People can create herbal teas from fresh or dried flowers, leaves, seeds or roots by pouring boiling water over them until the water soaks up the flavor and substances. Herbal teas do not contain leaves from the plants that produce tea leaves. According to “Food Chemistry,” herbal tea popularity arises from its fragrance, antioxidant properties and healing purposes. People turn to home remedies like herbal teas to relieve the continuous pain caused by the arthritis.
Beneficial Substances in Tea
Antioxidant substances known as polyphenols in tea leaves produce the purported effects of reducing cancer, lowering heart disease, and decreasing inflammation. The herbal teas are derived from the flowers, roots, spices and other parts of the herb plant and not from tea leaves. Therefore, herbal teas may not contain the same beneficial effects of regular teas, like green, white, black or oolong teas. The “National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine” suggest herbal teas produce laxative, curative, refreshing or sedative effects on drinkers.
Types of Herbal Teas
Herbal teas come from the mixtures of different herbal combinations. University of Maryland Medical Center lists herbal teas for treating medical ailments. The types of herbal teas purported to reduce the pain of arthritis include alfalfa tea, black cohosh tea, celery tea, ginger tea and lei gong teng. Alternative Therapies” describes the key ingredient in the teas that relieve arthritis pain as anti-inflammatory plant chemicals.
Side Effects of Herbal Teas
There are no known side effects of drinking herbal teas, but “Alternative Therapies” cautions users about the allergic and other side effects in some people. The elements such as alfalfa, celery, cohosh or ginger, may produce allergic reactions in susceptible individuals, but a bigger problem arises when the other herbs in a tea are unknown. Alternative Therapies” describes adverse effects of gastrointestinal tract irritation, damage to the nervous system and damage to internal organs from drinking lei gong teng tea, for example.
Scientific Evidence for Medical Effects of Herbal Teas
A review of the literature on herbal products failed to reveal any research studies supporting the claims of herbal teas for relieving pain in arthritis. The library search entailed a review of the PubMed.gov database from the “U.S. National Library of Medicine.” The “U.S. National Library of Medicine’ retains 20 million medical citations in its library holdings. As such, evidence remains limited at this time on the health benefits of herbal tea for arthritis.
Tip on Reviewing Alternative Medicine Treatments
The Food and Drug Administration requires herbal tea products to carry a disclaimer when health-related claims appear on the label. Consumers need to locate the following statement: “This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.” Attention to detail on the label can save the consumer time and money by taking the time to sort out products with possible unreliable claims.
Reference
“Food Chemistry”; Anti-oxidative and Anti-hydrogen Peroxide Activities of Various Herbal Teas; Aoshim, H., et al.; 2007
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Green Tea May Protect Against Rheumatoid Arthritis [http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/120808.htm]
University of Maryland Medical Center: Complementary Medicine [http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/ginger-000246.htm]
Alternative Therapies”; Antioxidants and Anti-inflammatory Dietary Supplements for Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis; Rosenbaum, C.G. et al.; 2010
Food and Drug Administration: Regulations on Statements Made for Dietary Supplements [http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/ucm107336.htm]
“U.S. National Library of Medicine”; PubMed [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed]
