Hibiscus Tea Benefits and How to Make It

Hibiscus tea is enjoyed for its sweet, fruity flavor and high antioxidant content. In addition to its relaxing properties also have various health benefits, including improving mood, reducing inflammation in the body, and lowering cholesterol levels. You must consult your doctor before drinking this beverage, though, as there are some side effects such as nausea or headaches if taken too much.

Hibiscus tea is a popular drink that has many health benefits. It can help with heartburn, diabetes, and weight loss. However, it also has side effects such as headaches and an upset stomach. This article will show you how to make hibiscus tea at home.

When C.S. Lewis stated, “You can never obtain a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to please me,” I believe he was referring to me. The incredibly healthy hibiscus tea is one of the drinks that comes to mind after reading that.

Hibiscus tea (also known as “sour tea”) is one of those fantastic, tasty teas that, like matcha green tea and yerba mate, are high on the list of beverages to have around the home. Because of the huge quantity of antioxidants present in hibiscus tea, it has been designated as a “therapeutic agent” for various conditions, according to a 2012 paper published in the Journal of Experimental Pharmacology.

Find out how to add hibiscus tea to your list of must-have teas by reading on.

Health Advantages

1. Helps to lower blood pressure

A few foods reduce blood pressure that you should be aware of, especially if you are hypertensive. Hibiscus tea is on the list, and it has received rave reviews. Many trials have shown it to considerably decrease blood pressure, even in people with specific medical problems that raise the risk of high blood pressure.

According to a 2013 study by the University of Arizona, hibiscus tea is used as standard therapy for hypertension in ten or more nations with no known adverse events or side effects – unless in very high dosages. “Extracts of [hibiscus] seem promise as a therapy of hypertension,” these researchers concluded based on their findings. However, they did note that high-quality research (referred to as the “gold standard” in the scientific world) is required to determine the exact effects of hibiscus tea on high blood pressure.

In prehypertensive and slightly hypertensive animal and human models, it seems that hibiscus may reduce blood pressure.

The fact that these findings apply to diabetic people is noteworthy. Researchers discovered that drinking hibiscus tea regularly lowers blood pressure after around four weeks in various experiments. According to one research, the recommended dose is three cups of tea per day.

In a research conducted in Nigeria, hibiscus tea was shown to be more successful in lowering blood pressure than hydrochlorothiazide, a popular blood pressure drug. However, the most important discovery was that hibiscus tea did not create an electrolyte imbalance, unlike the study drug hydrochlorothiazide.

2. Helps to maintain a healthy cholesterol and triglyceride level

Hibiscus tea may help with various heart disease risk factors, not only blood pressure. It may also assist persons with dyslipidemia in controlling their cholesterol and triglycerides.

These two heart disease risk factors are part of the metabolic syndrome, a larger cluster of symptoms indicating an increased risk of diabetes and stroke. According to a research published in Phytomedicine, scientists advocate using hibiscus extracts to naturally decrease cholesterol and triglyceride levels in people with metabolic syndrome.

Hibiscus tea’s potential to lower elevated “blood lipids” applies to diabetics, just as it does with blood pressure. For example, a 2009 research reported a substantial rise in HDL (“good”) cholesterol and a reduction in total cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and triglycerides in diabetic patients who drank hibiscus tea twice a day for a month.

3. Protects against oxidative stress

Like other healthful teas, Hibiscus is high in antioxidants, which combat free radical damage caused by poor nutrition and exposure to harmful chemicals. These are primarily contained in the plant’s anthocyanins, the natural pigments that give the flower its red color, as shown in rat models.

According to a small human research study, supplementation with hibiscus tea enhanced antioxidant load in the circulation and lowered chemicals that might lead to oxidative stress, which damages cells. The research outcome implies that the gut microbiota must have dramatically changed the polyphenols (antioxidants) of hibiscus since participants exhibited higher levels of hippuric acid.

4. Shows Potential in the Treatment of Certain Cancers

Hibiscus tea has been the focus of some preliminary cancer studies, owing, at least in part, to the antioxidants in the tea. While this notion is still in its infancy, like most natural cancer therapy studies, some evidence supports hibiscus tea’s anticancer properties.

Hippocampus extracts trigger apoptosis (cell death) in leukemia cells in the lab. While the reasons underlying this are yet unknown, it seems to be a positive step forward in the battle against leukemia, affecting around a quarter of all children and adolescents with cancer.

