10 Teas That Will Make You Healthier | Nutrition & Dieting slideshows | Well Being center

Green Tea, White Tea, And Black Tea

Green tea boasts a bevy of proven health benefits that are shared by the more often consumed black (orange Pekoe) tea and white tea. To get the benefits of green tea in treating certain kinds of cancer and for losing weight, you really should be taking a green tea supplement, preferably one that contains caffeine (which, in the real world, is actually extracted from coffee and then added to the green tea). But for general relaxation, gently lowered blood pressure, and keeping your mouth and throat healthy and free from infections, it's hard to beat a nice, warm cup of quick-brewed green tea.

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Ginger Tea For Tummy Trouble

One of the favorite home remedies for digestive upsets is ginger tea, brewed by pouring hot water over freshly sliced ginger. For making tea, you want to use fresh ginger, not pickled, candied, or dried ginger. Make your ginger tea in a tea pot or in a cup covered with a saucer so the healing volatile oils in the herb don't escape, and use water that is just about to boil, rather than water heated to a rolling boil. Ginger also helps to protect the digestive tract against parasites, particularly those found in fish. That is a usually unmentioned benefit of eating any kind of ginger with sushi. Ginger teas are also useful in treating motion sickness and morning sickness in pregnancy.

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Photo courtesy of CINNAMON VOGUE by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/cinnamonvogue/8261123445/
Chen LW, Low YL, Fok D, Han WM, Chong YS, Gluckman P, Godfrey K, Kwek K, Saw SM, Soh SE, Tan KH, Chong MF, van Dam RM. Dietary changes during pregnancy and the postpartum period in Singaporean Chinese, Malay and Indian women: the GUSTO birth cohort study. Public Health Nutr. 2013 Jun 28:1-9.

Lavender Tea For Calming Headache Relief

The sweet scent of lavender is nociceptive, it relieves both mental and physical pain, especially the pain of tension headaches. Preserving the pain relieving qualities of lavender tea, however, requires brewing the tea in the right way. It is essential to avoid boiling lavender tea because the essential oils in the herb are volatile. If they are boiled, they will escape the tea. Use water that is barely bubbling and brew the tea in an enclosed vessel, such as a teapot or a tea cup covered by a saucer. Lavender tea is also especially soothing when you have a gum infection. The warm (not hot) tea relieves pain and fights infectious bacteria.

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Photo courtesy of sakuraboy by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/andrewjoslyn/4067217756/
Yap PS, Lim SH, Hu CP, Yiap BC. Combination of essential oils and antibiotics reduce antibiotic resistance in plasmid-conferred multidrug resistant bacteria.Phytomedicine. 2013 Jun 15
20(8-9):710-3. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2013.02.013. Epub 2013 Mar 26.

Rosemary Tea For Brain Power

Rosemary tea, professional herbalists tell us, is a brain remedy. It gently stimulates circulation to the brain It helps dispel "brain fog" and increases alertness during periods of fatigue. Gently increasing circulation has beneficial effects in other parts of the body, too. Improved circulation helps soothe sore muscles. It helps prevent muscle cramps. Rosemary also stimulates circulation and helps relieve water weight. Containing many antibacterial compounds, rosemary tea also helps control some of the bacteria that can cause food poisoning. (The tea doesn't make spoiled food safe, but it can help prevent infection.) Rosemary tea should be brewed in an enclosed container (either a teapot or a cup with a saucer on top, for instance) for about 10 minutes for maximum flavor and benefit. The tea can be drunk hot, warm, or cold.

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Jongberg S, Tørngren MA, Gunvig A, Skibsted LH, Lund MN. Effect of green tea or rosemary extract on protein oxidation in Bologna type sausages prepared from oxidatively stressed pork.Meat Sci. 2013 Mar. 93(3):538-46. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2012.11.005. Epub 2012 Nov 16.

Lemongrass Tea For Citrusy Scented Relaxation

In much of the Southwestern United States during the Spanish colonial era, every household garden would have included te-de-limon, or lemongrass. Blissfully easy to grow, lemongrass thrives in just about any sunny, well-watered location, free of pests--it can be used as an insect repellent--and literally growing like a weed. If you have a problem growing lemongrass, it is usually due to it growing too well, not that it isn't growing well enough. In addition to making a refreshing, lemony beverage, lemon grass is used for relaxation. There is something about the lemon scent that aids in tension relief. Use lemongrass tea bags or snip 1/2 inch (approximately 1 cm) segments of foliage and brew in a teapot for 10 to 15 minutes.

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Soares MO, Alves RC, Pires PC, Beatriz P P Oliveira M, Vinha AF. Angolan Cymbopogon citratus used for therapeutic benefits: nutritional composition and influence of solvents in phytochemicals content and antioxidant activity of leaf extracts. Food Chem Toxicol. 2013 Aug 1. doi:pii: S0278-6915(13)00519-X. 10.1016/j.fct.2013.07.064.

