Immune Boosting Teas
It’s been my experience that baby steps are the true way to go when it comes to improving our health (This is of course barring any circumstances in which a person is in immediate danger according to their doctor.). Depending on the person and their ability/readiness to commit a great place to start may be by adding tea into the diet or using it to replace a drink you already have during the day. If you think about it, tea is healthy, quick, and easy to make. It also has benefits such as assisting in waking you up and with going to sleep! All you have to do is choose your tea wisely and it can help with an assortment of issues.
But to some, including me sometimes, most tea just tastes like dirt water. I personally like to mix in lemon,various fruits, and/or agave to make it more enjoyable, if that still doesn’t do it for you, but you want to drink tea for the benefits, I’m honestly going to say… you don’t have to, if you prefer fruits, eat fruits. If you prefer veggies, eat veggies. Foods are replaceable, and we should make sustainable changes to our diets if we wish to obtain long term success. Feel free to check out information we have in other blogs concerning the benefits of different foods. For the rest of you, let’s buckle in and get ready to learn about the wonderful world of TEA!
In this particular article we will be focusing on teas that will aid your immune system to function fully and properly in an effort to give you an edge when viruses and bacteria attack!
Our first favorite Immune Boosting Tea: Green Tea
Let’s start with green tea, and more specifically MATCHA. Matcha is a fine powder made from the entire leaves of the tea plant, Camellia Sinensis, and is low calorie. Just be sure you find one without sugar added (I’m looking at you Starbucks!). Since matcha powder is ground up leaves, it is full of antioxidants like catechins, ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol and β-carotene. which help protect and repair our bodies. It’s no wonder studies are finding that green tea also provides resistance to microbial infections and even tumors.
Specifically, green tea enhances the amount of “gamma delta T cells”, an immune cell. One study found that 6 cups of tea caused a 15 fold increase in production of these cells. In the elderly, even just gargling the green tea led to them being 7-8 times less likely to get influenza! You can imagine what ingesting the tea can do for your immune system. Or look at the studies that have found the antiviral effects of green tea to help against influenza, Herpes, and HIV, among others.
Our second favorite Immune Boosting Tea: Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea is herbal and caffeine free, made out of the dried flowers of chamomile. It’s long been known to help with sleep, but it’s also widely used to treat inflammation and various bacterial infections of the skin, mouth, mucous membranes, and respiratory tract. It’s loaded with antioxidants like terpenoids and flavonoids, which contribute to its anti inflammatory and anti bacterial effects. Reducing inflammation reduces risk of many diseases, like Cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The calming effects of chamomile tea helps with depression and stress, both of which can be damaging to our bodies. All that chamomile does aids our immune systems so they can function properly.
Our third favorite Immune Boosting Tea: Ginger Tea
Ginger itself has tons of benefits, so as a tea it’s just another great way to get more of it! It is typically used to help strengthen the digestive system, prevent nausea, and improve circulation. However, more research has found that ginger has high antioxidant, anti inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. The biggest reason it can do all this is due to the fact that it’s full of the polyphenols: gingerols, shogaols, and catechins. They help prevent and repair damage from free radicals and have been shown to inhibit the growth of different bacteria, fungi, and viruses. So ginger is a great sidekick to the immune system!
Along with helping us feel alert, sleep, or stay calm, the types of tea we drink can be loaded with antioxidants and compounds that help our systems run smoothly. It has long been known to help with colds, viruses and aid our digestive system, but now more and more research is coming out to support how healthy tea can be. Adding lemon, agave, cinnamon, and mint to any of these top three teas will add even more nutrient benefits and flavor. So however you take your tea, keep it coming!
Author: Carla Castro Trainer at Bare Health
Sources:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22353001
- https://www.med.kobe-u.ac.jp/journal/contents/54/E62.pdf
- https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2019/december/health-benefits-of-tea
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4576968/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6616534/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16970537
