Are flowers only meant to be a treat for the eyes?
Well, the answer is no. Adding flower petals in your regular tea can have a powerful impact on your overall health and well-being. From boosting immunity, metabolism and skin glow to reducing stress and preventing susceptibility to many fatal diseases including cardiac diseases and cancers, the string tied muslin cloth bags containing a mix of dried flower petals and green tea leaves can alleviate multiple health hazards.
Floral tea comes with a plethora of health benefits. The presence of antioxidants amplifies its ability to serve our body. It actively helps in weight loss, stress management and controlling inflammation.
Chamomile, Lavender, Globe Amaranth, Hibiscus. Rose, Jasmine, Borage- the options are plenty. Boiling them up with hot water, green tea leaves and honey and squeezing some lemon can give your day a very healthy start.
Here are some useful details on the varieties of floral teas available in the market.
- Chamomile Tea
It is king of all floral teas. This precious little flower is used world-wide and appreciated for its health benefits and flavour. Chamomile is one of the first teas used in herbal medicine for its soothing and healing properties. With a lightly sweet, honey and apple like flavour, chamomile is a great choice for all age groups. It works best for reducing stress and for initiating sound sleep for people with sleep disorder.
- Lavender Tea
Lavender is one of the most commonly used flower used for making essential oils. However, a cup of dried petals of lavender has multiple health benefits too. It is appropriate to begin with 1/2 teaspoon of dried flowers. It is always possible to increase the amount if a stronger favour is desired. It helps check anxiety and stress. It has antiseptic properties.It is capable of promoting healthy hair growth. This tea is also known to have good anti-ageing properties.
- Borage Tea
Borage tea has a really pretty, deep blue color to it. Its unique appearance and visual appeal makes it a popular garden plant, but giving the leaves a nice steep also makes is equally enjoyable. It is highly instrumental in controlling blood sugar levels and works best for individuals with insulin sensitivity.
- Rose Tea
Nothing beats the beauty of Rose buds or rose petals tea. It’s available in many colors and intensities, and it’s often blended with real teas to create a delicious scented tea. The quantity has to be limited to avoid bitterness. One table spoon per cup is e ideal. Over-brewing the petals or buds is something to be really careful about. Rose tea is proven to be frxiendly for heart as it improves the blood circulation.
- Hibiscus Tea
Tangy and incredibly beautiful, the Hibiscus flower tea tastes great, both hot and cold. Hibiscus tea has a very deep and intense red , and blends well with all the herbs and fruits. It is a rich source of Vitamin C and it helps strengthening the overall immune system. It is also helpful in reducing headache and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.
- Jasmine Tea
Jasmine, one of the most popular flowers for scenting green tea, tastes very delicious on its own too. In fact the small unopened jasmine buds brew better in taste than the matured flower. Jasmine flower tea is not only very delicious and beautiful, it also helps in relaxing the nerves and reducing anxiety. It is also a very efficient stress buster, and helps in lowering blood pressure.
- Globe Amaranth Tea
The bright purple buds of Globe Amaranth, while brewing, changes its color to a bright pinkish purple. It is highly effective in facilitating weight loss and keeping cholesterol levels in check. It is also a rich source of antioxidants.
Despite being extremely beneficial for health, it’s always recommended to consume floral teas if they are clinically approved by the doctor and free from causing any harm to health. Ruling out the possibilities of occurrence of any negative interactions with the ongoing medicines or any sort of allergic responses is imperative. Because in the end the, goal is opting for what is best suited for our body.
(The author is a lifestyle coach and diet counselor. She tweets @Bipasha1sugati)
