5 Evidence-Based Benefits of Chamomile Tea
Five Benefits Of Chamomile Tea
Chamomile, or Matricaria recutita, is a gentle tea that is safe to use daily. It has a soothing effect on the nervous system and digestive system. It is especially indicated for flatulence, indigestion, difficulty sleeping, and anxiety.
As a tea, chamomile is one of the best-known herbal remedies in Western cultures. As part of the daisy (Asteraceae) family, you may mistake the plant as being a smaller variant of daisies, while its dried flowers have a honey-like scent. Many of us have been handed or recommended a strong cup of chamomile tea as soon as we complained of trouble sleeping or a headache, but what is the evidence behind it?
A Brief History Of Chamomile As An Herbal Medicine
As for traditional evidence, chamomile may be one of the first herbal medicines ever recorded. Ancient Egyptians used chamomile as a remedy for fevers and dedicated the plant to the sun. Later in ancient Greece, chamomile was a popular medicine for headaches, as well as liver, kidney, and bladder diseases. From the Victorian era to today, chamomile has been recommended to soothe anxiety and indigestion.
Five Evidence-Based Benefits Of Chamomile
An increasing amount of scientific research backs up the uses of herbal medicines such as chamomile. Here are five short- and long-term benefits of regularly enjoying a strong cup of chamomile tea.
1. Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety relief are perhaps the most well-known benefits of using chamomile tea. For many of us, it’s the first thing we have in mind after a tough day.
Clinical studies show how chamomile calms stress and anxiety at the biological level. A trial involving 45 people diagnosed with anxiety disorder measured how well chamomile could moderate cortisol rhythms. Cortisol is the main stress hormone, but it is meant to peak in the morning to keep us awake and energized before tapering off until its lowest point at night. If you wonder, why does chamomile make you sleepy? it’s partly because the drop in cortisol allows for a rise in sleep hormones. In this study, taking chamomile led to an increase in the morning cortisol spike and a drop in afternoon cortisol. These improvements were also linked to relief of anxiety.
Cortisol gives us energy and motivation, but if its levels stay too high for too long, it can cause anxiety and more perceived stress. It also impairs your ability to respond to cortisol when it is needed, causing fatigue. Restoring your natural rhythms improves energy through re-sensitizing stress hormone pathways.
2. Premenstrual Symptoms
Although physical and emotional symptoms, known as PMS, are commonly experienced by women before menstruation, it doesn’t have to be this way. Chamomile is a natural, effective, and easily accessible option for relieving PMS.
A clinical trial compared chamomile extract to mefenamic acid, a pain relieving drug, for their effects on the varied symptoms of PMS. Overall, chamomile reduced symptom severity scores from an average of 48.4% to 20.4%, while mefenamic acid cut scores from 43.9% to 27.6%. Chamomile’s calming effect meant that it relieved some symptoms much more than mefenamic acid, including “emotional instability” and “avoiding socialization”.
Chamomile effectively relieved both physical and psychological symptoms largely because of its anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation is one major cause of PMS, and chamomile can reduce it in a safe way. Some phytochemicals in chamomile have direct calming effects, too.
3. Antimicrobial Properties
Chamomile extracts, including strong chamomile tea, can act as gentle antimicrobials for the skin and digestive tract. Optimal digestive health starts with oral health, which is often compromised when you need to wear braces or aligners to straighten your teeth.
A clinical study compared the use of a chamomile extract, chlorhexidine (a strong chemical antibacterial wash), and a placebo in people with braces or other fixed orthodontic hardware. Everyone used 15mL of their assigned mouthwash every day after brushing their teeth for 15 days. The amount of visible plaque fell by 25% in the chamomile extract group, and gingivitis-related bleeding decreased by 29%.
Chamomile has antibacterial effects against over two dozen species, many of which contribute to oral infections and unhealthy, pro-inflammatory gut bacteria populations. It also attacks the biofilms, mucus-based hideouts that bacteria and harmful fungi use to avoid the immune system and antimicrobial medicines.
Even better, the chamomile mouthwash only used a concentration of 1%, which could be matched by a strong tea. The takeaway? Make your chamomile tea strong, and savour it – don’t gulp it down!
4. Blood Sugar Control
Type II diabetes and its “early stage”, metabolic syndrome, are far too common in today’s world. In both conditions, excess body fat and blood sugar levels cause inflammation and insulin resistance, which in turn cause more weight gain and high blood sugar! Insulin resistance triggers an increase in production of the insulin hormone, and one effect of high insulin levels is more body fat accumulation. This makes losing weight to restore your metabolic health more difficult, but there are some herbal remedies and supplements that can help.
Although we aren’t advertising chamomile tea as a weight loss aid, it may help you control your blood sugar levels alongside a healthy diet and lifestyle. A clinical study involving 64 people with type II diabetes tested three cups of chamomile tea every day, taken with meals. The group drinking chamomile tea saw a fall in blood sugar levels, a drop in insulin by one-third, and lower levels of tissue protein damage from unabsorbed sugar (measured through red blood cells). They also had a small, non-significant fall in BMI.
5. Thyroid Protection
Your thyroid is the master controller of your metabolism, but the risk of thyroid disease increases with age. An underactive thyroid can lead to weight gain, constipation, fatigue, and depression, while high thyroid hormones cause weight loss, anxiety, and potentially dangerous complications.
Fortunately, a population study suggests that drinking chamomile tea regularly for 30 years can dramatically cut your risk of thyroid diseases. People who drank chamomile tea two to six times per week had an amazing 74% lower risk of developing benign thyroid disease, while their thyroid cancer risk was 70% lower. This link stood strong when controlled for age, sex, weight, and consumption of alcohol and cigarettes.
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References
1. Ross S. M. (2008). Chamomile: a spoonful of medicine. Holistic nursing practice, 22(1), 56–57. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.HNP.0000306329.41708.c6
2. Keefe, J. R., Guo, W., Li, Q. S., Amsterdam, J. D., & Mao, J. J. (2018). An exploratory study of salivary cortisol changes during chamomile extract therapy of moderate to severe generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of psychiatric research, 96, 189–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.10.011
3. Goes, P., Dutra, C. S., Lisboa, M. R., Gondim, D. V., Leitão, R., Brito, G. A., & Rego, R. O. (2016). Clinical efficacy of a 1% Matricaria chamomile L. mouthwash and 0.12% chlorhexidine for gingivitis control in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances. Journal of oral science, 58(4), 569–574. https://doi.org/10.2334/josnusd.16-0280
4. Sharifi, F., Simbar, M., Mojab, F., & Majd, H. A. (2014). Comparison of the effects of Matricaria chamomila (Chamomile) extract and mefenamic acid on the intensity of premenstrual syndrome. Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 20(1), 81–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.09.002
5. Rafraf, M., Zemestani, M., & Asghari-Jafarabadi, M. (2015). Effectiveness of chamomile tea on glycemic control and serum lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes. Journal of endocrinological investigation, 38(2), 163–170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-014-0170-x
6. Riza, E., Linos, A., Petralias, A., de Martinis, L., Duntas, L., & Linos, D. (2015). The effect of Greek herbal tea consumption on thyroid cancer: a case-control study. European journal of public health, 25(6), 1001–1005. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckv063