NASTEA

YouTube walkthrough of how to make NasTea: link

If you just want to know how to NOT GET SICK, ALMOST EVER (contagiously), skim this article, then read this one.

I consider this one of my greatest health discoveries ever; a product of prayer and providence. For the longest time, we were getting horrifically slammed every two weeks – now, we never get sick anymore. Or rather, we never feel sick anymore, as I’ll explain in a moment.

Disclaimer: anything health or herbal has to be undertaken at your own discretion and risk. In this video, I can tell you what I’ve learned or do, but you’ll have to decide whether that’s right for you. Should you embark on this quest, I would advise that you test by taking a small amount before you’re sick. 

1. WHAT IS NASTEA

I feel a little bit like I’m being the annoying recipe blogger: “you came here for my enchilada recipe, but I’m going to FIRST make you wade through thirteen pages of my tediously picturesque journey to Tobago…” Ok. But bear with me – this is all (hopefully) helpful context!

It all started with our 2-year old getting RSV. Actually, it “started” when, six years earlier, my 6-week old got RSV, and then in 2022 our 2-year old getting it – and in both instances, we had a similar horrifying experience. Both of them almost died; for both of them, we were told there’s “nothing you can do,”; for both of them, we were upsold drugs, poison, and irrelevant treatments that would, even by the hospital’s own admission, do nothing to help, and potentially have lots of bad effects. In both cases, following this “do nothing” protocol was harrowing, horrifying, and bizarrely accompanied by thinly-veiled threats and spite from the ER staff. 

I made a resolve: I would never let that happen again. Despite being told there was nothing I could do: well. I can. 

Prior to that meltdown, like most of the families in this area, we were getting sick nonstop that year. Since then, we almost never get sick: maybe one or two individual barfs a year; no full-on sickness lasting more than a day. 

I decided to do for RSV what I had done for Long Covid – if no one could tell me how to beat it, I would figure it out for myself. 

I looked up anything and everything I could find that was researched as a viral inhibitor for RSV. I noticed they were all almost bitters – Wormwood, Gential, Calamus, Dandelion (Licorice seemed to be the lone exception). I started mixing them into a tea – hence the name “NasTea,” and eventually figured out it was easier and used far less material if I ground it up and spoonfed it to the kids with honey or a vitamin gummy. Then I discovered that the absolute easiest way was to get a capsule machine, some gelatin capsules, and voila! I still have to spoon it to the younger kids who can’t swallow capsules though, or break a capsule into their mouths. 

One key thing I realized from both my experience and my research is just how tenacious viruses are. Once they’re in there, it’s basically impossible to dislodge them or meaningfully fight them, because by the time symptoms are full-blown, the active virus is already gone, and only the leftover inflammation and effects are left. The only effective way is to stop them before they can get traction in your system. Slow them down, and your body still mounts an immune response (aka “symptoms”), but the symptoms are peanuts. More importantly, your kids’ symptoms are peanuts.

Like we were, you’ll be told that there’s nothing you can do. But it’s not true. 

*bonus: in case you’re wondering: my kids not getting sick is my #1 priority for me. But I’ve discovered many many people are coming back to me and telling me it’s helping many other symptoms, especially GI-related. 

2. YOU WILL NEED: 

Herbco.com/SF Herb Co. (I tend to use Herbco; they’re both similar but SF Herbs skewers you on shipping)

–Wormwood (3 parts) (if you live in the upper midwest, you can find this EVERYWHERE)

–Gentian Root (1 part)

–Calamus (1 part)

-(Powdered) Ginger (1/2 part)

No more than 1/3 part of the optional ingredients:

-(optional as an alt to Ginger) (from your yard/garden) dried Lemon Balm Leaf, instead of Ginger. Lemon Balm (*over time can slow thyroid though). 

-(optional)(from your yard) Dried dandelion leaf. Honestly, you should be eating that anyways though, everyday fresh from your unsprayed yard.