Hibiscus "Lemonade"

Just about every large market in the USA will carry one or more brands of hibiscus tea. The tart, citrusy taste of hibiscus tea comes with an intense, deep red tint that makes a refreshing and visually attractive beverage. Mixtures of hibiscus tea, sugar, and lemon zest can be frozen to make granita. Just pour the tea, sweetened to taste and flavored with 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of lemon zest per quart (liter) of tea, into a tray and freeze, breaking up the crystals with the back of a fork before serving. Hibiscus tea gently lowers blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, and relaxes--but don't overdo. Excessive use of hibiscus can result in stomach upset.

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Hopkins AL, Lamm MG, Funk JL, Ritenbaugh C. Hibiscus sabdariffa L. in the treatment of hypertension and hyperlipidemia: a comprehensive review of animal and human studies. Fitoterapia. 2013 Mar. 85:84-94. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2013.01.003. Epub 2013 Jan 17.

Chamomile Tea For Digestive Upset

Throughout Latin America, also in North America and Europe, chamomile tea is a common household remedy for stomach upsets, headaches, muscular tension, and bad dreams. The active ingredient in chamomile tea, chamazulene, is released by brewing the tea in hot, but not boiling, water for 5 to 10 minutes. If you use chamomile tea bags, try to cover the tea cup with a saucer or a dish while the tea is brewing to keep the chamazulen in the tea. In rare instances, people have allergies to chamomile tea. Although there is some controversy in the medical literature, the best indications are that if you are allergic to ragweed, then you should avoid chamomile tea. Otherwise, enjoy!

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Kogiannou DA, Kalogeropoulos N, Kefalas P, Polissiou MG, Kaliora AC. Herbal infusions
their phenolic profile, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in HT29 and PC3 cells. Food Chem Toxicol. 2013 May 24. doi:pii: S0278-6915(13)00333-5. 10.1016/j.fct.2013.05.027. [Epub ahead of print].

Valerian Tea For Sleep

The ancient Romans referred to valerian as "phu," and not without reason. Valerian root has a particularly pungent odor that many people would find objectionable except that it induces safe and easy sleep even nervous tension is a issue. Valerian is often combined with another relaxation-inducing (but sweet-smelling) herb, passionflower, for bedtime use. In a prison in England where the combination of herbs was issued to prisoners for making tea to treat insomnia, many asked for bags to take with them when they were released. Valerian is not so much a sedative as it is an anxiety-blocker. When agitation occurs, it relieves it, but it does not commonly cause daytime drowsiness or other undesirable side effects.

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Wadey E. Many prisoners have asked if they can take a supply of tea bags with them when they leave. Ment Health Today. 2005 Dec-2006 Jan:22.

Ginkgo Tea

An extract of ginkgo leaves made by German pharmaceutical company Schwabe Arzneimittel has been tested over 2,000 times for efficacy in treating circulatory problems in the brain, age-related cognitive decline, and Alzheimer's disease, among other conditions. The kind of ginkgo used in these mostly successful treatments is a chemically derived extract of the leaf, not a ginkgo tea. However, brewing up a cup of ginkgo leaf tea, using either bagged tea or loose leaf gingko tea, can also give you an energy boost and maybe help your memory. Just be careful. If you have never drunk ginkgo tea before, start with just one or two sips, not a whole cup, to make sure you don't experience allergy or digestive upset. Ginkgo is also used in homemade skin treatments for age spots and sunburn.

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Dal Belo SE, Gaspar LR, Maia Campos PM. Photoprotective effects of topical formulations containing a combination of Ginkgo biloba and green tea extracts.Phytother Res. 2011 Dec. 25(12):1854-60. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3507. Epub 2011 Apr 25.

St. John’s Wort Tea

St. John's wort is the world's best known herbal antidepressant. Treating mild to moderate depression with St. John's wort requires a minimum dosage of its active ingredient hypericin. Getting less than 900 mg of hypericin per day may not result in any relief from depression symptoms. Getting a smaller dose of hypericin from St. John's wort tea, however, can relieve inflammation, headaches, and allergies that are "depressing." The tea may be just the boost you need when you are feeling achy, itchy, and down in the dumps, but you have not yet gotten into full-blown depression. Use the encapsulated product when you have more serious symptoms. Always seek professional help when you are having thoughts of suicide. Although St. John's wort is used for treating certain skin conditions, avoid excessive sun exposure when you are drinking the tea on a regular basis.

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Reuter J, Wölfle U, Weckesser S, Schempp C. Which plant for which skin disease? Part 1: Atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, condyloma and herpes simplex. J Dtsch Dermatol Ges. 2010 Oct. 8(10):788-96. doi: 10.1111/j.1610-0387.2010.07496.x. Epub 2010 Aug 5.