Health Benefits of Chamomile Tea

Health Benefits of Chamomile Tea

Chamomile Tea health benefits includes relieving menstrual cramps, promoting restful sleep, managing symptoms of anxiety and depression, promoting oral health, improving heart health, reducing stress and preventing premature aging. Other benefits includes stimulating the immune system, treating allergies, reducing inflammation and pain, and promoting overall health of the skin.

 Records of chamomile tea consumption dates back as far as centuries, thanks to its versatility and smooth taste. In fact, when one thinks of soothing teas, chamomile is likely to be the first one that comes to mind, promoting a sense of tranquility and peace.

As it turns out rest and relaxation is not all that chamomile is going on for it, as it possesses many other beneficial effects which could be of benefit to you.

11 Amazing Health Benefits of Chamomile Tea

1. Can Help Relieve Menstrual Cramps

A woman's menstrual period is one of the most uncomfortable times for her, characterized by bloating, cramps, irritability and more. Often, true relief is far less help with these symptoms but chamomile tea can be of some assistance. Chamomile tea possesses anti-spasmodic properties, which can relieve the painful cramps associated with menstrual periods. Chamomile tea also helps relieve stomach and intestinal cramps, caused by bloating or indigestion. Some over the counter cramp remedies also include chamomile as an ingredient, although the tea is an effective and soothing remedy.

2. Chamomile Tea Promotes Restful Sleep

Millions of people around the world turn to sedatives in an attempt to sleep , but usually these medications are rife with side effects that make their regular consumption troublesome. In addition, many of these medications are habit forming, in the sense that prolonged usage leads to changes in the brain that addiction and addiction addiction. Without them, sleep becomes a tough task. Enter chamomile tea, a safe, all-natural remedy that has the mechanism of action at the same receptor site that many of these medications. The result? Induction of sleep, without the change that causes dependence and tolerance as prescription medications. Sleep quality is also better than when using sedatives, as the individual experiences restorative deep sleep sleep.

3. Manage Symptoms of Anxiety And Depression

Chamomile tea is well established for its relaxing effects, making its use for sleep very popular, but it also helps to relieve anxiety and depression . A compound named apigenin found in chamomile tea helps reduce the impact of excitatory neurotransmitter and hormones on the mind and body, helping to soothe the over firing sympathetic nervous system. Chamomile tea also helps to modulate the action of dopamine and serotonin, helping to reduce or at least reduce the impact of depressive symptoms.

4. Chamomile Tea Helps Promote Oral Health

The health of your teeth and gums can tell a lot about our overall health, as the mouth serves as a gateway to the blood stream. Thus, inflamed, or infected gums and unhealthy teeth make it easy for bacteria to enter the blood stream and wreak havoc on the body. These bacteria are implicated in serious conditions such as heart disease, and can decrease overall immunity as a result. Chamomile tea possesses antibacterial properties which reduce bacterial colonies in the mouth that may deteriorate health. Just lightly swish the tea around your mouth before drinking for added benefits. Chamomile tea can also help ease the discomfort associated with cancer sores or tooth aches, making it an all-round oral health superstar!

Chamomile May Improve Heart Health

In addition to alleviating the added threat of bacterial heart disease, chamomile tea is also rich in flavonoids which are beneficial to the health of the heart . This protective effect was greatest in the elderly individuals, where it was found to have a strong correlation with reduced mortality from heart related complications.

6. Chamomile Helps Reduce Your Stress Burden

Stress is a cumulative beast, getting worse each day that goes without relief. Often, it is not difficult to resolve, as some good rest will often reset your body and help normalize hormone levels. Sometimes, getting that actual sleep can be difficult. For one reason or another, but often also as a result of adrenalin's stimulatory effect, sleep does not come naturally - the urge is just not there. Chamomile makes it easy to sleep, reducing your stress in the process. GABA levels rise, and cortisol is pushed down as the body recognizes that there is no active threat to our survival.

7. Prevents Aging

Free radical damage is one of the contributors to premature aging of the skin, usually brought on by UV damage and a poor diet loaded with pro-inflammatory processed food. Chamomile tea with its generous anti-oxidant helps to buffer the effects of increased oxidation, as it can help stabilize the dangerous free radicals. Drinking anything with more water is also extremely helpful, as your skin needs adequate hydration to look radiantly young.

8. Stimulates The Immune System

A large part of chamomile tea's immune boosting effect is due to its anti-bacterial properties, but it also does far more. For one, by reducing the oxidative stress load, the immune system is not recruited as often to destroy cells that undergo pre-cancerous changes. Plus, the many phenolic and flavonoid compounds found in chamomile tea also help stimulate the action of leukocytes and T-cells, which are some of the body's first line defense against infection and danger. This makes chamomile tea particularly attractive in immunocompromised individuals who need to make every effort to boost the immune system.

9. Can Helps Temper Allergies

This one is actually a catch 22, as it will work in some people but not in others. You see, chamomile is closely related to daisies or chrysanthemums, which are allergens to some people, but not to others. Chamomile tea can help reduce allergic sensitivities in persons who do not have an allergy to these families, so that you are better equipped to deal with allergy symptoms when it comes around. These allergens could include dust, pollen, mites or even peanuts, as the way it works is to reduce the recruitment of antibodies to these substances when we come in contact with them, along with a reduced histamine response.

10. Reduce Inflammation And Pain

If you suffer from chronic inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis or IBS, chamomile tea can help you out. Apart from reducing the inflammatory response of the immune system, the chamomile also works to reduce the sensation of pain by inhibiting the COX enzyme. This enzyme promotes the synthesis of pro-inflammatory compounds such as prostaglandins and is one of the ways in which NSAID pain killers work. It is important that you get the root cause of the swelling if you can, as the suppressing inflammation and pain is just a short fix for your condition.

11. Promotes Overall Health Of Your Skin

We briefly mentioned how the chamomile tea can reduce the signs of premature aging, but its benefits on skin extend beyond that. Chamomile tea contains essential oils which penetrate the lipid layers of the skin where they reinforce its structural integrity so that moisture is kept within the skin. Chamomile tea has been consumed, and applied to the skin as well since ancient times, helping to manage acne breakouts, skin ulcers and wounds, along with burns and abscesses.

Chamomile also reduces the appearance of age spots, dark circles under the eyes and even helps to minimize the appearance of scars and stretch marks. It is believed that these effects have a mechanism relating to collagen synthesis, as its benefits resemble those of increasing collagen synthesis in the body.