Mention tea, and you may think of a genteel afternoon activity complete with finger sandwiches and scones. While taking time for tea is a lovely daily habit, drinking certain types of tea can yield a myriad of potent health benefits.
Stomach Soothers
If you suffer from nausea, heartburn, constipation, digestive distress or other gut issues, here are some types of teas to try:
- Peppermint: this tea helps quell nausea, reduce inflammation, and soothe an upset stomach.
- Ginger: you can buy ginger tea or make your own from ginger root. Ginger tea is helpful for nausea, and it works on one of the pro-inflammatory pathways in our body called the NF-kB pathway. It helps inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokines.
- Marshmallow root: this is helpful for repairing the damaged gut lining. If someone has a leaky gut or intestinal permeability, marshmallow root can help coat the stomach. It’s also helpful for easing symptoms of heartburn and constipation.
- Slippery elm: this bark comes from the elm tree. It’s known as a demulcent, which helps reduce inflammation and some digestive symptoms of IBS. You can get slippery elm in supplement or tea form.
- Green: this popular tea is full of health-promoting antioxidants, but the polyphenols it contains act as food for the gut bacteria.
- Pau d’arco: in the gut realm, this tea acts like an antimicrobial, particularly for fungal or bacterial overgrowth. Pau d’arco is found in many supplements Gabrielle may use for gut repair. You can also get Pau d’arco in supplement form which would be far more robust.
De-Stress & Sleep Soundly
If you suffer from anxiety and stress, consider the following: chamomile tea for its relaxation-promoting properties, and passion flower and lemon balm to reduce anxiety.
“Passion flower can be as effective as some anti-anxiety medications, as it helps increase GABA, which is a calming neurotransmitter,” said Gabrielle.
Organic India (Tulsi Sleep) and Traditional Medicinal (Organic Nighty Night) can enhance sleep and contain different herbs that help calm the brain and adrenals. According to Gabrielle, these teas could also be brewed during the day to help alleviate anxiety.
Other Top Tea Brands
While there are so many brands of teas on the market today, here are some Gabrielle recommends: Organic India, Traditional Medicinal, Yogi Tea, Numi Tea, and Pique Tea. You can find the first four in most grocery stores, health food stores and online, and Pique Tea is an online company only. One of the reasons Gabrielle likes these brands is because they pay attention to the quality and toxicity of the tea bags and have very minimal toxicants present. When purchasing tea, it’s always a good idea to choose organic.
May 19, 2022 at 11:49 PM
Very informative. Thanks for doing the research.