Your eyes are red, and watery and you feel tingling or itching in your eyes…no this isn’t a horror story, but a common thing during the winter and especially in early spring, at least for me though.
When conjunctivitis strikes, this chamomile tea recipe effectively calms the fire of my inflammation. Or if you suffer from sleeplessness and anxiety…again chamomile tea is your best natural and proven cure.
Let’s look a bit deeper at this natural, traditional homemade and time-tested grandmother’s remedy.
What Is Chamomile Tea Good For?
This small white flower with a yellow heart has been known since ancient times for its soothing properties.
Chamomile is effective for decongesting and cleansing the eyelids in no time! It relieves itching and burning sensations caused by inflammation of the conjunctiva, a thin transparent membrane that covers the inner side of the eyelids.
Do Chamomile Tea Bags Help Eye Bags?
Yes. Chamomile tea bags do help to reduce eye bags because of their antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties.
There are three main widely used species of chamomile, though there are more, all of them differing in composition and pharmacological activities. So, the three chamomile varieties we mostly use are:
Roman chamomile(Anthemis nobilis), German Chamomile (a synonym for Matricaria chamomilla L), and Moroccan chamomile. Sometimes Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium/. Tanacetum parthenium) is mistaken for German Chamomile due to very similar-looking flowers.
Roman chamomile is known for its antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties. The flower head is traditionally used in the form of herbal teas to facilitate digestion. In local use, it is used as an adjunctive treatment for skin conditions, but also in mouthwashes for oral hygiene or in case of irritation or eye discomfort.
Chamomile Tea Recipe
Little to no sun, cold and bad weather: your skin has to face the winter now! Add to these tiring and stressful days and you get a cocktail that negatively affects your overall health condition: the fatty epidermis(acne) and irritated eyes.
In order to have beautiful skin and a rested look for the holidays, we offer 2 wellness recipes based on medicinal plants you can easily prepare yourself at home.
Ingredients :
- 4 to 8 grams of dried Roman (or other) chamomile flowers (Anthemis nobilis)
- 250ml water
Preparation of the tea infusion:
- Heat the water in a saucepan until it boils.
- Add the chamomile flowers.
- Let it brew for 15 minutes.
- Mix, filter and pour into a cup covered with a saucer.
- Cool to room temperature.
If you like herbal teas you should definitely check this saffron tea recipe, which you can easily make at home.
How To Brew Chamomile Tea Bags
Our tip: if you are in a hurry then use chamomile teabags. Here’s one of our favorites:
- CHAMOMILE TEA BAGS - 100 Tea Bags filled with premium chamomile from Egypt.
- ORGANIC CHAMOMILE TEA - The tea is filled into tea bags and packed into foil-lined kraft bags in California
- 100 ECO-CONSCIOUS TEA BAGS - Our premium tea bags are constructed of Abacá Hemp Fiber Paper. They are free of dyes, adhesive, glue and chlorine bleach. No staples, strings, bags or extra waste - just delicious tea!
- CERTIFIED USDA ORGANIC & NON-GMO - All our products are certified USDA Organic and certified Non-GMO. Look for the USDA Organic and Non-GMO Project seals on our products!
- LOVE IT OR WE BUY IT - We don’t think you should pay for products that you don’t love. If you aren’t enjoying our products, simply let us know and we will refund your order - it’s as easy as that!
Preparation of chamomile tea with teabags:
- Heat the water in a saucepan until it boils.
- Let it Brew 2 sachets of herbal tea for 15 minutes in a cup covered with a saucer.
- Cool to room temperature. Enjoy
How Do You Make Chamomile Tea Compress?
- Put two to three tablespoons of dried chamomile flowers in 500 ml of boiled water. Let it brew for ten minutes, then strain and cool. If you are short of chamomile flowers, infusion with chamomile tea bags can also do the job.
- Soak a sterile cloth compress tissue with the preparation and gently clean your eyes, carefully cleaning the eyelashes and the inner corner of the eye.
- Take another soaked compress and leave it on the eyelids, for no more than fifteen minutes. Repeat the operation at least six times a day.
- If you are not sure whether pink eye (conjunctivitis) is contagious or not, it is best to take precautions at the outset to avoid contagion. Also, as soon as you rub your eyes, be sure to wash your hands with soap, for at least thirty seconds.
- A new infusion should be prepared every day. It is however useless to renew it during the day unless the same compress has been plunged several times.
