Minty fresh and a natural pick me up, spearmint tea is all herbal goodness and makes for a delicious sweet and steamy drink. The spearmint plant has long been crushed, ground down, and distilled into essential oil for everything from toothpaste to mouthwash and even chewing gum. This is down to its natural breath freshening properties and a refreshing cool taste. The health properties of spearmint go way beyond the breath as we are about to find out. From soothing stomach issues to healing skin, let’s take a deep dive into all the spearmint tea benefits…
What is Spearmint Tea?
Spearmint tea comes from the brewed leaves of the spearmint plant. It is believed to have many health properties including freshening the breath, helping digestion, and reducing inflammation.
While peppermint has been the herb of choice-making it's way into tea, perhaps its time for spearmint to shine. This lush leafy green herb is also known by its more formal name of Mentha Spicata and it too belongs to the mint family. The spearmint plant can grow to stand high at 2ft and it comes with spear-shaped wrinkled green leaves (a hint as to how it got its name). It’s a flowering plant too and the floral blooms are small and pretty with lilac colors.
But it’s the leaves that are plucked and turned into tea and this practice has been in place since the golden days of Rome. The famed botanist John Gerard first paid homage to the herbal joy of spearmint back in the 16th century, noting that it was handy for taking the smart out of a wasp sting and for healing breakouts and sores on the head and skin. These days we know much more about the health benefits of spearmint and the amazing array of antioxidants it brings.
Spearmint tea tastes light and fresh and slightly sweet. It is less intense than other kinds of mint tea as it contains a little less menthol and a little more limonene. Spearmint tea is smoother and is usually made from dried leaves or fresh leaves plucked from the plant and steeped in hot water. Unlike other major teas that tend to be caffeinated, there is no oxidation process involved. Let’s look at the bountiful health benefits that come with spearmint tea…
9 Amazing Health Benefit of Spearmint Tea
1. Digestion
A Study was conducted over a whole host of herbal plants and spearmint came out on top for helping the body deal with digestive issues. This gentle and smooth naturally sweet tea can help with everything from indigestion to bloating and even help heal issues and discomfort around IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). This is believed to be helped by the fact that spearmint has a compound that inhibits contractions in the digestive tract, helping those muscles to stay relaxed. Spearmint tea was also found to help relieve nausea and vomiting for those who had undergone chemotherapy treatments.
2. May Aid Hormonal Imbalance of Women
For women who are struggling to balance out their hormones, drinking spearmint tea could be the treat you need. This fragrant and fresh plant steeped in hot water is believed to balance androgen levels which can help with everything from polycystic ovary syndrome to reducing high levels of unwanted hair growth on the face, chest, and back (also known as hirsutism)
3. May Help with Menstruation and Period Cramps
If you struggle with painful cramps and PMS symptoms that turn your world upside down, once again, spearmint tea could come to the rescue. Anything from the mint family is generally good at soothing the stomach and spearmint is no exception thanks to those antispasmodic properties. We already know that it can help PCOS thanks to its natural ability to increase female hormones. This also means it can help with ovulation as it increases the luteinizing, FSH, and estradiol hormones too.
4. Fights Bacterial Infection
Toothpaste, chewing gum, mints, and breath fresheners, there’s a reason why we associate spearmint with keeping our mouths bright and clean. Not only is this because spearmint has such a zesty fresh scent but also because it’s a dab hand at fighting off bacteria. Spearmint is brimming with antibacterial and antimicrobial properties which will kill off any nasties residing in your mouth. Studies have also found that spearmint essential oil can be beneficial in fending off foodborne illness and bacteria like E.coli along with boosting your immune system and soothing a sore throat.
5. May Improve Memory
While we certainly do get better with age, sometimes our memory can become a little blurry around the edges. Sipping spearmint tea could help to keep your mind sharp and your memory box full. Studies have shown that taking an extract of spearmint on a daily basis could help to keep thinking skills in older people at the top of their game. It is also believed that spearmint may help provide a slight benefit when it comes to finetuning focus skills too.
6. May Help Reduce
Blood Pressure
Keep your blood pressure low and your cardiovascular system in great shape by pouring yourself a cup of spearmint tea. This lovely leaf contains (-) carvone, a compound that acts in similar ways to the ingredients found in high blood pressure meds. This compound is also thought to help reduce vessel contractions and can help cut down on high blood pressure issues.
