Feeling bloated or perhaps suffering from stomach cramps after eating? Having a heavy meal is among the leading cause of indigestion, but there could be other factors, including eating fatty, fried or oily foods.
You may want to try to drink tea capable of improving your digestive health. Of course, we don’t mean by consuming boba tea but more of these 8 Teas You Should Be Drinking For Better Digestion.
1) Chamomile Tea
Coming from the daisy family, chamomile tea may primarily be known as a bedtime tea. It works as a natural sedative to help calm your nerves, which in turn, promotes relaxation and reduces anxiety. But did you know that chamomile tea has other benefits as well? Among them happens to aid digestive health. According to the US-based National Institutes of Health, chamomile also helps as a digestive relaxant to treat various related conditions such as indigestion, flatulence, motion sickness and diarrhoea.
2) Dandelion Tea
From its roots to leaves and flowers, every part of the dandelion plant has its own benefits. And they are plenty of them, namely minimising cholesterol due to its bioactive compounds, and it may help regulate blood sugar levels. Dandelion is also used as a traditional herbal remedy in the form of tea, which may aid digestion and relieve constipation.
3) Ginger Tea
This widely available rhizome needs no introduction, given its versatility in various Asian cooking recipes. Also known for its health benefits, you can make a tea out of it using freshly sliced ginger or if you are too lazy or busy, there’s a powdered form available as well. Drinking hot ginger tea can improve your digestive health as well as relieving other stomach-related issues such as bloating, gas, and stomach cramps. If you can’t stand the spicy and pungent taste of the ginger tea, try sweetening it with honey.
4) Green Tea
Green tea is easily one of the most widely-consumed teas in the world, thanks to its low caffeine levels and contains lots of health benefits. One of them happens to be boosting the digestive system since it packs powerful antioxidant properties known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Other than promoting healthy digestion, EGCG in green tea may help alleviate colon inflammation known as colitis.
5) Licorice Root Tea
Licorice root isn’t just restricted to treating cough symptoms and flavouring certain foods and beverages. Apparently, you can also use licorice root for other ailments ranging from acid reflux to heartburn, hot flashes, and sore throat. When consuming it as tea, not only does it help to promote digestive health but also relieve an upset stomach.
6) Oolong Tea
Oolong or wu long tea is among the most popular Chinese tea, where its taste characteristics vary from light to floral, and grassy and full-bodied. All this depends on how the tea is processed and oxidised. You may reap several benefits from drinking oolong tea, namely speeding up metabolism as well as minimising symptoms of acid reflux and breaking down fat. Not to mention oolong tea contains antioxidant properties that aid in digestion.
7) Peppermint Tea
The word “refreshing” commonly applies to peppermint since it contains menthol compound, even in its tea form. Drinking a cup of peppermint tea can help to alleviate various stomach-related issues ranging from stomach upset to gas, bloating and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Other than that, peppermint tea happens to be a good herbal remedy for improving digestive health.
8) Pu’er Tea
The history of pu’er tea can be traced all the way back to Yunnan Province of China thousands of years ago. Pu’er or pu-erh tea falls under the fermented tea category since it typically undergoes a fermentation and roasting process. This, in turn, gives pu’er tea a distinctly bold and mellow flavour as well as its signature dark colour. Pu’er tea provides plenty of health benefits such as reducing cholesterol levels, boosting liver health and aid in digestion. For the latter, it also helps to break down fatty, greasy or oily foods. This also explains why most Chinese and dim sum restaurants commonly include pu’er tea on their menu.