How To Use Chamomile For Eyes
If you wear lenses, remove them. Soak 2 cloth pieces of eye compresses with the chamomile infusion you made and then place a compress on each eye. You can repeat this treatment up to 3 times a day to decongest and soothe irritated eyes.
Proper storage and precautions
Be careful not to irritate the eyes with plant particles that have remained suspended in the infusion. Use a separate compress for each eye to prevent the transmission of possible infection from one eye to another.
Chamomile and Green Clay Face Mask Recipe
Make a beautiful natural mask thanks to clay and chamomile by following the recipe below.
Green clay is naturally rich in minerals and trace elements, which makes it a great absorbent, that is, capable of extracting toxins and impurities from the body and skin. It is commonly used as a sebum adsorbent for oily skin.
Purifying, remineralizing, regenerating, detoxifying: the green clay mask cleans and clears the skin of impurities naturally. Discover our recipe for a DIY face mask!
Ingredients:
- Four to eight dried flowers of Roman chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)
- 250ml water
- 2 tablespoons of green clay
- If your skin is dry, add a little sweet almond oil
Preparation:
- Prepare an infusion of chamomile as described earlier.
- Gradually incorporate the infusion of chamomile (about 2 tablespoons) into the green clay until a creamy paste is obtained.
- Wash your face before applying the mask.
How to Use it
Apply the mask directly to the face in a thick layer and gently massage. Leave the mask on for 10-15 minutes until the paste begins to dry. Rinse with chamomile infusion and then with cold water. You can apply this mask once a week.
Storage and precautions
For the Best beneficial action and effects, avoid direct contact of the mixture with oxidizable metal. Preferably use stainless steel or plastic material container.
Will chamomile tea infusion really help you sleep?
If you lack sleep, you’re four times more likely to get a cold or suffer digestive problems (ulcers-acidity, nausea, and vomiting, gastroenteritis, baby colic, etc.) Sleep disorders often lead to more problems like nervousness, menstrual cramps, hay fever, and allergy. Sometimes it’s closely related to urinary problems too.
The various scientific studies conducted to try to understand the effect of chamomile on the brain have not yet managed to give a unanimous and clear-cut answer. But the relaxation associated with a cup of chamomile in the evening should not be underestimated.
Your grandmother told you because her grandmother also told her … an infusion of chamomile flowers helps you fall asleep. This treatment has been used for hundreds, if not thousands of years, according to scientists cited by Live Science.
But do researchers have strong evidence about the effectiveness of this remedy for insomnia? For the time being, the debate remains open.
Indeed, the studies conducted so far have not yet been decided. “Very few studies have analyzed the effect of chamomile on sleep. For insomnia, the benefits are modest, ” says Erik Zhou, a member of the Harvard Medical School’s Faculty of Sleep Medicine.
The specialist refers to a study conducted in 2011 on people suffering from chronic insomnia. The 28 participants who consumed one capsule of chamomile extract twice a day did not notice a significant effect on their sleep.
Another wonderful soothing tea is hibiscus tea, which you can drink as a hot beverage or iced tea.
Chamomile Studies and Placebo Effects
According to the results of another 2016 study of young mothers, volunteers who drank chamomile every day for two weeks found sleep easier than those on a placebo.
And a 2017 study found that elderly patients who took a high dose of chamomile extract slept much better than volunteers in the 2011 study.
Although these contradictory results prevent giving a unanimous scientific answer about the biochemical effect of chamomile on the brain, there is still good news.
Just believing that something helps us sleep can, indeed, help us sleep. The quality of sleep is affected by a number of factors, including stress. If the ritual of chamomile infusion helps to relax and plunge into sleep, it would be a pity to deprive yourself of it. Do not let studies prevent you from enjoying it. If it works for you, there’s no good reason to stop drinking it.
Hot herbal drinks and teas are making their comeback revolution now! So, you should definitely try making this easy chamomile tea recipe at home, you won’t regret it, I’m sure.
Gone are the days when sipping herbal tea or infusion came back to an old-fashioned thing
call me grandma, but I love making any type of tea! There’s nothing better than experiencing the ritual of brewing your own tea and enjoying its warm calming (or energizing if you make green and black teas) effect.
Gourmet, original, and sometimes eccentric, homemade teas look more modern than ever!
To us the fragrant, tasty, and fragrant herbal teas, in addition, offer us beneficial and natural virtues, what more can we ask for?
