Folk Remedy – Tehran, Iran

Nationality: Iranian-American
Age: 53
Occupation: Executive
Residence: Calabasas, CA
Performance Date: April 22, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Farsi

“To cure a stomachache, drink hot tea, like early grey tea, with “nabaat” (sugar rocks), and mint water.”

My mom says that in Iran, everybody knows to drink tea (or “cha-ee”) with “nabaat” and mint water (or “abeh nanah”) when they have a stomachache. She said that hot tea is a very popular drink in Iran.  Some of my family drink more tea than they drink water, so it is not unusual to find that tea can serve as therapeutic cure.  Tea with mint water and “nabaat” is a well-known cure that everybody accepts as true.  There are no medical or scientific tests to prove this, but all of the three components are known to ease the pains of a stomachache.  This “recipe” is not written done either; it is just passed on orally between people and down generations.  Since it is widely accepted in Iran, my mom cannot trace back to exactly who told her about this drink.  However, she believes it is an actual cure and she has given it to me whenever I have had any stomachaches.  I personally think that it is a natural, effective cure for stomachaches.  Whenever I tell my friends to drink hot tea with mint water and sugar rocks, almost all of the reactions I get are skepticism and doubt.  They mostly think that it is probably a placebo effect and that it is all psychological rather than an actual effect.  However, I made some of my friends try the tea and they all started to believe the actual therapeutic effects of the tea.