Chamomile tea has an anti-inflammatory effect that helps with various problems with the stomach and intestines. However, there are many more uses for chamomile tea.
Chamomile is a versatile medicinal plant that is especially used in the form of chamomile tea due to its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antispasmodic effects. Chamomile is especially effective for problems in the mouth and digestive tract.
Chamomile tea: Effects and ingredients
Chamomile tea works with various ingredients, including flavonoids, essential oils and coumarins. Because of them, the traditional herbal medicine has the following effects:
- promotes wound healing,
- can inhibit inflammation,
- relieves cramps,
- helps with flatulence,
- gently calms,
- has a calming effect and
- antibacterial
That is why chamomile tea is recommended for the treatment of various ailments both inside and outside the body. Chamomile flowers are primarily used for medicinal purposes.
As a herbal medicine, chamomile works in the body, for example, in the following ailments:
In case of gum inflammation or purulent tonsils, you can drink lukewarm chamomile tea or rinse your mouth with it. In case of acute inflammation, you should not drink hot tea, because heat stimulates circulation, which can contribute to the spread of bacteria in the body.
In case of a cold, chamomile tea calms irritated mucous membranes and fights against pathogens.
In bacterial infections in the stomach and intestines, chamomile tea helps with its antibacterial effect and relieves stomach cramps. A cup of chamomile tea before breakfast helps with inflammation of the stomach lining and also eases the pain of ulcers.
The effect of chamomile is due, among other things, to essential oils such as bisabolol. The oils are especially concentrated in the flowers. Chamomile oils or extracts obtained from flowers are used in phytotherapy, but also in cosmetics.
By the way: If essential oils are obtained by steam distillation, chamazulene is created. This substance has a blue color, so chamomile creams are often bluish.
Minor injuries can be washed with chilled chamomile tea and thus prevent infection.
A chamomile poultice helps treat slightly impure skin. For that, make chamomile tea, dip a linen cloth in it and place it on the affected area for 20 minutes.
Mild burns can also be soothed with a chamomile poultice.
Tip: Enjoy a chamomile bath, for example, to ease menstrual cramps or stomach aches.
True chamomile (matricaria chamomilla) now grows in all temperate climate regions of the world. Chamomile suits the biotope next to the fields. In recent years, the diversity of wild plants in fields has drastically decreased due to the increasingly frequent use of herbicides such as glyphosate.
However, you can easily grow chamomile in your herb garden. The plant is annual and should be re-sown every year. Flowers for tea are best picked soon after flowering. Use them fresh or dry the plants to keep them for a long time.
If you don't want to pick and dry your own chamomile flowers for your tea, you can buy chamomile tea at a health food store, pharmacy, or online. However, the chamomile that is traditionally used in commerce originates mainly from industrial plantations, mainly from Egypt, Argentina and Southeast Europe. The correct use of pesticides on such plantations is not always easy to monitor.