According to studies done at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology at Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan, when eight distinct types of stomach cancer cells are exposed to hibiscus tea extract, the same effects seem to occur.

5. Obesity and Related Risks are Reduced

If you’re searching for a drink to help you lose weight, pair some red hibiscus tea with a bottle of red wine. While those antioxidants protect your cells, studies on rodents have indicated that those and other substances in hibiscus can promote weight reduction and reduce other hazards.

Hibiscus tea has been linked to a faster metabolism in both human and animal research. Hibiscus extract may even prevent you from absorbing as much carbohydrate and sugar as a conventional meal would.

Insulin resistance, a major sign of prediabetes and other diseases, may be aided by drinking hibiscus tea at least once a day. In addition, it may aid in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, implying that it may aid in the reduction of all symptoms associated with the metabolic syndrome cluster.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is another condition linked to obesity (and food) (NAFLD). This condition is defined as an accumulation of excess fat cells in the liver that is not induced by alcohol use. Obesity, bad eating habits, diabetes, and dyslipidemia are among the well-known factors of NAFLD.

Studies have shown that hibiscus tea improves the liver in both animals and people by lowering the chance of fatty accumulation, which may lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, or liver failure if left untreated.

6. Antidepressant (Natural)

Suppose you suffer from or are at risk for depression. In that case, you may want to try hibiscus tea as a natural approach to treat the often devastating symptoms of depression, such as exhaustion, despair, and a lack of interest in activities, among other things.

This is also a relatively new field of research; however, animal studies looking at alleviating depression symptoms have shown that hibiscus flowers contain certain bioflavonoids that may be useful as a natural depression treatment.

7. Treatment for Staph Infection

Antibacterial properties have been found in at least one species of hibiscus. In addition, extracts of Hibiscus rosa sinensis, a less common but nonetheless important hibiscus plant used to create tea, have been revealed to have substantial MRSA-killing power in at least one lab research.

MRSA is a pathogen that causes more than 90,000 staph infections each year in the United States. Staph infection must be prevented and treated since it is associated with major issues such as abscesses, sepsis, and pneumonia.

8. It Has the Potential to Prevent Kidney Stones

Hibiscus tea has also caught the attention of scientists researching renal and urinary system health due to its diuretic properties. According to preliminary animal tests, hibiscus tea has an “anti-urolithiatic effect,” which means it may reduce the formation of chemicals that cause kidney stones.

Why Should You Drink Hibiscus Tea?

Many hibiscus varieties are used for tea, but the Hibiscus sabdariffa L. species is the most popular. The hue of these blossoms is a rich crimson. Some individuals also utilize Hibiscus rosa sinensis, which is the broad-petaled bloom that comes in a variety of colors and is what most people think of when they hear “hibiscus.”

Traditional hibiscus tea is produced from dried hibiscus plant components, most often the calyx, or protective covering around the plant’s real flower.

Before sweeteners are added, an eight-ounce glass of hibiscus tea includes no calories and a few trace minerals but not enough of any nutrient to breach the 1% threshold of what you need each day. The drink is consumed both hot and cold in North Africa and Southeast Asia, where it originated. Hibiscus tea is a natural sweetener that goes well with raw honey.

The hibiscus plant may be used to make several beverages, including red sorrel, agua de Jamaica, Lo-Shen, Sudan tea, and Karkade.

Possible Side Effects and Risks

When drinking hibiscus tea, there are a few mild side effects and hazards to consider.

In excessively high dosages, hibiscus tea is harmful to the liver. Toxicity was shown at such large dosages; however, consuming that much in tea form would be problematic. Three to four eight-ounce glasses of hibiscus tea per day, according to most sources, seems like a decent quantity to minimize side effects.

The possible impact of hibiscus tea on pregnant women is a major source of worry. Pregnant women should not use hibiscus tea and products since they might create “emmenagogue effects.” This indicates it can cause menstruation.

While this may be beneficial to women who have irregular periods — though no research has been done on this — it also implies that pregnant women who consume hibiscus tea may have early labor. In general, it is unknown if hibiscus tea is safe for nursing moms, who should refrain from consuming it until they stop breastfeeding.

If you’re expecting a child, be in mind that hibiscus may be listed on a label as “rose of Sharon” or “althea.”