Chamomile has a soothing, calming, antispasmodic action, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, and softening.
Chamomile belongs to a family of plants that are used very widely in the world. Such as Linden, mint, or verbena, this plant has natural virtues and multiple benefits.
And here’s a little bit of botany
Chamomiles are part of the Asteraceae family. Chamomile actually looks like a daisy. Its petals are white, and the center is bright yellow.
If we often talk about “chamomile”, then in reality there are several species of chamomile.
The most famous and used are Roman chamomile (so-called large chamomile) and German chamomile (so-called small or wild chamomile)
The parts used are the yellow and white flowers, to be harvested preferably when they have just opened because it is at this time that the active ingredients are most concentrated.
Chamomile Benefits
Roman chamomile is known for its effects on migraines while German Chamomile is more useful in the treatment of digestive disorders.
But they have roughly similar properties, German Chamomile is more pleasant to drink but it’s mostly the Roman one we’re used to using.
Did you know: the so-called “German” Chamomile is actually not originating in Germany. It is widely cultivated in Europe, Asia and the North American continent. The small plant makes it possible to fight very effectively against many digestive disorders
So here we are in the theme of this article:
Chamomile herbal tea and infusion is most often used to treat digestive disorders by its tonic, stomachic, antispasmodic, and analgesic qualities.
Thanks to its concentration of mucilages, which soothe irritations of the gastric mucosa,
chamomile is known for its effectiveness against digestive and other disorders :
- Gastritis (inflammation of the stomach) and inflammation of the digestive tract
- abdominal pain
- calms acidity
- indigestion
- Diarrhea
- Digestive spasms such as bloating, flatulence
- Cancer prevention
- Inflammations and ulcers in the mouth (use in gargling, read Under dosage below).
Ingredients
Chamomile is a plant that you can not do without when you are into natural healing methods. And I see more and more people turning to natural ways of improving their lives and health.
Its taste is fruity and has a slightly bitter flavor.
Chamomile is probably the best-selling plant in the world, because of all the benefits it brings us.
Simple and fast Chamomile tea recipe:
- Pour boiling water on the plant (four to eight flowers per cup or a spoon of dried flowers)
- Let it brew for about ten minutes (in order to get an effective dose of active substances).
- Filter.
- Sweeten with honey or agave syrup, stevia, brown sugar (organic)… or no sugar at all it’s even better!
Take two to four cups a day, preferably after meals.
Homemade Chamomile Tea Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of freshly picked chamomile flowers.
It is advisable to use freshly picked chamomile flowers within 24 hours of picking. If you want to keep them for several days, you can put them in the freezer in a plastic bag with slightly moistened household paper or tissues.
Note:
For a stronger effect, especially against sleep disorders, you can triple the dose, so use 3 tablespoons or 3 teabags of dried chamomile flowers.
Preparation
- Heat the water to a boil and then add this boiling water to the chamomile flowers.
- Let it brew for about ten minutes (in order to obtain an effective dose of active substances).
- If necessary, sweeten with honey or sugar. some medical plant specialists recommend drinking chamomile herbal tea preferably without sugar and warm, especially against digestive disorders.
Note: in order to achieve a higher concentration of active ingredients (e.g. for its calming effect, against sleep disorders), you can put a small plate or lid on the cup directly after the start of the infusion, in order to prevent the active ingredients from evaporating.
Is It Ok To Drink Chamomile Tea Every Day?
Yes and no as it depends on your purpose for drinking chamomile tea
- For digestive problems: drink herbal tea from chamomile flowers several times a day.
- For sleep disorders: drink a warm herbal tea 20 minutes before going to bed (if necessary, triple the dose of chamomile for a stronger effect and cover with a lid during infusion, see under Ingredients and preparation). Chamomile flowers contain glycine, an amino acid with a calming and muscle-relaxing effect.
- In the form of gargling: in case of inflammation or ulcers in the mouth.
For other indications, ask your pharmacist or doctor for a more personalized dosage.
Who Should Not Use Chamomile?
There is little information about the safety of chamomile herbal tea during pregnancy, as noted by the US reference institution UC Berkeley in a health newsletter published in 2018 (UC Berkeley Wellness Letter).
It is recommended that chamomile use should be discontinued at least two weeks before a scheduled surgery or dental work because of the increased risk of bleeding.[Source]
How To Make Chamomile Tea Taste Good
Well, the truth is chamomile whether as a flower, tea, or in the form of essential oil has an incredible aroma and the tea respectively will taste equally good. I compare it to linden, but of course, they are not the same.
