Herbal tea and infusions have been on the block now for thousands of years throughout the world, offering the population a healthy and comforting alternative to either the standard coffee or regular black tea option. Tea, in all of its different and unique forms, is widely loved and cherished everywhere, for many different reasons, with health benefits being at the forefront of them.
The aim of this blog post is to take a look at the whole host of benefits that drinking both green tea and various other herbal infusions has, not only for our mental well-being but also for our overall physical health. Before that though, I wanted to share my personal experience with regards to my own love-love relationship with herbal tea.
Growing up in Ireland myself, green tea and herbal infusions barely got a look-in, unfortunately, when it came to tea consumption in my household. Ireland, along with the UK, was and still seems to be a country that prides itself on “normal” tea drinking. Phrases like “will you have a cuppa” or “I’ll stick the kettle on now and make you a cuppa” were pretty much the equivalent of saying good morning for as long as I can remember. Strangely, the herbal side of tea was, for me anyway (and I’m not too sure why) commonly associated with people of an upper class, or picky or fussy eaters and drinkers. Something that, of course, now when I think about it, is nothing short of bonkers.
So, then, let’s get right into the thick of it! Why am I encouraging you so much to consume herbal tea and infusions? Not only does drinking this type of tea increase your life expectancy and energy levels, it can also boost your mood in a variety of different ways. Read on to uncover more about how herbal tea and infusions can benefit you in your life.
Want to get over the after-lunch slump without the shaky, jittery, nerves-gone-wild effect? Well then, look no further than green tea. It contains less caffeine than black tea and coffee – roughly 35 mg per 8-ounce (230-ml) cup, which is far less than what an average cup of black tea or coffee would have.
Green tea: a healthier alternative to maintain your productivity after lunch
Let’s face it, we’ve all been there: we’ve had a hectic, no-time-to-stop kind of morning at work and, unsurprisingly, once lunch arrives, we naturally fall into the lounging on the sofa in front of the fire after Christmas dinner mode. It’s precisely at this moment then where that all-too-familiar dilemma knocks on your front door: either get an immediate caffeine overdrive and risk not being able to wind down properly before going to bed when you finish work, or not get your work done before your looming deadlines.
So, if you’re falling asleep at your desk (or at home) but still want to be able to easily nod off come bedtime, green tea could easily become your timely saviour. You will still benefit from that boost of caffeine-influenced energy, but you’ll be feeling much less angsty, and a much better nights sleep will await. Hasta la vista coffee after lunch!
Green tea is most certainly your heart’s friend
Not only can green tea reduce your blood pressure and cholesterol, but it can also greatly decrease your chances of suffering from blood vessel plaque formation. Moreover, various different reviews of green tea studies that have been carried out have found that individuals who drink green tea on a regular basis (particularly those who drink between one to three cups of green tea a day) are far less likely to have a stroke or heart attack in their lifetime.
Green tea’s antioxidants steering you in the right direction
Green tea is rich in antioxidants, due to the fact that it is processed immediately which allows the beverage to boast a numerous amount of non-heart related health benefits too. These include the following:
- green tea significantly aids your metabolism when burning fat
- green tea helps balance cholesterol levels
- green tea can greatly hinder the growth and development of cancerous cells
- green tea has been proven to boost weight loss
Suffering from muscle or stomach pain? Mint herbal tea could be just what you need
Mint or peppermint herbal tea not only possesses an invigorating aroma and taste that will instantly make you feel incredibly refreshed, but it so too contains the sufficient amount of peppermint oil that aids stomach discomfort and bloating, general discomfort in the gastrointestinal area, as well as muscle pain and tenderness. Not only that, but due to the fact that mint and peppermint tea contain monoterpene compounds, it has been proven that this specifically targets the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome.
Ginger herbal tea’s spicy and zesty kick
Most commonly known for its ability to sooth a croaky voice or sore throat, ginger tea’s sensationally strong taste can be the perfect way to drag you out of your dark slumber in the morning, as well as improve your crackly throat. That’s not all though, far from it! Consuming ginger tea, (which contains iron, potassium, vitamin C, and gingerol) does you the world of good in terms of boosting your immune system and fighting off inflammation, thanks, at large, to its gingerol component, which has been found to be the number one disease-tackling component that ginger possesses.
Camomile: seemingly a cure for anything
From insomnia to digestive issues, from wound healing to anxiety, camomile tea can help with a host of varying medical issues. It is, certainly in modern times, quite the underrated tea if you ask me. The stand-out quality that camomile (Greek for Earth apple) herbal tea possesses is undoubtedly its soothing, comforting, and sensually pleasing effect that is, simply put, quite heavenly.
Enjoying a dosage of camomile is the ideal way to calmly transform ourselves from the chaotic rush of modern-day life into a calm, restful, and extremely peaceful state. It is, and rightly so, so often associated with aiding one’s sleep or calming one’s restlessness and anxiety thanks to its apigenin component, but, the daisy-like herb can also promote mental well-being, significantly reducing moderate to severe generalised anxiety disorder symptoms, as this 2016 comprehensive study demonstrated.
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