Blood Sugar
If you are looking to avoid sugar crashing or if you are dealing with diabetes, spearmint tea can be an awesome choice in helping you to maintain your health balance. Studies have shown that spearmint is significantly effective at lowering blood sugar levels. One animal study showed that over a three-week period, those given spearmint extract had a 25% reduction in blood sugar.
7. Helps to Reduce Stress
In South-East Asia, spearmint is commonly used to help people reduce their stress levels and get a decent night’s sleep. This is because spearmint is laced with menthol, an essential oil that can refresh the senses, calm the body, and promote gentle relaxation. Spearmint does this by stirring up the GABA receptors in your brain and helping these neurotransmitters to chill out taking you into a soft state of relaxation.
8. May Help with Arthritis
Get ready to get high kicking simply by stacking your cupboards with spearmint tea. Spearmint is believed to have effective pain-relieving properties and can help to ease stiffness in those with arthritis and knee issues. A 4 month study pointed to truly positive results as those with arthritis in the knee consumed spearmint tea twice a day and found their discomfort level dropped considerably.
9. May Reduce Bad Breath
Sweeten your breath and keep your mouth clean and pristine with spearmint tea. Being a member of the mint family it comes as no surprise that spearmint tea is an instant freshener. For many decades we have been using spearmint to keep our oral health in tip-top shape and spearmint with its menthol rich properties and those much needed antibacterial properties is here to bring a boost of sweet brightness to sour breath.
Are There Any Side Effects of Spearmint?
While spearmint is considered to be completely safe, caffeine-free, and delicious to drink, there are a small number of people out there who may experience discomfort and slight side effects if they consume too much spearmint. Anyone with the following conditions should be sure to check in with their medical professional prior to boiling up a pot of spearmint.
1. Acid Reflux
While spearmint tea is excellent at helping ease digestive issues, those who suffer from GERD (gastrointestinal reflux disease) may want to skip out on spearmint tea. This is because spearmint can have a relaxing effect on the esophagus which in turn can cause acid reflux to flow and lead to heartburn. While not a serious health issue it can be unpleasant and while this info hasn’t been proven to be set in stone, it’s worth considering with care first.
2. Overconsumption Could Cause Androgen Imbalance
As we know that spearmint tea can be helpful in helping women with PCOS and hormonal imbalance, this can also work in the opposite way for those who need to be delicate when it comes to keeping their hormones in check. Drinking too much spearmint tea can hinder androgens in the body so if this will be an issue for you, it’s important to consume with care or check in with your hormone specialist first.
3. Might Cause Issues During Early Pregnancy and Motherhood
Herbal teas should be taken with care during early pregnancy and those first few days of motherhood. Always check with your medical professional if you should be sipping spearmint tea if you are pregnant or breastfeeding as an excess of herbal tea may cause complications.
How to Brew Spearmint Tea?
Full of antioxidants, vitamin C, all your beautiful B vitamins, and full of folates, iron, potassium, calcium, and a whole heap of good stuff, spearmint tea has awesome nutritional value, low calories, and not a trace of caffeine. This makes it a healthy choice for those wanting fresh and sweet tea with magical menthol properties. Here’s exactly how you brew up this dreamy and delicate tea.
1. Pick your spearmint tea type – either fresh spearmint leaves, loose leaves, or a spearmint tea blend.
2. Put your tea into an infuser and add it to your cup (if you are making fresh leaf tea around 5-7 leaves per cup of water works well)
3. Boil the kettle (optimum temperature for this tea is 100 degrees for those with electric kettles)
4. Pour the water over your tea and let steep for 5-8 minutes depending on whether you like it light and delicate or stronger.
Wrap Up
Simple, naturally sweet, and caffeine-free, spearmint tea is a true treat for the body, mind, and soul. This lush tea is awesome at balancing hormones, healing digestive issues, reducing pain and certain pressures, and easing stress levels so you can catch up on that much needed R&R. It is perhaps one of the most underrated herbal teas out there.
What are your thoughts on spearmint tea? Are you impressed by that zesty mint freshness or do you prefer other tea types instead? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Medical Disclaimer: While we have delved into the research available on the health benefits of these teas, this is for informative purposes only and shouldn’t be taken as medical advice. Those who have any health-related queries should reach out to a medical professional. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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