Chamomile Tea For Acid Reflux - Everything You Need To Know
Published Date:Mmmmmm... Chamomile tea. There’s nothing like it. After a long stressful day, there’s no better way to relax than with a warm mug of this aromatic brew in your hands. But could it be that chamomile tea does more than just soothe the soul?
While chamomile tea is an amazing way to unwind your mind and get ready for bed, it has also been talked about for other amazing benefits that are physical, as well as mental. One key talking point is the use of chamomile tea for acid reflux.
But can it really be that this herbal tea has such an impact? Let’s find out…Read on to answer the questions ‘is chamomile tea good for acid reflux?’ and ‘does chamomile tea help with digestion?’ so that you can pick the right chamomile tea for acid reflux now!
What Is Chamomile Tea?
Chamomile tea is a caffeine-free herbal tea made from (yes, you guessed it) chamomile. But, what exactly is chamomile? Chamomile is a herb made from flowers in the Asteraceae family. They may look a lot like daisies, but trust us, they’re a lot tastier! Chamomile flowers have been enjoyed for hundreds of years, not just for their taste, but for their nutritional benefits, too.
To make chamomile tea, these flowers are dried and then infused with hot water. The result? A tasty, soothing herbal tea with sweet, honey-like notes.
Also Read - 11 Benefits Of Chamomile Tea For Hair, Skin & More
What Are The Benefits Of Chamomile Tea?
For generations, the chamomile plant has been used for its medicinal properties. This is because chamomile contains some important antioxidants which are believed to have amazing benefits for the whole body.
Firstly, chamomile is an anti-inflammatory. This means that it can have soothing effects on the whole body, helping to reduce pain and inflammation. In fact, according to research, chamomile tea may even have the same soothing effects as an over-the-counter painkiller!
On top of this, chamomile contains apigenin. Apigenin is an antioxidant that helps promote sleepiness in your brain. This is why chamomile tea is often drunk before bed, to help you drift off to sleep peacefully.
But that’s not all. Apigenin has also been researched for its ability to fight cancer cells and reduce the blood flow to cancerous tumours. What does this mean? This means that chamomile may also have anti-cancer properties, too!
As well as these benefits, chamomile also has been researched for its ability to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression when consumed regularly.
Does Chamomile Tea Help With Digestion?
On top of these health benefits, chamomile has also been widely linked with improving digestive health, including helping to relieve the symptoms of IBS, diarrhea, and colic.
One reason behind this is that chamomile contains volatile oils, terpenoids, and flavonoids. These compounds may help your body break down foods, relieve gas, and reduce bloating, meaning your digestive system benefits in the process.
In addition to this, the calming properties of chamomile may also help to soothe your gut, in turn helping to relieve upset stomachs and any other short-term digestive issues, like indigestion.
What Is Acid Reflux?
Acid reflux is the medical term for when stomach acid travels up your esophagus toward your throat. While you may not recognize this term, you may be more familiar with heartburn, which is the burning sensation in your chest caused by acid reflux.
Acid reflux is extremely common and can be a one-off or a symptom of a recurring disease called GERD (Gastro-oesophagal reflux disease). Acid reflux can be caused by a number of factors, but most commonly it is triggered by overly fatty or acidic foods, which interrupt the acidity levels of your stomach.
While more often than not, acid reflux is a short-term problem, it can be uncomfortable, and if it does recur, finding ways to relieve it is essential.
Is Chamomile Tea Good For Acid Reflux?
So, we’ve seen just how much chamomile can do for your body, but is chamomile tea good for acid reflux?
Here are three reasons why drinking chamomile tea for acid reflux may be a great idea…
- As we mentioned, chamomile is an anti-inflammatory. This means that it can help relieve the symptoms when something becomes inflamed, wherever on your body that is. This is particularly relevant to acid reflux. Why? Because when acid goes up toward your throat, it is likely that your throat becomes inflamed as a result. Therefore, chamomile tea can be a fantastic way of relieving this soreness, calming down your inflammation and making your acid reflux more manageable as a result.
- Research has shown that GERD (recurring acid reflux) may be partly triggered by lifestyle factors. One of these lifestyle factors is stress. How does chamomile tea come into this? Well, remember what we said earlier about chamomile relieving the symptoms of anxiety and depression? Well, it may just relieve the symptoms of stress too. This means that, by drinking chamomile tea, you may be reducing the risk of suffering from acid reflux in the process.
- Chamomile also has soothing properties which can affect your whole body. As we discussed earlier, this includes the gut, and chamomile can help to calm an upset stomach. This may mean that the chance of acid reflux is reduced, as food is more likely to be properly digested and less likely to cause problems like heartburn.
You Should Know…
These benefits all suggest that using chamomile tea for acid reflux may be a great way to relieve your symptoms. However, it is important to note that chamomile tea alone has not been researched as a one-stop solution to relieve acid reflux. Therefore, if recurring acid reflux is an issue for you, the best thing to do is speak to a medical professional to advise you on your next steps!
The Bottom Line…
To wrap it all up, it seems like chamomile tea has so many benefits, it’s hard to even count. Is chamomile tea good for acid reflux? Most likely. Does chamomile tea help with digestion? Yes. Is that all? No! It also has great anti-inflammatory and calming benefits for your whole body and mind.
While there still may be research to be done about the extent to which using chamomile tea for acid reflux can cure the symptoms, as long as you're not allergic to chamomile, it definitely won’t hurt. And, you can enjoy some great benefits for the rest of your body at the same time. It’s a no-brainer really… put on the kettle!