-(optional) Licorice (Careful! I use DGL otherwise I get heart palpitations), Black Pepper, Blackseed, Clove (if you suspect bacterial).

Mason Jars + Lids

#00 Capsule stuffer tool (e.g. link – look for deals on this; should be ~$45)

#00 Separated animal gelatin capsules (from Aliexpress) (link – same, you can typically find 1,000 for $6 or $7)

Grinder (*I use an electric coffee grinder)

(Optional) Labels or labeling system

(Optional) Mason Jar Sealer (e.g. link) – optional, but highly recommend having one.

Plate + Spoon, for stuffing

(Optional) if you’re using a 100-capsule stuffer, I’d recommend getting tweezers/grabbers to help flip wayward capsules. You’ll see why once you use it.

All said and done, it’ll probably run about $100 if you go whole hog and get enough for 500-1000 capsules. But (a) it’s worth it, and (b) you may find, as I did, that you wind up stuffing alot of capsules for alot of different reasons. Dandelion leaf, for example, significantly reduces or even eliminates the side-effects of alcohol – good news for people who get headaches or whatnot when they drink. You may just want to capsule it, for convenience… and next thing you know you’re capsuling left and right. It’s a bit like getting chickens or planting a garden – they’re all probably categorized under the same NSA radicalization watchlists. Next thing you know you’ll be capsuling milk thistle seed, herbs for thyroid or sleep – STOP IT YOU RADICAL!

3. HOW TO MAKE IT

1. Assemble herbs. Mix in grinder. 3 parts Wormwood, 1 part other bitters, 1/2 part ginger, 1/3-1/4 part anything else, including Licorice (not too much of other stuff! Simpler is better here). 
2. Stuff Capsules
3. Label! If you get a sealer: Reseal mason jars with herbs. If not using a batch for a while, place in a small major jar and seal that. 
4. Crush sickness; lather, rinse, repeat. 

4. MOST IMPORTANTLY: HOW TO USE IT.

I usually take NasTea once, a single #00 capsule – in the evening, doesn’t matter with or without food (it’ll also help your digestion if you’re eating meat or animal fats, and I strongly suspect it clamps down on sugar spikes AND deworms, so that’s a bonus!). A little Wormwood is also a great punishment for Matilda who tells lies. Pro parenting tip. 

That being said: essentially, keep taking NasTea until you feel more or less back to stable. If your symptoms don’t seem to be receding, keep taking it. Rule of thumb: if you have any symptoms whatsoever, or feel “it” coming, take a NasTea, and keep taking once or twice a day until all clear. 

With lab-designed viruses, you’ll need more because they replicate unnaturally fast. If you suspect it’s lab-designed (factors: loooong incubation, wildly different symptoms in everybody, brain fog, a “progression” of symptoms that starts with one thing and turn into another and another) – take a double dose. But I rarely find I need to do this, even when I suspect what’s flying around is manmade.

Now: most people think of themselves as getting sick when they get symptoms. This, strictly speaking, this isn’t accurate. Symptoms are essentially the peak of the illness. But long before any symptoms happen, the virus has been at work, replicating. Typical viruses have a 1-3 day incubation period; viruses that have been, let’s just say, creatively designed tend to have an incubation period much longer – 7-10 days or so. In other words: if you got your symptoms, say, Wednesday, strictly speaking the infection probably began on Sunday or Monday – your body just didn’t fully respond until Wednesday when the viral infection got out of hand. Typically, by that point, the viral replication cycle is almost fully burned itself out – the “big” symptoms that you experienced are mostly in response to a flood of dead viral debris. 

All that is to say: recall what I mentioned at the beginning: NasTea works by stopping multiplication of the virus – aka “replication.” If you wait until you’re experiencing raging symptoms, there’s probably not much more viral replication that’s taking place – you’ve already been infected for several days, and now replication is tapering off. At this point, your symptoms are just your body fighting off the last hordes, and trying to flush out a myriad dead cells that have been slaughtered after they defected to the enemy.

