Tea for digestive/immune health

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EmAitch88

EmAitch88

Joined
Jun 1, 2010
Messages
133
i'm getting into drinking tea. i was wondering if anyone knows if there are certain kinds that are good for digestive health and your immune system and such....what do you all drink? what kinds, brands, flavors are your favorites?

thanks!!
 
thanks for your response, NikiB! i'm doing some research online about different teas and green tea seems to be the most beneficial to your health.
 
be weary that some people cannot tolerate caffine. I dont particulary well so black tea and coffee are out of the question, but i do find green tea fine (love it with a slice of lemon). I also drink red bush (rooiboo) with either a dash of milk or honey. I love peppermint tea and liquorice root tea as well

Caramile tea is also nice
 
Green tea first thing in the morning (or white tea when I feel like spoiling myself), then black tea (with milk) throughout the day. I'm afraid that I don't really like any of the herbal teas.

It's important either to buy organic tea or to "wash" the tea leaves (pour boiling water over the leaves, pour it off immediately, then proceed as usual) as commercial tea production often uses up to 20 different chemical fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides applied multiple times throughout the growing season.
 
GREEN TEA~ I think it's the best tea for your stomach. I drink it all the time and it makes my stomach feel all nice and warm! :D
Hope you feel better~~!
 
I love tea, but like Rygon I can't do caffeine. (I tried having a bit of caffeine last week for the first time in a long time - it resulted in a migraine.) I drink herbal teas as they have no caffeine. I primarily do chamomile and ginger teas. Peppermint tea is good too if you don't have GERD (if you do have GERD, the peppermint can relax the valve between your stomach & esophagus, allowing more acid to come up). Ginger tea is wonderful for relieving nausea.
 
I like yerba mate (mahtay), a south american holly tree relative. It has a slight grassy/woodsy flavor and a bit more caffeine (or mateine). I get the organic, unroasted kind. I like it with peppermint herbs/oil, chamomile flowers and as is. Some coffee shops sell peppermint mate lattes--like a candy cane.

I also enjoy simmering a 1/2 inch chunk of ginger in a cup or two of water for 20 minutes, or so. Then I add a little REAL honey.

Mmm...gotta go make some ginger tea.
 
mnsun, do you make that ginger tea out of fresh ginger root or dried?
I know they say mint tea is supposed to be good for the stomach, and for a short spell I was macrobiotic and liked the teas we made out of roots (kakicha? can't remember) it was soothing.
I looked at the ingredients of one of my 'herbal' teas and was a little surprised to see it included a 'mango FLAVOR' which I suspect is artificial. Usually if it is natural flavoring it will say so, or it will say the actual fruits. Just a warning to look at the labels.
 
I drink black tea during the day, but sweetened. I'm a country girl who likes her sweet tea, it's a comfort food for me. I also drink chamomile, peppermint, and chai. I use honey to sweeten. I am hoping to start drinking green tea again soon.
 
I drink a lot of loose leaf tea, which you can get really cheaply if you have a local food co-op. You can also order it online. I like rooibos tea (red tea), but other herbal teas are really good, too--chamomile, peppermint, ginger, and lemon verbena are great.
 
With peppermint tea I have heard (via the internet) that it is better if you dry it out 1st.

How do you strain the loose tea leaves (or does it go to the bottom and you can drink the rest)
 
also watch out for "decaf coffee" as it isnt really decaf

and M2M if her mates drink tea rooibos with a touch of milk looks like tea. Always good if you dont want to stand out
 
green tea helps when my stoma gets blocked... Also when I have a upset tummy.
 
I use the fresh root, for the ginger tea, which I peal/mince first--this stuff does get quite spicy which is, unlike peppers, extinguished by some water. I use bulk loose-leaf, for the mate.

Every long once in a while, I splurge for white tea with rose petals, from Rishi--very expensive but unique. Sometimes I get some random loose-leaf white tea from the bulk section of co-ops or wholefoods--they might just order from frontier herbs.

For loose tea, buy an infuser ball. Some mate aficionados may leave the tea in and use a bombilla.
 
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Earl Grey with cream and sugar- there's something about adding cream to it that makes it more fragrant
 
I like white/green tea in the morning; seems to be more agreeable with me. I like a mint decaf tea later in the day.
 
I drink decaf flavored tea occasionally. We have different flavors here at home. Do any of you drink iced tea? I've been looking around for some good recipes to try. Just don't want a whole lot of sugar in it.
 
I love drinking tea! Started drinking ginger teas to help with nausea last summer and have since started drinking green tea, herbal teas, and black teas. It really seems to help my tummy feel better most days. So far I haven't tried loose leaf tea. I need to get through some of the boxes of tea bags I've bought first. I went a little crazy trying out different flavors! :p

Where is a good place to buy loose leaf tea?
 
I've been trying some different teas, since I tend to have a hard time staying awake at work. White, green/white combo, white/mint combo, spearmint, and ginger seem to be bearable for me. The fruit teas don't seem to agree with me. Stash Tea tends to agree with me the most. I've been shopping at their tea store or online stashtea.com
 
I've been shopping at David's Tea, it's mostly Canadian, but they have a few US stores. I pretty much like everything, but my current fav is a green tea based called lime gelato.

I read all the ingredients lists before purchasing. The pharmacist told me to avoid ginseng while on Remicade.
 
Ginger tea with honey is fantastic when I'm bloated, nauseous, or have a cold/flu. I also drink green tea, but I usually try to get ones that are naturally low in caffeine (not decaf though). In my opinion loose teas tend to be better and they're not expensive either. When I'm flaring I stay away from highly caffeinated tea although I adore Earl Grey.
 
Has anyone had fennel tea? I've been reading an IBS website and it says that fennel tea really helps with digestion. I'm not a big tea drinker but if it really helps I would be willing to drink it.
 
I only tried it a couple times. Once when my stomach was acting up, I made a big batch and drank a liter of it. Sure, I felt better, but I have a rather moderate--to my standards--case and usually do better in a few hours.

Anyhow, the tea might be good for your IBS/IBD. I haven't tried it on a regular basis. However, I don't care for the taste. If I get in a "cramped" situation again, I'll definitely give it a go again.
 
We ferment our own probiotic enriched kombucha tea. You can use almost any tea with the exception of teas that add various oils, such as Earl Grey or "Constant Comment".

To make kombucha tea, you need a kombucha mushroom, or "scoby" (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) using a baby from someone else, or even by making your own by using raw organic kombucha tea--see link http://www.picklesnhoney.com/2012/04/09/how-to-make-kombucha-growing-a-scoby/

I understand though kombucha may not be good for those taking Remicadee or other biologics.
 
An awesome tea from David's Tea (previously just Canadian, they're opening stores in the US and have an online store, too) is the Organic Le Digestif. It has catnip, fennel seed, ginger root, peppermint, orange peel, and stevia leaf flavouring (hopefully this is ok for you, I know it irritates some). I find that the combo of all those old "stomach herbs" REALLY helps, if not for those nasty semi-obstructive episodes, for bloating/trapped gas, nausea etc. if that's one of your issues. Also something about the catnip just totally mellows you out. Really nice before bed. Cheers!
 
I love tea! I usually drink black tea with milk. However, I try to drink green tea about once a day because it helps the immune system. Ginger tea with honey helped me out when I had an IBS episode last month. Peppermint tea is also helpful.
 

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