The Amazing Benefits of Chamomile Tea

What’s in Your Teacup Today?  Is it Chamomile Tea?

While black tea remains the most popular of all the teas and peppermint is the most popular herbal tea (according to Google), chamomile is one of the most well-known herbs, especially as an evening bedtime tea.  Feathery light green leaves.  Dainty white petals. Small swollen yellow centers.  Beautiful, lovely, chamomile. There are so many amazing benefits of chamomile tea.

I have quite the herbal stash.  Herbs make up a huge portion of my wellness basket.  Jars of dried herbs line up my kitchen shelves.  Chamomile is in one of my pretty blue mason jars.  It’s also an ingredient in several blends in my tea drawer.  Yes!  My tea gets its own shelf AND a drawer!  My absolute favorite tea blend containing chamomile, Quiet Child, is made at Mountain Rose Herbs (no affiliate connection at this time). I do like to make my own though- a nice blend of Chamomile, Tulsi, and Dandelion. I love, however a few others that you can purchase on Amazon if you wish: Tulsi Honey Chamomile, Chamomile Lavender, and Calm Chamomile. Some of these may be available at your local merchants as well.

What Are the Amazing Benefits of Chamomile Tea?

There are so many! Here’s a bit of information about the most popular:

Sleep Assistance – This is perhaps the most widely known benefit of chamomile tea.  Research shows that chamomile tea may have sedative effects because of the flavonoid, apigenin, it contains that bind to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain. This is why chamomile helps to ease anxiety and plays a role in inducing sleep.

Cold Symptoms – Some studies suggest inhaling the constituents in chamomile tea (the steam) can relieve some of the symptoms of the common cold.  This is a great reason to hold that cup of tea under your nose while it’s steeping!

Reducing Inflammation – Like many herbs, chamomile contains chemical compounds that may help reduce inflammation.

Diabetes and Blood Sugar – While chamomile alone can’t substitute medications, research does show that it may be helpful in lowering blood sugar with consistent consumption.

Nutritive – Chamomile does contain some nutritional benefits.  It’s not as high as some herbs (nettle has an extraordinary amount if you let it steep long) but it does contain small amounts of vitamin A, beta-carotene, folate and choline.  It contains smaller amounts of magnesium and a few other minerals.

Chamomile may also be good for addressing the following:

Headache

Pink Eye (as a compress)

Leaky Gut

Depression

Indigestion

Menstrual pain

ADD/ADHD

Eczema and Dermatitis

Stress

Receding Gums

Wounds

Is Chamomile Safe to Drink Everyday?

Absolutely yes!  Unless you happen to have allergies to the daisy family (Asteraceae), chamomile should be very safe for everyone, including young children. One can safely consume several cups daily.  This increases the effectiveness of the herb.  Three to four cups of tea a day may be helpful for digestive distress. Also, the more potent the tea, the more likely you will feel the health benefits.  Most tea bags are not all that full.  If I’m using a tea bag rather than my own dried herbs or herbs I buy from trustworthy sources such as Mountain Rose Herbs, I generally use two teabags. I steep the teabags for a minimum of 10 minutes or until tolerably cool. I often go for 20 minutes to make sure I’m getting all of the amazing benefits of chamomile tea! Don’t forget to cover your tea or hold close to your face allowing yourself to breathe in the steam so you can benefit from the aromatic or volatile constituents of the tea.

Do you have chamomile in your wellness basket?  What is your favorite way to work with chamomile?  Share below!