From this, two conclusions: 

First: the sooner you take NasTea in the viral cycle the better. As you get better, you’ll start to catch your symptoms earlier, paying attention to things like bloating, tiredness, blurred vision, mood, or what’s flying around in your community. That being said, occasionally I’ll give it to the kids when they wake up at 3am with a raging sore throat, etc., and thus far 100% of the time they’re back to normal by wakeup. We often take it prophylactically – we went to the big parish event or birthday party; wait until next day, then time to NasTea! Inhibiting the viral replication probably won’t do much if symptoms are already raging, although it might shorten the misery. 

Second: YOU SHOULD STILL EXPERIENCE SOME SYMPTOMS. I can’t emphasize this enough. Ideally, you want to experience symptoms, because that’s your body registering an immune blueprint that, if you’re under the age of 55, you’ll probably have for the rest of your life (older than that and your body’s immune memory tends to get progressively more iffy). Success here means a stuffy nose instead of a sore throat; a tired feeling instead of barfs; one afternoon of being “off” versus several days of being ko’d.

Third: if a single dose of NasTea doesn’t do the trick, keep taking it until you’re better, either once or twice a day. If this virus is particularly stubborn or a fast replicator, it may take more than one dose to squash it. Other than cost, there’s no downside to keep taking it – my experience, both firsthand and vicarious, is that contrary to FDA-approved mythology, you’d have to take alot of this stuff to overdose. Alot. 

FAQ:

• Can I take it if I’m pregnant? Up to you. I know alot of pregnant women who have taken it, and no problems yet. As always, it’s up to your own discretion on this one.
• Can I take it if I’m breastfeeding? Will it hurt the baby? Again, up to you. I know alot of women who have taken it while nursing an infant, and it hasn’t done any harm yet. In fact, there have been several cases where it’s definitely seemed to help the infant – beat back RSV, etc.
• How often do I take it? See above: as often as you feel symptoms coming on, or suspect you’ve been exposed to a viral infection. I generally don’t take more than 2x daily, although I’ve known people who’ve taken 6-8/day during an active infection and said it helped.
• Can kids take it? Up to you. I know alot of kids who have taken it and no problems yet. I typically give kids 1/3 capsule – if they can’t swallow a full capsule, I break it apart and give them 1/3. Rough, because they don’t like the taste. But, bonus! builds character!
• Will it help with a bacterial infection? Likely not. See this article.
• How do I know if it’s a viral infection vs. bacterial infection? See above – the same article.
• What should I do for a bacterial infection? the article.
• Any viral infections that it doesn’t work for? the article (Norovirus – sort of.)
• Covid? -> the article
• Doesn’t wormwood have a hallucinogenic compound? Haha. No. You’ll have to get your high somewhere else, sorry. The FDA claims thujone, a compound found in wormwood, “may” have “hallucinogenic or psychotropic effects” – but meanwhile, common sage has ~50% more thujone. No hallucinations reported for sage-stuffed Turkey. Also, studies where wormwood caused kidney or other damage had animals taking doses that would be proportionally ~50x-100x more than you taking a 1g capsule.
• I get an upset tummy after taking it. Bitters promote a strong enzyme and bile response that can be irritating if they don’t have enough fat or protein to “attack” (note: you can also take NasTea to help with fat-heavy meals – yay!). Try taking a vitamin C with the NasTea, or lowering your NasTea dose, or eating alot of fat when you take it.
• If I’m barfing/fevering, will NasTea make it stop? No, sorry. It might help shorten the overall sickness – or it might make you barf again. But “sickness” isn’t symptoms – symptoms are what follows an infection, not the actual infection. Barfing and fevering are responses due to cells being hijacked by an out-of-control viral infection – at that point, the only solution is to let your body kill those cells (short story: NasTea stops the virus from replicating – once the virus has replicated out-of-control, it’s too late to do anything except barf or fever or etc. to eliminate/kill/flush the infected cells.