Herbal Tea and the Word of Wisdom

[Happy_LDS]

Do you think herbal teas are forbidden within the Word of Wisdom? How do you reach that conclusion?

[Zelph]

Do you think herbal teas are forbidden within the Word of Wisdom? How do you reach that conclusion?

Brigham Young stated that Herbal Tea is not against the Word of Wisdom, but Green Tea is.  I'll find the sourse tomorrow.

[Happy_LDS]

Did he mention Green Tea? As far as I am concerned, we are talking about not drinking tea (from the tea plant).

[AlaskanLDS]

I know at least here, we are told some herbal teas are fine. 

Actually though when this Green Tea became so popular in the last couple years-especially in the area of dieting, my mom started drinking it and there were a couple members discussing it, they came to the conclusion it was considered an okay herbal tea--I did some research and found somewhere that it is definetely not okay...Much to moms dismay!) I find staying away from the "colored" name teas helps a little.  I enjoy peppermint and herbal teas for relaxation.

[Happy_LDS]

I did some research and found somewhere that it is definetely not okay...Much to moms dismay!)

Would you mind sharing some quotes/info? I think I heard of it but I am not sure. Does the green tea comes from the tea plant? (I assume?)

[AlaskanLDS]

Yes I will try and find those and post them as soon as I can.  Do you happen to know what plant "Brigham Tea" comes from?  The recipe said it grew wild in Utah but didn't say what it was?

[WilforW]

Herbal tea like green tea is not good because it is "tea".  Other plants that are not part of the tea variety are usually okay.

[AlaskanLDS]

From Wikipedia:

The four basic types of true tea are (in order from most to least processed): black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white tea. The term "herbal tea" usually refers to infusions of fruit or of herbs (such as rosehip, chamomile, or jiaogulan) that contain no Camellia sinensis . (Alternative terms for herbal tea that avoid the word "tea" are tisane and herbal infusion.)

This statement shows that the green tea is an actual tea, which is against the word of wisdom.

Also, from the following link:
http://lds.about.com/od/wordofwisdomhealth/f/herbal_tea.htm

The official lds church doctrine states that drinking tea is against the Word of Wisdom.

Under the Gospel Topic of Word of Wisdom at LDS.org it states:

"The best course is to completely avoid the substances that the Lord prohibits in the Word of Wisdom."

But to clarifty, herbal tea is not against the word of wisdom, although we have been cautioned: "Some people enjoy herbal teas, but even these should not replace more nutritious drinks in the diet" (Lora Beth Larson, "The Do's in the Word of Wisdom," Ensign, Apr 1977, 46.)