In order to make your chamomile tea taste good, the choice of flowers is important or you can add a mint leaf, honey, or sugar into your cuppa tea
Herbal tea made from fresh chamomile flowers is less bitter and sweeter than that prepared from dried flowers. With fresh flowers, one can feel a taste resembling Apple and fruit.
When the chamomile flowers are harvested at the right time and are dried/stored properly your tea will be delicious. You will feel its beneficial qualities from the first sip. The mouthfeel is pleasantly oily and lightly sweet. You don’t even need sugar.
Side Effects Of Chamomile tea
Some people can be allergic to chamomile, but also to other plants of the Asteraceae family such as Ambrosia Wormwood leaves (Ambrosia artemisiifolia).
Common side effects of chamomile include:
- Severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)
- Contact dermatitis/skin reactions.
- Eye irritation (when applied near the eyes)
- Hypersensitivity reactions.
- Vomiting (when taken in large amounts)
Scientific studies on chamomile herbal tea
Calming effects and beneficial actions on sleep
– Scientific studies have partially proved the sleep-inducing and calming effect of chamomile. For this indication, it is better to use a large dose of chamomile (3 tablespoons or 3 sachets) and recover from a lid for 10 minutes of infusion (see under preparation).
However, very few placebo-controlled studies have shown the effectiveness of chamomile as a soothing and use during sleep disorders, as noted by the US reference institution UC Berkeley in a health newsletter published in 2018 (UC Berkeley Wellness Letter). For example, in a study published in 2011 in the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-11-78), 17 people with insomnia received tablets containing chamomile extract (a higher dose than in herbal tea) or placebo 2 times a day for 28 days.
Their sleep analyses showed no significant or consistent beneficial effects on any aspect of sleep. In fact, the placebo group slept longer.
Other studies were more favorable but without a placebo group. An Iranian study published in the Journal of Education and Health Promotion (doi: 10.4103 / jehp.jehp_109_15) in 2017 examined 77 elderly people in nursing homes, giving them chamomile capsules twice a day or without capsules for four weeks.
Based on a questionnaire, the researchers found a significant improvement in the quality of sleep in the chamomile group. But as clarified, there was no placebo control group.
Why does German chamomile act as a soothing remedy?
Laboratory studies suggest that certain flavonoids present in true chamomile can affect neurotransmitters in a way that could reduce anxiety and thus promote sleep. It is also likely that the heat and aroma of the herbal tea help some drinkers relax, and the discounted benefits can produce a placebo effect, again according to UC Berkeley.
The Chamomile decreases mortality rates
– In June 2015, a study of Americans of Mexican origin or descent over the age of 65 showed that regular drinking of chamomile herbal tea leads to a reduction in mortality among women. Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch who conducted this study, however, did not find a reduction in mortality among men consuming chamomile.
Scientists are unaware of the origin of this difference, a hypothesis suggests that women consume chamomile herbal tea more regularly than men in general anyway, so it maybe adds up over time. In Mexico, chamomile tea is often used for digestive disorders such as colic, gastroenteritis, spasms, and diarrhea.
Chamomile Tea Cancer Prevention
– In a small Greek study published in April 2015 in the specialist journal European Journal of Public Health, regular consumption of chamomile herbal tea was correlated with a decrease in the risk of thyroid cancer.
The researchers are not at the moment able to clearly state that chamomile herbal tea had an effect on the Prevention of thyroid cancer, but in any case, were able to observe a correlation. That is, people who consumed chamomile herbal tea over a long period of time had a lower risk of suffering from this form of cancer.
– Chamomile, associated with the Mediterranean diet, could be the cause of this decrease in the risk of cancer. According to this study, the consumption of sage herbal tea also led to a decrease in the risk of cancer, but not as much as chamomile herbal tea.
In Greece, about 1.6 people per 100,000 inhabitants are diagnosed with thyroid cancer each year, compared to 13.2 people in the United States and 5.2 people in Europe per 100,000 inhabitants. Flavonoids, which are found in chamomile herbal tea, could be the cause of this protective effect against cancer.
Conclusion
Chamomile tea is a very effective natural remedy (at least for certain health conditions) and is incredibly easy to prepare it at home.
Have you tried this Chamomile tea recipe before? If so, did you enjoy it? Let me know or ask your questions in the comments below.