscus tea | | | | cups of hibiscus tea a day for two weeks lowers both |
| known as kakade, however, is the national beverage | | | | systolic and diastolic blood pressure by about 11 |
| not of a tropical island but of the world's most | | | | percent in hypertensive men and women over age |
| populous desert nation, Egypt. Islamic medicine has | | | | fifty, with the effect lasting several days after the tea |
| recognized the health properties of hibiscus for | | | | is discontinued (that is, if you don't drink the tea every |
| centuries, recently confirmed in research around the | | | | day, you still get the benefits as long as you resume |
| world. | | | | drinking it within three days). And clinical studies in |
| Researchers at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia | | | | Thailand have found various beneficial effects of |
| have found that the traditional understanding of hibiscus | | | | drinking hibiscus teas on kidney health, increasing the |
| as "detoxifying" is not precisely correct. Their | | | | excretion of oxalate, one of the chemical building |
| laboratory experiments with animals have found that | | | | blocks of kidney stones. |
| the herb helps the liver recover after exposure to | | | | Hibiscus blossoms can be used either dried or fresh. |
| noxious chemicals and pharmaceutical agents, and the | | | | Be forewarned that hibiscus teas (including red zinger |
| rejuvenated liver is more able to fulfill its detox function. | | | | tea backs) have a mild laxative effect, and that they |
| Although hibiscus is a good source of the trace | | | | also increase frequency and volume of urination. The |
| element copper, Chinese laboratory studies find that | | | | cuisine of the American Southwest uses hibiscus in |
| chemicals in hibiscus tea prevent copper in the | | | | salsas and sauces; they are a tangy companion to |
| bloodstream from accelerating the conversion of LDL | | | | beef or pork or a tart contrasting flavor for fruit, |
| cholesterol into atherogenic forms. Clinical studies at | | | | especially apricots. |