Green Drink Reviews

Carqueja: Cleaning the Body and the Back Yard

March 1st, 2008

Whenever I hear the name carqueja, I remember my childhood in the interior of Brazil and going outside with my grandmother to search for the special plants that would be dried and bound together at the end of long sticks to make brooms. That’s how carqueja is known in the countryside of Brazil. And it’s used by the people of the region for sweeping their dirt paths and backyard areas.

In the same back woods culture, carqueja is also used by the men. They put it inside their booze to create an infusion that helps protect the liver from the harmful effects of…well…the booze itself, including the unwanted acquisition of intestinal parasites. So it’s just as common in the bars of these old, back-home towns as it is in the homes. And it comes accompanied by a long story.

Carqueja originates in the Peruvian Andes. It’s part of a group of plants native to the region that includes Paraguay, Southern Brazil, Agentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia. In the hillsides of Argentina, it’s believed that carqueja is an aphrodisiac and it’s used to combat female infertility. In some old Brazilian traditions, women take baths in carqueja to help increase their chances of getting pregnant.

Carqueja is a succulent with long, three-sided stalks from which sprout thin white hairs. Along the edges of this three-bladed sword bloom small white flowers in cute little clusters. It’s a bitter herb and that’s why it’s also known as “bitter carqueja.” But in this bitterness lies a nectar that helps cure many health problems.

Carqueja is recommended for fever, gastro-intestinal problems, gingivitis, gout, female infertility, male erectile dysfunction, gastritis, obesity, intestinal problems, diarrhea and rheumatism. It also helps reduce cholesterol and strengthens the intestines. It’s a diuretic, so it helps with kidney and bladder problems, and, let’s not forget, helps rid the body of parasites.

This interesting plant is used to cure hypoglycemia and anemia. It has antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-parasitic properties and is a febrifuge (fever reducer). As you can see, it’s a versatile little plant and a natural remedy for many ills. And it is widely used in natural beauty products throughout South America, including children’s shampoo (where it helps fight lice) and shampoo for oily hair. Carqueja is most often harvested in the summer, since in Brazil, we tend to start our fitness regimens rather late and this plant is used in many weight loss programs. It is used by many to help them show off in those scant summer fashions.

So whether or not we swept up the back yard with it, we were never without carqueja at my house.

See all: exotic cures