Herbal Tea Benefits: 7 Best Reasons To Drink Tea Everyday

In this post, you’ll learn about the benefits of drinking herbal tea.

For many centuries, herbal tea has been used in different parts of the world for its refreshing, energizing, and medicinal value. 

Ancient folks encouraged drinking tea to maintain and improve good health.

While the benefits of herbal tea have long been known by our ancestors, it’s only now that modern science and research is beginning to affirm its potent values. 

And the evidence from research is growing stronger. 

Studies show herbal tea contains essential medicinal effects that can improve immunity and prevent illness. 

We will take a look at some of the important benefits of herbal tea in a moment.

But first, what is herbal tea?

What is herbal tea?

Herbal tea is an aqueous infusion of an edible plant in hot or cold water. This infusion lasts for some time. 

The goal is to extract the phytochemical constituents in the plant materials. 

Herbal tea is often infused with different ingredients. Some of these ingredients include roots, tree barks, seeds. 

Traditionally, the term “tea” was used to refer to edible parts of the tea plant, Camellia Sinensis. 

In that sense, some would argue that herbal “tea”, depending on the plant infused, might not necessarily be part of the tea family.

Herbal teas have long been used for its medicinal and heal effects. 

Take the ancient Chinese tea, Astragalus tea, for example. It has a lot of anti-bacterial properties that tend to help people living with HIV and AIDS. 

Other Chinese herbal teas are used to cure several illnesses.

Examples of most common types herbal teas include:

• Green tea
• Ginger tea
• Black tea
• White tea
• Cinnamon tea
• Ginseng tea
• Peppermint tea
• Chamomile tea
• Lemon Balm tea

What are the benefits of drinking herbal tea?

Besides the medicinal value, herbal teas are just great to drink. 

It provides more energy and helps you to relax. And even when you have stomach problems, it can help soothe it out. 

Let’s take a detailed look at the benefits of herbal teas.

1. Reduce blood pressure

Researchers from Tufts University looked into the role of hibiscus tea.

The study’s focus was on hypertensive and diabetic patients with hypertension. 

Their findings were published in The Journal of Nutrition. And they found that drinking hibiscus tea daily helps to reduce blood pressure. 

In another study, researchers found that drinking sour tea (Hibiscus sabdariffa) had positive effects on the blood pressure in patients with type II diabetes.

2. Lowers risk of thyroid cancer

In a study published in the European Journal of Public Health, researchers looked into the effects of chamomile tea.

They found that people who frequently drank chamomile tea had a lower risk of thyroid cancer and thyroid diseases. 

Overall, they also found a positive link between how long you drink tea and the reduction in the disease risk.

3. Helps with weight loss

A study investigated the impact of herbal tea, specifically, SlimTea.

The researchers wanted to see how it can help intervene for overweight and diabetic participants. 

The findings suggest drinking herbal team led to about 4 lbs (2 kg) weight loss. 

So if you want to stop gaining weight or even lose that belly fat, drinking herbal tea regularly can be helpful for you.

4. Improves sleep quality

The number of hours you sleep and how deeply you sleep determine the quality of your sleep. 

Most of us find it difficult to get the quality of sleep we want. 

Not only do we toss and turn in bed. But we also struggle to relax before bed. And we are unable to completely shut off our brain or even the noise around us.

This is especially true for new mothers with their infants. 

Scientific research into maternal health  (also see this study) found that lavender and chamomile herbal tea improved sleep quality. 

The herbal tea also helped to improve the mood of new mothers. 

5. Can lower risk of diabetes

A recent study examined the effects of chamomile tea on glycemic indices and antioxidant status in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The researchers recruited 32 patients. Patients drank chamomile tea for 8 weeks. 

The findings reported in Nutrition showed a reduction in significant diabetes indicators.

It also concluded that Chamomile tea may be useful in lowering diabetes risk factors.

6. Fight against cold and flu

Drinking herbal tea as a way to fight off cold has been around for ages. 

Recent studies have found confirmation from scientific research to confirm this. 

One study found that drinking herbal tea is an effective way to relieve early cold or flu symptoms.

7. Provides stress relief

Stress is part of daily life. One of the benefits of herbal tea is that it helps to relieve stress. 

A study investigated how drinking tea can help students who are vulnerable to stress. 

The students revealed that drinking tea was beneficial for them especially in times of stress.

Takeaway

With the improvement in science and technology, humans are living longer. And global life expectancy is increasing. 

But living longer is not just enough. You want to live healthier too.

And it’s clear from the research that important diet and lifestyle changes need to happen if we’re going to live longer.  

Drinking herbal tea is one of the changes. It can help you improve our heart and cognitive health as you live longer.