How to Locate and Create

It’s crucial to get hibiscus leaves, powder, or extract from a reputable supplier, as it is with other supplements. In addition, according to some experts, hibiscus extract should be purchased in an airless pump that hasn’t come into contact with air in order to get the maximum advantages of hibiscus tea.

You receive the calyces of the plant, which surround the petals, rather than the petals themselves when you buy dried hibiscus.

Because all hibiscus teas are caffeine-free, you may experiment with them to discover your favorite.

Making your own hibiscus tea is rather simple. First, place the dried calyces of the plant into the boiling water and wait until it becomes a deep red color. This will make a concentrated hibiscus tea, so chill it down and add half the quantity of water.

When it’s warm but not hot, sweeten with raw honey or stevia to taste. Garnish with mint or a piece of lime if desired, and you’ve got yourself a nutritious, tasty beverage that may be served hot or cold. For taste, several recipes call for a cinnamon stick.

History

Hibiscus tea has long been a favorite in many civilizations throughout the globe. Although hibiscus tea is becoming more popular in the United States as more research supports its health advantages, it is still immensely popular in Mexico, Central America, sections of South America, and the Caribbean.

Saril or sorrel tea, a seasonal drink scented with ginger, cinnamon, clove, sugar, and nutmeg, is made with hibiscus in Panama. At weddings, Egyptians and Sudanese women customarily sip hibiscus tea. Bissap, a kind of hibiscus tea, is considered as Senegal’s “national drink.”

Although hibiscus is more often found as one of the ingredients in a blended herbal tea in Europe, it is also a popular addition to many European tea cabinets.

In many countries, Hibiscus tea is used in traditional medicine to cure many ailments. For example, in traditional Chinese medicine, hibiscus leaves are used topically to treat herpes zoster, often known as shingles or a recurrence of chickenpox.

Margaret Roberts advises that hibiscus tea sweetened with honey is an excellent hangover treatment in her book “Edible and Medicinal Flowers.”

Interactions and Precautions

Hibiscus tea has the potential to interact with some drugs. For example, if you’re on blood pressure medication, don’t drink hibiscus unless your doctor tells you to and monitors you since it might cause your blood pressure to drop dangerously low.

Hibiscus may interfere with the effects of certain drugs that employ Cytochrome P450 enzymes, so talk to your doctor before starting to drink hibiscus tea to be sure it won’t interfere with any current medications you’re taking.

People with diabetes should avoid hibiscus tea since it may reduce blood sugar levels and boost the impact of blood sugar-lowering medicines.

Hibiscus tea may affect how your body metabolizes acetaminophen; however, the severity of this risk is unknown.

Drinking hibiscus tea while taking chloroquine for malaria should be avoided since it reduces the amount of medicine your body can absorb.

Again, pregnant or nursing mothers should never use hibiscus tea or hibiscus-containing supplements.

Last Thoughts

• Hibiscus tea is a popular beverage offered hot or cold and flavored in several ways all over the globe.
• The potential of hibiscus tea to decrease high blood pressure is perhaps its most well-known advantage, as shown by multiple scientific studies.
• It’s also likely to assist with high triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels and maintain a healthy weight and avoid liver disease.
• Hibiscus extracts have been researched for their effects on cancer because they are high in antioxidants. They have been discovered in a lab environment to promote cell death in leukemia and gastric cancer cells.
• Hibiscus tea is also being investigated for its possible benefits in treating depression, MRSA, and kidney stones.
• It may be harmful to the liver at exceedingly high dosages.
• Pregnant women should never consume Hibiscus products, including tea, since they may induce labor prematurely.
• Because hibiscus tea interacts with certain drugs, talk to your doctor before drinking it if you’re on any kind of prescription medication.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make hibiscus tea?

A: In a saucepan on the stove, add 1 cup of water to 4 tablespoons of dried hibiscus flowers. Add 2 cups of fresh or frozen strawberries (or any other fruit). Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep in the pot for 10-15 minutes before straining out strawberry leaves and serving hot.

How do you drink hibiscus tea?

A: Hibiscus tea is made with a mixture of dried hibiscus flowers, water, and sugar. This process can be done by boiling the mixture in a pot for about three minutes or adding it to cold brewing tea like black iced teas or chai if you prefer.

Can I drink hibiscus tea every day?

A: Yes. Hibiscus tea is loaded with antioxidants and can help to prevent a host of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

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