The benefits of tea & how to choose your perfect blend

For many in the UK, there’s nothing quite like the comfort of a hot cup of tea, making it our go-to cure all. A cuppa is offered at almost any occasion, whether you’re stressed, tired, down, unfocused, or simply bored, in order to help you feel better and relax. While the British reliance on tea is often the subject of jokes, tea actually has scientifically proven benefits to aid your wellbeing. 

Different blends of tea and their various ingredients have different advantages, so choosing the right blend for you depends on what you need or want your tea to do. Whether you need to calm down, have trouble sleeping, or are finding it hard to concentrate, different tea blends can help improve your wellbeing and will help in a multitude of ways. 

Calm & Stress Relief

There are many moments in our lives when we have a hard time relaxing and letting go, even when we find the space to do so. Certain tea ingredients can help you to calm down and enjoy your downtime. 

The scent of lemon can help you to relax. Studies have shown that lemon has a positive effect on reducing blood pressure and has a calming effect on the nervous system (1). Look out for blends that include lemon, or simply add a squeeze of lemon juice to your favourite herbal blend for a calming scent and zingy flavour. 

Certain tea blends can also help in stressful situations, like high pressure work events or particularly stressful life circumstances.

Liquorice has been shown to reduce stress and help to calm you down. Studies have shown that consuming products with liquorice present helps to inhibit cortisol (the stress hormone) and therefore helps to reduce the effects of stress (2). 

Tea containing bamboo can also help to calm the nerves, thanks to its high content of natural antioxidants (3). Anxiety is thought to be correlated with a lowered total antioxidant state (4), and therefore increasing the antioxidants in your body through natural sources, such as bamboo, can help to relieve anxiety.

Sleep

There are many reasons why you might not be getting enough good quality sleep and there are many different things you can do to ensure you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. One excellent way of supporting your sleep is by drinking a calming tea blend to tell your body it’s time for bed.

German chamomile has been traditionally used as a gentle sleep aid for centuries and in a 2017 study was shown to improve the sleep quality of elderly patients (5).

Passionflower is also a sleep supporting tea ingredient. In a 2011 study, participants reported that drinking tea containing passionflower improved their sleep quality (6).

Linden tea has been valued for its potent sedative properties for hundreds of years. Linden tea has been used across cultures to relieve high blood pressure, calm anxiety, and soothe digestion.

Immune Support

Minimising the risk of bugs and viruses affecting you is important for maintaining your overall well being, your work performance, and your quality of life. Some natural herbal ingredients work towards supporting your immune system, so your body can fight off illnesses more quickly and keep you feeling healthy.

Ginger has long been considered a booster for the immune system. It contains antioxidants which are beneficial for the joints, brain, heart, and intestines (7).

Lemongrass is used as a folk remedy for relieving pain and supporting immunity. A 2009 study suggests that it is also helpful as an anti-inflammatory (8) .

Elderberry is also a great ingredient that provides benefits to the immune system. Its high vitamin C content and antioxidant and anti-inflammatories phenolic compounds act to support and boost the immune system. In a recent study it was shown that the common elderberry had virus-stopping properties that allowed sufferers to recover more quickly and have less severe symptoms (9).

Choosing your blend

It’s important that your tea blend contains ingredients that will benefit your wellbeing and deliver the effects you’re looking for, but also that it is something that you enjoy drinking. Flavour plays a huge role in improving mood and relaxation and if it’s a tea you like you’ll keep returning to it time and time again.

The range of tea blends at anatomē have been developed with specific wellbeing objectives in mine. Whether you want better quality sleep, improved focus, more hormonal balance, improved immune support, or calm and relaxation, our range of nutritionist developed tea blends can help. 

References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7020168/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21184804/ 
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4659479/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3964743/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5470311/
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21294203/ 
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92775/ 
8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19662581/ 
9. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190423133644.htm