Herbal Tea

Health Benefits and Potential Harmful Effects

You know that drinking herbal tea is good for you. This type of drink is extremely common. We have it almost every day. It is refreshing and energizing. We enjoy the scent as well as the mild flavor. Additionally, you are recommended to take chamomile or ginger tea when you have a cold or headache.

At present, the medicinal properties of different types of herbs and, respectively, of herbal teas are widely discussed. More and more scientific evidence appears to support the claims that these drinks are extremely beneficial for the health. At the same time, scientific studies show some controversies as well. For all these reasons, it is worth discussing how good herbal tea is for you and in what quantities and forms.

It is worth learning more about this drink, in general. Herbal tea is a tea made from any other plant, apart from the tea plant Camellia sinensis. The different beverages are prepared with the use of various parts of the herbal plants. These include leaves, flowers, roots and seeds. Given the examples above, you use the flowers of chamomile to prepare tea and roots for ginger tea.

There are different ways to prepare the drink. You either boil the herbs in water or steep them in boiling water. Then the substance is strained and the beverage is ready. The making of liquid substances is essential for the effective absorption of the beneficial chemical compounds from the plants into the body.

There are numerous herbal tea varieties and almost all of them have or have been claimed to have medicinal properties. The common chamomile tea is known to have a relaxing effect on the body. It reduces inflammation and pain. Echinacea tea contains various chemical substances that have anti-inflammatory effect and boost the immune system. It is recommended for the treatment of cold and flu.

Ginger is an energy stimulant and aids the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. There are even speculations that ginger tea can reduce cholesterol. An herb called hawthorn and the tea made from it are also considered to reduce the formation of cholesterol in the arteries. The brewed beverage made from St. John's Wort is considered to be a natural anti-depressant.

These are just some of the most popular herbs that are considered to have medicinal properties. Various studies have found that the different varieties of herbal tea can be beneficial for the health in different ways. However, some of the findings are controversial. It is not uncommon for one study to show that an herb has beneficial effect on half of the participants while another one to claim that it has helped 90% of them.

Another aspect that should be taken into account is the dosage. Usually, herbal teas are made with relatively small amounts of the plant product. In turn, the beneficial nutrients that are available for the body to absorb are not much in quantity as well. Generally, in order for any type of medicine to take effect, a minimum amount of it has to be present in the body. That is why herbal tea has a mild effect. This comes to show a number of things. Firstly, you might not get the desired medicinal effect from the herbs. More importantly, you might not feel better at all.

A more serious issue with herbal teas is that they might be potentially dangerous. Herbs contain beneficial chemical compounds, but they have harmful ones as well. Using the example above, ginger aids the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, but it stimulates the production of gall, which may lead to gallstones. That is why this herbal medicine is not recommended to people suffering from this disease.

Even if a certain type of herbal tea is safe for use, in general, it might interact with some medications. This is another issue regarding the use of such drinks for medicinal purposes. That is why it is important for patients to consult their physicians about the regular consumption of herbal tea as part of their treatment.

Overall, you can readily drink herbal tea for relaxation and energizing. You might want to use it to get relief from cold or headache. Still, you should not expect it to do wonders. Furthermore, you have to protect yourself from potential side effect.